Memory Lane - by Ciara Greene & Gillian Murphy (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Making Memories describes the science of how memories are constructed and reconstructed, revealing how this process of making (and remaking) memories - which has strengths, but also introduces vulnerabilities - is central to the formation of our identities. Rather than retrieving memories fully formed from long-term storage, memories are reconstructed every time we attempt to recall them. The way in which memories are reconstructed can lead to errors and distortions and even to entirely false memories. The authors describe the consequences of these memory errors, including faulty eyewitness identifications and susceptibility to misinformation. Greene and Murphy also discuss the effects of memory distortion in our lives, both negative and positive. The downsides of memory distortions are considerable; however, the authors make the point that they arise not as some anomaly or failure of evolution but rather as a by-product of a "perfectly imperfect" process that evolved to solve problems in our ancestral environment. These "flaws" are perhaps better thought of as "features," as they help to make us who we are and enable us to go about our lives and make sense of our experiences. The problems arise when we have unrealistic expectations of our memories - for example, if we expect them to record our experiences like a video camera, perfectly preserving the past, which they do not"--

Book Synopsis

An illuminating look at the adaptive nature of our memories--and how their flexibility and fallibility help us survive and thrive

We tend to think of our memories as impressions of the past that remain fully intact, preserved somewhere inside our brains. In fact, we construct and reconstruct our memories every time we attempt to recall them. Memory Lane introduces readers to the cutting-edge science of human memory, revealing how our recollections of the past are constantly adapting and changing, and why a faulty memory isn't always a bad thing.

Shedding light on what memory is and what it evolved to do, Ciara Greene and Gillian Murphy discuss the many benefits of our flexible yet fallible memory system, including helping us to maintain a coherent identity, sustain social bonds, and vividly imagine possible futures. But these flexible and easily distorted memories can also result in significant harm, leading us to provide erroneous eyewitness testimony or fall victim to fake news. Greene and Murphy explain why our flawed memories are not a failure of evolution but rather a byproduct of the perfectly imperfect way our minds have evolved to solve problems. They also grapple with important ethical questions surrounding the study and manipulation of memory.

Blending engaging storytelling with the latest science, the authors demonstrate how our continuous reconstruction of the past makes us who we are, helps us to interpret our experiences, and explains why no two trips down memory lane are ever quite the same.

Review Quotes

"A Nature Best Book of the Year"

"A valuable and up-to-date overview of the strengths and weaknesses of human memory."---Christoper French, Fortean Times

"There is no shortage of books on memory, from self-help guides for the anxiously ageing to scholarly works of history. Memory Lane is distinctive for taking the standpoint of applied cognitive psychology. Emphasising how memory functions in everyday life, Greene and Murphy explore the processes of memory and the influences that shape them. . . . Memory Lane offers an informative and readable account of how the apparent weaknesses of human memory may be strengths in disguise."---Nick Haslam, The Conversation

"[A] universally appealing book."---Andrew Robinson, Nature

"[Greene and Murphy] skillfully unpack how the human mind achieves [the] miraculous balancing act of remembering and forgetting. . . . The authors remind us to accept our limitations and be humble about our capacities but celebrate all that our memory allows us to do. That is a message well worth remembering, long after the details of this absorbing book fade."---Julian Baggini, Wall Street Journal

"Beautifully articulated. . . . [Memory Lane] covers a lot of ground, from how we form memories to how delicate those memories really are."---Laura Sanders, Science News

"Memory Lane is a book that forces us to question everything we think we know-not just about history or crime, but about ourselves. It is a masterful, unsettling, and utterly necessary exploration of one of the most fundamental aspects of human cognition. And if, by the end, you find yourself doubting the accuracy of your own memories-well, that is precisely the point."-- "Sri Lankan Guardian"

"

An informative and accessible primer on how memory affects behavior.

"---Glenn C. Altschuler, Ph.D., Psychology Today

"[Greene and Murphy] make a persuasive argument that forgetting has its benefits, even as the fascinating case studies show the many downsides of memory's fallibility. Pop science readers will want to check out this splendid study."-- "Publishers Weekly"

About the Author

Ciara Greene is a professor in the School of Psychology at University College Dublin, where she leads the Attention and Memory Laboratory. Gillian Murphy is a professor in the School of Applied Psychology at University College Cork and leads the Everyday Cognition Lab.