|
The Overflowing Brain: Information Overload and the Limits of Working Memory | 
 enlarge | Author: Torkel Klingberg
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Category: Book
List Price: $21.95
Buy New: $10.94
You Save: $11.01 (50%)
New (33) Used (9) from $10.94
Rating:  38 reviews
Sales Rank: 54652
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 224
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.1 x 0.9
ISBN: 0195372883
Dewey Decimal Number: 153
EAN: 9780195372885
ASIN: 0195372883
Publication Date: November 7, 2008 (New: Last 30 Days)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
| |
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
As the pace of technological change accelerates, we are increasingly experiencing a state of information overload. Statistics show that we are interrupted every three minutes during the course of the work day. Multitasking between email, cell-phone, text messages, and four or five websites while listening to an iPod forces the brain to process more and more informaton at greater and greater speeds. And yet the human brain has hardly changed in the last 40,000 years.
Are all these high-tech advances overtaxing our Stone Age brains or is the constant flood of information good for us, giving our brains the daily exercise they seem to crave? In The Overflowing Brain, cognitive scientist Torkel Klingberg takes us on a journey into the limits and possibilities of the brain. He suggests that we should acknowledge and embrace our desire for information and mental challenges, but try to find a balance between demand and capacity. Klingberg explores the cognitive demands, or "complexity," of everyday life and how the brain tries to meet them. He identifies different types of attention, such as stimulus-driven and controlled attention, but focuses chiefly on "working memory," our capacity to keep information in mind for short periods of time. Dr Klingberg asserts that working memory capacity, long thought to be static and hardwired in the brain, can be improved by training, and that the increasing demands on working memory may actually have a constructive effect: as demands on the human brain increase, so does its capacity.
The book ends with a discussion of the future of brain development and how we can best handle information overload in our everyday lives. Klingberg suggests how we might find a balance between demand and capacity and move from feeling overwhelmed to deeply engaged.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 33 more reviews...
 forced me to rethink my views on multitasking November 20, 2008
Through Amazon's Vine review program I received an "uncorrected advance reading copy" of The Overflowing Brain: Information Overload and the Limits of Working Memory. As a non-scientist with a background in the (visual) arts, I was pleased to find that this book is reader-friendly and not overly technical.
In addition to having a background in the arts, I am a long-time meditator who has worked as an instructor for mindfulness-based stress and pain management courses in hospitals. I have often suggested that course participants be wary of employer demands that they engage in multitasking (or "simultaneous performance") which is, I've suggested, a euphemism for "doing too many things at once." I wrongly thought that multitasking, as opposed to "mindfully" doing one thing at a time, could only lead to stress.
After reading The Overflowing Brain I appreciate that the relationship between multitasking and stress is contingent rather than necessary. As author Torkel Klingberg makes plain, information occurs when demands on our "working memory capacity" exceed our capacity, and the result is stress. (At the risk of oversimplifying, working memory is our capacity to keep information in focus for brief periods.) But demands on our working memory capacity can also be too low, and when this is the case "we become bored and apathetic." The ideal is when "demand and capacity, or skill and challenge, are in a state of equilibrium." When this ideal is realized, we may enter into a state of "flow" as defined by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (I understand that his last name is pronounced cheeks-sent-me-high), former head of the University of Chicago psychology department, and, as Klingberg puts it, we may "develop to our full capacity."
Overall, The Overflowing Brain is another in a string of recent educational books that elaborate on one or another aspect of brain plasticity, and that reinforce the idea that brain training through "conscious intensive practice of a certain function" is the key to developing our brains.
Really interesting subject November 13, 2008
The Overflowing Brain discusses working memory.
Part of the book is spent defining what exactly the term "working memory" means. Basically it is very short term memory, for example, how many numbers a person could repeat back after hearing those numbers once.
After laying out a groundwork for defining/understanding the concept, each chapter goes into a new facet of working memory: attention deficit disorders, the drugs used to treat them, and what this tells us about how the brain works, different mental exercises and what parts of the brain these enlarge or reduce, the effect of computer games on the brain, and finally just the huge amount of information that exists and what this might imply given that our ancestors had far less of it to grapple with.
I found this book to be fascinating and each chapter to be a quick read. Each chapter had something interesting which sparked my curiosity. That said, someone could conceivably find the topic dry, and there are portions that talk about brain structure and chemistry from a more technical side. I thought the author did a good job of breaking this down, but even so I zoned out at times (rarely).
If the promotional material appeals to you, then I recommend this book. It was a quick read and had a consistent quality delivery.
Deep, but readable November 9, 2008
I have very much enjoyed this book. It is almost like a follow up on the "Mind Hacks" series. Like a behind-the-scenes what is going on in the mind and how it adapts to new input or an ever-increasing amount of information.
A little heady at times (read: academic), it is fascinating and gives insight into how the mind is more than prepared for being cast into our information rich environment (internet, ads, the shear amount of info thrown at us compared to even just 20 years ago).
The style is easy to follow. No redundancy, unless to build on a new point. Excellent citations. This guy is not just throwing some info out there based on his own bias; he has a substantial knowledge base that he is working from and distilling his concepts.
I do recommend the title. It is not a novel. Be prepared to spend some time reading. If you are a speed reader of 900+ a minute, you may find that you will dip down at least two thirds. It may be considered college level. There are some titles mentioned that I will certainly have to pick up to follow some of his points in more detail. So, it's not overly academic and he doesn't seem to feel the need to cover absolutely every possible angle on this thesis.
It is extremely interesting to see how he develops his thesis. But don't worry, our minds are more than capable at dealing with the assault of input we find ourselves in.
Well done, but certainly not a novel.
A rigorous discussion of memory and cognitive processing October 30, 2008
I chose this book from Vine because I like to read about psychology and because I'm frustrated with all the urban legends about how our brains work. To be honest, I anticipated a lighter approach -- something like The Watercooler Effect, which I picked up in the library, or perhaps one of the many self-help books published each year.
To my surprise, The Overflowing Brain is written as a research summary. I enjoyed it immensely, but I've read hundreds of academic papers (and written some of my own). I've taken doctoral level psychology courses. And I would say this book is written at a higher level than some undergraduate textbooks. To take just one example, in a discussing computer games Klingberg casually refers to "cross-sectional studies."
But The Overflowing Brain will be accessible to untrained readers who are prepared to skim past those terms and move to the end of each chapter, where Klingberg discusses implications of the studies he reports. For instance, I was fascinated by studies showing that working memory can be trained. Klingberg also advises us that "use it or lose it" does apply to brain function, but only to specific regions. An increase in our cognitive processing skill related to music won't help us in other areas. And I'm intrigued by analogies between mental and physical exercise. Just as you have to reach muscle fatigue to achieve fitness, you have to push your brain to the limit to improve cognitive functioning.
I recommend this book to anyone who's willing to invest in some cognitive activity to learn the material. In particular, anyone who's considering graduate school in the social sciences would be advised to pick up this book. You get a good taste of the way researchers write, explore and ultimately think.
 Some practical advice October 28, 2008
I was hoping for a lot of practical advice but more than 50 pages into the book found the following statement: "All this may seem pedantic and academic, and without much relevance to anyone not exceptionally interested in cataloguing different kinds of nerve cell in the frontal lobes (which I admittedly am)." My response was, "no kidding."
However, Klingberg does eventually tell readers how to give instructions to ADHD students. This seems like a better long-term strategy than just prescribing Ritalin. More importantly, for me, he goes on to describe several activities, such as reading, chess and playing a musical instrument, which have been found to be associated with later relative improvement of cognitive ability and lower risk of dementia.
I was surprised to learn that, according to Klingberg, physical exercise showed no such associated improvement. It seems to me if the blood-flow is constricted, as in vascular dementia, increased exercise would help... but what do I know?
One important point that Klingberg makes several times is that to deliver positive results, mental training must be close to the limits of our capacity. Building the brain is similar to building muscle. Another finding: the effects of training escalated from year to year... "improved abilities give more intellectual stimulation, which in turn fuels the ability."
Key may be getting into the "zone" or, as Klingberg explains it, the concept of "flow" ...when we are "completely focused on the work we are doing, which requires a high level of challenge and skill."
For those who want to explore further, the author informs readers of initiatives such as Seriousgames.org, an organization that advocates for truly educational games and Memory Pharmaceuticals, which is focused on developing innovative drugs for the treatment of debilitating central nervous system (CNS) disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and certain psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia.
Sometimes a little dense... maybe the author's just trying to get us to stretch our brains a little. Good exercise and somewhat rewarding.
|
|
|
| |
