Enthusiasm runs rampant in Peter Russell's romp through the nervous
system. The English psychologist, having coached readers in
meditation methods (The TM Technique, 1976), now is out to show you
how to get more out of your brain: how to improve memory, make mind
maps, enlarge imagery, speed-read, adopt the right mental set. He
begins with justifiable praise for the brain's profundity and
complexity, lacing the prose with tidbits about how an enriched
early environment can develop the John Stuart Mills and Mozarts
dormant in all tots. He decries the left-hemisphere-dominant
approach of public schools (even suggesting that more children
would exhibit photographic memories if they didn't have such quirky
behavior suppressed out of them). The factual content in this
first, theoretical section is all right up to a point. But
Russell's optimism has him denying that neurons die off in
considerable numbers throughout life, or that it matters. He is
intrigued, moreover, by the analogy of memory to holography and
this leads him to echo physicist David Bohm's idea that the
underlying reality of the universe is one of pure vibration - a
primal frequency we "concretize" individually. This, say RusselI et
al., could account for telepathy, syncronicity, collective memory,
etc. The second, "how-to" section of the book emphasizes memory
mechanisms, reviewing the well-trod path from Ebbinghaus to Karl
Pribram with excursions to the Greeks and Romans. There is the
expectable emphasis on imagery, mnemonics, context, associations,
rest, relaxation, review. Sections on study and note-taking explain
how to extract key ideas and arrange them on the page (a mind map).
The speed-reading section is a useful review of techniques, but
concludes with typical hyperbole: "One subject, a fifteen-year-old
girl, could even scan material at the rate of 80,000 words per
minute with 100 per cent comprehension." A judicious reader,
skipping the speculations and editing out enthusiasms, can find
useful information and practical tips. (Kirkus Reviews)
First published in 1980. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor &
Francis, an informa company.
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