In March, I briefly mentioned that Joshua Foer, author of Moonwalking with Einstein, gave a talk at TED 2012.

Earlier this month, the people at TED posted the video of the talk online, and it was worth the wait!

The talk is called Feats of memory anyone can do, but it's not a simple lecture on memory technique.

Instead, it's an insight into the world of competitive memorizers. This might sound a little boring, and Joshua Foer points out that watching a memory competition is a little like watching people take their SATs. However, when Joshua got into the mind of memorizers by becoming one himself, it turned out to be anything but dull.

He starts with a demonstration of a basic memory technique, which I highly recommend you try, and takes you on the journey from there. This video is 20 minutes long, but is well worth the time spent. Joshua Foer sums up much of what I've tried to get across in the Grey Matters blog about the fun, power and potential of memory.



Joshua mentions Ed Cooke briefly. If this talk intrigued you, check out Ed Cooke's videos on memory, including his appearance on the How To Do Everything podcast and his TED^x talk.