Short but interesting read on the way the brain works, and why the overloading we experience today may be a direct result of how the brain evolved. Doesn't offer solutions to this problem, nor does it end with a bang (rather, it trails off into nothingness), but it does make an interesting logical argument about how central 'working memory' is to a number of cognitive constraints. ( )

The book focuses on Working memory, what it is, what's known about how it works, it's limits and the implications of those limitations. Towards the end, it also explores possible ways to enhance working memory by drug or training. While the book was well written and understandable, I did not find it fascinating, either because the focus was so narrow or I already knew some of the information. ( )

As a software designer, I am interested in perception and memory. Knowing how brains function helps me to design intuitive software. I was hopeful that this book would offer some insights, perhaps ideas as to how information can best be presented for maximum comprehension, retention, and analysis. I didn’t find that in this book. Any helpful tips were from the perspective on what a person can do to increase their own effectiveness, rather than how products, media, etc can be improved.

But even though this book wasn’t directly applicable, I found it quite interesting. I think it’s fascinating to learn about types of memory, how attention interacts with memory, brain development, cognitive improvement, etc. The author presents current scientific study results at just the right depth – not too simplified or too complex for an interested layperson. The explanations are full of relatable everyday examples. ( )

Klingberg gives a summary of the possible relationship of working memory to attention, concentration, and ability to tune-out distractions.

His postulations seem quite tentative in this book, but I believe that is to be expected; he is both summarizing and conjecturing at the cutting-edge of such research.
Because he's at the cutting-edge, he offers little advice on how to improve one's working memory, only indicating that meditation, and some specialized computer games seem to have boosted participants working memory and attention based on fMRI's that show the same brain structures activated.

Klingberg is optimistic: He believes working memory and attention CAN be improved and our presently busy lives may actually be improving our capacities rather than just overloading us, and such may, in part, be the explanation for the Flynn Effect.

I look forward to future updates from Torkel Klingberg. ( )

Overflowed my brain. I don't know if I have the bandwidth to deal with this book- frankly just got a little bored. It's far more scientific than I expected. Parts were interesting but it was just more technical than I thought it would be- or maybe I'm just dumb.