Loading Events

« All Events

  • This event has passed.

Dr. Charan Ranganath with Chantel Prat

Unlocking the Mysteries of Memory

This event has already occurred
Date:
Thursday, February 22
Time:
7:30 pm PST
Cost:
$5 – $25 Sliding Scale

Venue

The Wyncote NW Forum
1119 8th Ave (Entrance off Seneca St.)
Seattle, 98101 United States
+ Google Map

Community Events

22 and Under

Note: Town Hall events are approximately 75 minutes long.

Buy the Companion Book

Why We Remember: Unlocking Memory's Power to Hold On to What Matters

The Elliott Bay Book Company

Buy Now
Science

We all get frustrated with our inability to remember people’s names, find our keys, or recover a lost computer password. Fortunately, these experiences are not reflections of our broken brains, but the fact that the brain didn’t evolve the complex mechanisms of memory so that we could remember that guy we met at that thing. In fact, human memory is so much more than a personal archive or database. It’s a powerful and pervasive force that runs through all human experience and to a shocking degree makes us who we are – not just a record of the past, but as a determinative force in the present.

Read More

Dr. Charan Ranganath, a leading memory researcher, unveils the surprising aspects of human memory in his new book Why We Remember revealing how memory shapes our lives, impacts our decisions, and holds the key to understanding our past and planning for the future. This science narrative explores the unseen influence of memory on emotions, choices, and well-being, offering valuable insights for a broad audience, including those interested in staying mentally sharp, individuals dealing with trauma, parents, educators, and anyone seeking to make more mindful decisions. Drawing on over two decades of research, Dr. Ranganath’s book challenges common misconceptions about memory, delivering a paradigm-shifting perspective that’s both informative and life-changing.

Charan Ranganath is a Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience and director of the Dynamic Memory Lab at the University of California at Davis. For over 25 years, Dr. Ranganath has studied the mechanisms in the brain that allow us to remember past events, using brain imaging techniques, computational modeling, and studies of patients with memory disorders. He has been recognized with a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellowship.

Chantel Prat, author of The Neuroscience of You, is a Professor at the University of Washington with appointments in the Departments of Psychology, Neuroscience, and Linguistics, and at the Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences. Her interdisciplinary research investigates how variable brain designs combine with our lifetime of experiences to shape the unique way each person understands the world and operates in it.


Presented by Town Hall Seattle.

The Elliott Bay Book Company is an independently owned bookstore founded by Walter Carr in 1973, at 109 Main Street. Over the next three and half decades, the bookstore shifted and expanded within the Globe Building adding event space for author readings as well as Seattle’s first bookstore café.

Learn More

Upcoming Events

Rental Partner: Seattle Arts & Lectures presents

Aimee Nezhukumatathil

Bite by Bite — Vignettes and Visions of Food and Nature.