Reading: Think Smart: By Ricard Restak pages 50-78

Summary:
    In part three is by far the longest section. This section focuses on Specific steps for enhancing your brains performance.It begins by giving a brief over view of the two previous sections, and continues into saying that in order to improve performance of the brain, the main thing one needs in Attention. It then goes into a brief story of a Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami who was a couch potato, but with attention and determination, turned himself to running marathons. After the brief short story, the author portrays that memory is simply a natural extension of attention. If you attend to something then you increase your chances of remembering it. It's a fairly simple concept. If you like it then you will remember it. Restak then states that we learn things based on past experiences. Our past illustrates who we are today and what we know. In essence, we create who we are.
    There are three types of memory, sensory memory, long-term memory, and working memory. Our sensory memory is the brain's initial recording of physical sensations as they impose on our sense organs. Example, things we see, hear, smell exc. Our long-term memory refers to the memories that become a permanent part of us: friends, names, work, basic facts about culture. Long-term memory has the ability to be strengthened by practice. Also, we can never exceed the capacity our brain has for our long-term memory. Our third, working memory, is known as our short-term memory. It involves the most important mental operations performed by the hhuman brain which is storing information briefly and manipulating it. An example would be crammin for a test the night before. Working memory and Long-term memory differs importantly, for your working memory corresponds to something you need right now, while the long-term memory affects you for a while.
Reaction:
    This part of section three was also very insightful, however, it was not fully necessary. I feel that it is common sense to know that long term memory affects us long terms, while short term is temporarily. Consequently, I never really thought about how much our past has an effect on us today. We are shaped on our past and that is what makes us who we are. Once again, it is sort of common sense, but I have never devoted much thought into it so I thought it provided an interesting spin on myself. I'm going to continue reading and maybe even become smarter.