Charan Ranganath

Yeah, there was actually this famous mnemonist. He's kind of like back then the equivalent of a memory athlete, except he would go to shows and do this. That was described by this really famous neuropsychologist from Russia named Luria.

Yeah, there was actually this famous mnemonist. He's kind of like back then the equivalent of a memory athlete, except he would go to shows and do this. That was described by this really famous neuropsychologist from Russia named Luria.

Yeah, there was actually this famous mnemonist. He's kind of like back then the equivalent of a memory athlete, except he would go to shows and do this. That was described by this really famous neuropsychologist from Russia named Luria.

And so this guy was named Solomon Cheryshevsky, and he had this condition called synesthesia that basically created these weird associations between different senses that normally wouldn't go together. So that gave him this incredibly vivid imagination that he would use to basically imagine all sorts of things that he would need to memorize.

And so this guy was named Solomon Cheryshevsky, and he had this condition called synesthesia that basically created these weird associations between different senses that normally wouldn't go together. So that gave him this incredibly vivid imagination that he would use to basically imagine all sorts of things that he would need to memorize.

And so this guy was named Solomon Cheryshevsky, and he had this condition called synesthesia that basically created these weird associations between different senses that normally wouldn't go together. So that gave him this incredibly vivid imagination that he would use to basically imagine all sorts of things that he would need to memorize.

And he would just imagine, like, just create these incredibly detailed things in his head that allowed him to memorize all sorts of stuff. But it also really haunted him by some reports that basically it was like he was at some point, you know, and again, who knows if the drinking was part of this, but at some point had trouble differentiating his imagination from reality, right?

And he would just imagine, like, just create these incredibly detailed things in his head that allowed him to memorize all sorts of stuff. But it also really haunted him by some reports that basically it was like he was at some point, you know, and again, who knows if the drinking was part of this, but at some point had trouble differentiating his imagination from reality, right?

And he would just imagine, like, just create these incredibly detailed things in his head that allowed him to memorize all sorts of stuff. But it also really haunted him by some reports that basically it was like he was at some point, you know, and again, who knows if the drinking was part of this, but at some point had trouble differentiating his imagination from reality, right?

And this is interesting because it's like, I mean, that's what psychosis is in some ways is you, you know, first of all, you're just learning connections from prediction errors that you probably shouldn't learn. And the other part of it is that your internal signals are being confused with actual things in the outside world, right?

And this is interesting because it's like, I mean, that's what psychosis is in some ways is you, you know, first of all, you're just learning connections from prediction errors that you probably shouldn't learn. And the other part of it is that your internal signals are being confused with actual things in the outside world, right?

And this is interesting because it's like, I mean, that's what psychosis is in some ways is you, you know, first of all, you're just learning connections from prediction errors that you probably shouldn't learn. And the other part of it is that your internal signals are being confused with actual things in the outside world, right?

Yeah, I mean, it might be why there's such an interesting relationship between genius and psychosis.

Yeah, I mean, it might be why there's such an interesting relationship between genius and psychosis.

Yeah, I mean, it might be why there's such an interesting relationship between genius and psychosis.

I think so. Sometimes scary, but mostly fascinating.

I think so. Sometimes scary, but mostly fascinating.

I think so. Sometimes scary, but mostly fascinating.

There's a guy named Henry Rodger who's studying these guys, and there's actually a book by Joshua Foer called Moonwalking with Einstein where he talks about he actually, as part of this book, just decided to become a memory athlete. They often have these life events that make them go... Hey, why don't I do this?

There's a guy named Henry Rodger who's studying these guys, and there's actually a book by Joshua Foer called Moonwalking with Einstein where he talks about he actually, as part of this book, just decided to become a memory athlete. They often have these life events that make them go... Hey, why don't I do this?