Benedict Carey Books
Benedict Carey is an American science journalist known for his work with The New York Times, where he covers psychology and neuroscience. He has written extensively on topics related to learning, memory, and mental health, combining scientific insight with accessible storytelling.
Known for: How We Learn: The Surprising Truth About When, Where, and Why It Happens
Books by Benedict Carey
How We Learn: The Surprising Truth About When, Where, and Why It Happens
In this book, science writer Benedict Carey explores the cognitive and psychological mechanisms behind learning. Drawing on research from neuroscience, psychology, and education, Carey reveals how memory, forgetting, sleep, and even distraction play crucial roles in how we absorb and retain information. He challenges conventional study habits and offers evidence-based strategies to make learning more effective and enjoyable.
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The Science of Forgetting
For centuries, forgetting was treated as learning’s opposite — a failure of the mind to hold on. But the emerging research tells another story: forgetting is essential to how memory works. The brain, I explain, is not a computer that stores information exactly as it was input. It’s a living network ...
From How We Learn: The Surprising Truth About When, Where, and Why It Happens
Spacing Effect
Closely tied to forgetting is the spacing effect: the discovery that learning spread out over time — even irregularly — vastly outperforms cramming. In the book, I describe how neuroscientists have tracked how memories stabilize during the gaps between study sessions. The brain uses downtime not to ...
From How We Learn: The Surprising Truth About When, Where, and Why It Happens
About Benedict Carey
Benedict Carey is an American science journalist known for his work with The New York Times, where he covers psychology and neuroscience. He has written extensively on topics related to learning, memory, and mental health, combining scientific insight with accessible storytelling.
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Benedict Carey is an American science journalist known for his work with The New York Times, where he covers psychology and neuroscience. He has written extensively on topics related to learning, memory, and mental health, combining scientific insight with accessible storytelling.
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