Beyond recall: Exercises to aid critical thought

By MIKE MAZA
DALLAS MORNING NEWS
"Intelligent Memory," by Barry Gordon, M.D., and Lisa Berger (Viking, $24.95)
New challenge: As if remembering names weren't trouble enough, Dr. Gordon has come up with a new subset of memory to exercise. Far more complex than mere recall (a k a "ordinary memory"), this is the memory that glues our thinking together. In Dr. Gordon's words: "Intelligent Memory is both a thought or idea as well as a cognitive process, yielding what is often called critical or creative thinking."
In other words: It's what helps you spot misspellings, recognize similarities or differences, see both the vase and the faces in that famous tricky picture, and grasp witticisms such as Molly Ivins' "Houston is Los Angeles with the climate of Calcutta."
Getting wiser: Unlike recall, which fades with age, "Intelligent Memory" is sharpened by practice and new experiences for as long as your brain keeps working. With quizzes and exercises, the authors help readers recognize which memory components need work and ways to tone them up.
The good news: Either Dr. Gordon, who is affiliated with Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, or writer Berger -- or maybe both -- have well-cultivated Intelligent Memories. Their examples, including that Molly Ivins quote, keep you entertained as you pump their mental iron.