I'd rather eat a plate of spiders...

The New York Times Magazine today carried a story about mental athletes, "or M.A.'s for short." These mental athletes - who were competing in the U.S.A. Memory Championship - can memorize thousands of random digits in under an hour. According to the article, they use techniques handed down from the ancient Greeks (who were not living in an era when more than a million books are published a year). This includes using spatial thinking and visual images - such as creating a unique image for every number from 0 to 999,999,999, or creating a memory palace for a series of cards.

Does this have anything to do with critical thinking? Personally I dislike memorizing many things, including passwords - a personal, hugely annoying roadblock in moving toward critical digital literacy. There seem to be a ton of sites on critical thinking, but little consensus on the issue. After a quick search, I tenatively decided the answer is no, you don't need a good memory - or any memory? - to be a critical thinker. I settled on the overview provided by Asking the Right Questions - A Guide to Critical Thinking, 9th edition. The author's blog might be more interesting, if you like contemplating this kind of stuff.

For additional information regarding critical thinking please consider the following sources;