Joshua Foer
Encyclopedia
Joshua Foer is a freelance journalist
living in New Haven, Connecticut
, USA, with a primary focus on science
. He was the 2006 U.S.A. Memory Champion, which was described in his 2011 book, Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything
.
editor Franklin Foer
and novelist Jonathan Safran Foer
. He is the son of Esther Foer, president of a public relations firm, and Albert Foer, a think-tank president. He was born in Washington, D.C.
and attended Georgetown Day School
. In 2004, he graduated from Yale University
, where he lived in Silliman College
and then Trumbull College
.
Foer is married to Dinah Herlands, a medical student at Yale, whom he met while an undergraduate at Yale.
, to Penguin
for publication in March 2011. He received a $1.2 million advance for the book when he was 24. Film rights were optioned by Columbia Pictures shortly after publication.
In 2006, Foer won the U.S.A. Memory Championship, and set a new record in the "speed cards" event by memorizing a deck of 52 cards in 1 minute and 40 seconds. Moonwalking with Einstein describes Foer's journey as a participatory journalist to becoming a national champion mnemonist
, under the tutelage of British Grand Master of Memory
, Ed Cooke
.
Foer's work has appeared in The New York Times
,1 The Washington Post
,http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A62795-2004Oct25.html Slate
,http://www.slate.com/id/2114925/ and The Nation
.http://www.thenation.com/doc/20050516/foer In 2007, the quarterly art & culture journal Cabinet began publishing Foer's column "A Minor History Of." The column "examines an overlooked cultural phenomenon using a timeline."
which had only one session featuring Kim Peek
and Joseph Kittinger
."http://www.kirchersociety.org/blog/?page_id=4. He is the co-founder, along with Dylan Thuras, of the Atlas Obscura, an online compendium of "The World's Wonders, Curiosities, and Esoterica". He is also a co-organizer of Sukkah City
.
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
living in New Haven, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, USA, with a primary focus on science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
. He was the 2006 U.S.A. Memory Champion, which was described in his 2011 book, Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything
Moonwalking with Einstein
Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything is a nonfiction book by Joshua Foer, first published in 2011. Moonwalking with Einstein debuted at no...
.
Personal life
Foer is the younger brother of New RepublicThe New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
editor Franklin Foer
Franklin Foer
Franklin Foer is an American journalist and editor-at-large for The New Republic. Foer is a 2012 Bernard L. Schwartz fellow at the New America Foundation as of Sept...
and novelist Jonathan Safran Foer
Jonathan Safran Foer
Jonathan Safran Foer is an American author best known for his novels Everything Is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close...
. He is the son of Esther Foer, president of a public relations firm, and Albert Foer, a think-tank president. He was born in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and attended Georgetown Day School
Georgetown Day School
Georgetown Day School is a pre-K-12 private preparatory school in Washington, D.C..-History:GDS was founded in 1945 as the first integrated school in the District of Columbia.-Academics:...
. In 2004, he graduated from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, where he lived in Silliman College
Silliman College
Silliman College is a residential college at Yale University. It opened in September 1940 as the last of the original ten residential colleges, and includes buildings that were constructed as early as 1901...
and then Trumbull College
Trumbull College
Trumbull College is one of twelve undergraduate residential colleges of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.The college is named for Jonathan Trumbull, the last governor of the Colony of Connecticut and first governor of the State of Connecticut, serving from 1769 until 1784, and a friend and...
.
Foer is married to Dinah Herlands, a medical student at Yale, whom he met while an undergraduate at Yale.
Career
Foer sold his first book, Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering EverythingMoonwalking with Einstein
Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything is a nonfiction book by Joshua Foer, first published in 2011. Moonwalking with Einstein debuted at no...
, to Penguin
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
for publication in March 2011. He received a $1.2 million advance for the book when he was 24. Film rights were optioned by Columbia Pictures shortly after publication.
In 2006, Foer won the U.S.A. Memory Championship, and set a new record in the "speed cards" event by memorizing a deck of 52 cards in 1 minute and 40 seconds. Moonwalking with Einstein describes Foer's journey as a participatory journalist to becoming a national champion mnemonist
Mnemonist
The title mnemonist refers to an individual with the ability to remember and recall unusually long lists of data, such as unfamiliar names, lists of numbers, entries in books, etc. Such individuals have also been described as possessing an eidetic memory, although whether such abilities are innate...
, under the tutelage of British Grand Master of Memory
Grand Master of Memory
First awarded in 1995, the title Grand Master of Memory is awarded to people who are able to successfully negotiate the following three memory feats:*Memorise 1,000 random digits in an hour*Memorise the order of 10 decks of cards in an hour...
, Ed Cooke
Ed Cooke (author)
Edward "Ed" Cooke is a British writer and author of Remember, Remember: Learn the Stuff You Thought You Never Could. He is also a Grand Master of Memory and the co-founder of Memrise, a free online educational platform that uses memory techniques to optimise learning...
.
Foer's work has appeared in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
,1 The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
,http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A62795-2004Oct25.html Slate
Slate (magazine)
Slate is a US-based English language online current affairs and culture magazine created in 1996 by former New Republic editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as part of MSN. On 21 December 2004 it was purchased by the Washington Post Company...
,http://www.slate.com/id/2114925/ and The Nation
The Nation
The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
.http://www.thenation.com/doc/20050516/foer In 2007, the quarterly art & culture journal Cabinet began publishing Foer's column "A Minor History Of." The column "examines an overlooked cultural phenomenon using a timeline."
Organizations
Foer has organized several websites and organizations based on his interests. He created the Athanasius Kircher SocietyAthanasius Kircher
Athanasius Kircher was a 17th century German Jesuit scholar who published around 40 works, most notably in the fields of oriental studies, geology, and medicine...
which had only one session featuring Kim Peek
Kim Peek
Laurence Kim Peek was an American savant. Known as a "megasavant", he had a photographic or eidetic memory, but also social difficulties, possibly resulting from a developmental disability related to congenital brain abnormalities. He was the inspiration for the character of Raymond Babbitt,...
and Joseph Kittinger
Joseph Kittinger
Joseph William Kittinger II is a former Command Pilot and career military officer in the United States Air Force. He is most famous for his participation in Project Manhigh and Project Excelsior, holding the records for having the highest, fastest and longest skydive, from a height greater than...
."http://www.kirchersociety.org/blog/?page_id=4. He is the co-founder, along with Dylan Thuras, of the Atlas Obscura, an online compendium of "The World's Wonders, Curiosities, and Esoterica". He is also a co-organizer of Sukkah City
Sukkah City
Sukkah City is an Architectural design competition and work of installation art planned in partnership with the Union Square Partnership for New York City's Union Square Park in September 2010....
.