Ed Cooke (author)

For other people named Edward Cooke, see Edward Cooke (disambiguation).

Edward "Ed" Cooke (born 1982) is a British writer and author of Remember, Remember: Learn the Stuff You Thought You Never Could.^[1] 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.^[2] Following this tweet ^[3] in July 2011, he is also reputed to be the originator of the idea of Vine, a mobile social networking service based on short looping videos. He grew up in Oxfordshire.^[4]

Career

After graduating with a first class degree in psychology and philosophy from Oxford University in 2004 and completing a Master's degree in Cognitive Science at Paris Descartes University under the supervision of J. Kevin O'Regan in 2005, he started a career researching, writing about, and teaching memory techniques.^[5]

At 23, he became a Grand Master of Memory.^[6] Cooke uses memory techniques popularized by the likes of Tony Buzan and Dominic O'Brien, which involves turning raw data - packs of cards, series of numbers, US Presidents - into colourful imagery. His work has found popular application in education. To learn the electromagnetic spectrum, for instance, Cooke proposes transforming each stage (for example, the microwave) into an image (a microwave in the kitchen).^[7] He also features prominently in Joshua Foer's Moonwalking with Einstein, having acted as memory coach to Foer, who went on to become U.S. Memory Champion.^[8]

He is co-founder of Memrise, an online educational platform that uses memory techniques to optimise learning.^[9]

Cooke's latest writings on memory, education and philosophy can be found on his blog^[10] and on Twitter.^[11]

In May 2015, Cooke appeared in a BBC iWonder guide, Never forget: Can anyone improve a poor memory? presented by Alex Jones. He demonstrates the 'memory palace' technique in order to remember 18 random numbers in one minute.

Achievements in Memory Sports Contests

2003–10th at the World Memory Championships^[12]
2004–3rd at the Austrian Open Memory Championship
2004–11th at the World Memory Championships
2005–11th at the World Memory Championships
2006–8th at the World Memory Championships
2007–Champion at the Cambridge Memory Championship
2007–7th at the World Memory Championships
2008–10th at the World Memory Championships

References

Authority control	WorldCat Identities VIAF: 91618962

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