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60 Minutes May 26, 2026 1m

Driver spends 8 years studying to become a London cabbie #shorts

Summary

The transcript details the rigorous process of becoming a London taxi driver, known as "the knowledge," which involves memorizing thousands of points of interest and routes across the city. Aspiring cabbies undergo intense oral examinations testing their ability to navigate between random locations, with a study from University College London revealing that this mental exercise actually changes brain structure, specifically enlarging the posterior hippocampus. The process is so demanding that candidates like Steven Fairbrass and Anu Morjani spend years studying a comprehensive blue book containing 6,000 points of interest, continuously updating their mental map as the city changes.

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