More on Memories

“...Forgetting isn't a failure - It's a way our brains prioritize information……Forgetting is a key part of how our brain works and is a healthy and necessary function…”

Jenny Tucker, 2024

Natural forgetting happens to us all and can become more frequent as we age; unless something more serious is happening like dementia.

“...The human brain is forced to deal with a lot. Information hits us continuously. We are involved daily in endless experiences and countless distractions which means we must work extra hard to focus on the matter at hand. It's not surprising we can't remember it all…”

Jenny Tucker, 2024

New research indicates that memories are stored and locked away permanently, ie not forgotten and they don't have an expiry date. This has been called differential remembering.

How memories work is complicated and not fully understood. 

“...There are billions of neurons in our brain and most experts agree memory function is carried out by the hippocampus in the temporal lobe. The prefrontal cortex also plays a role in determining what is retained…”

Jenny Tucker, 2024

The brain is more a thinking machine than a memorizing machine, ie it prioritizes our memories; it is designed for economy and deploys memories to make sense of the present and focus on the future; 

“...a highly capable memory…….is being able to access the information that is important to you and to recall life events that are meaningful…”

Jenny Tucker, 2024

A photographic memory is usually linked with a particular expertise, ie the ability to generate vivid, detailed memories relevant to your expertise.

Forgetfulness can be more thought of as retrieval failure: an inability to pull up information required as memories compete with each other and recent events are easier to remember than events from a long time ago, unless a health issue is the underlying cause.

“...The transient nature of memory can make life seem much shorter……we tend to think of memory as something that allows us to hold on to the past. When in fact the human brain was designed to be more simply an archive of our experiences. Forgetting isn't a failure of memory; it's a consequence of processes that allow our brain to prioritize information that helps us navigate and make sense of the world…”

Jenny Tucker, 2024