There Are Reasons Our Memory isn’t Perfect

For one thing, we prefer the cliff notes of events that pertain to the future

Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash

Memory is endlessly fascinating to me. You probably know the evolutionary reason we can remember anything all — it’s a survival skill. Remembering the past helps us prepare for the future, ideally at least. You also probably know that our memory isn’t perfect. In fact, it’s not even all that reliable.

How often have you misremembered an event, or an answer slipped out of your mind? Why does our brain do this? Wouldn’t objectively accurate memories keep us safer than ones that can be manipulated, are glitchy, and only offers a subjective recollection of our experiences? It turns out there are reasons behind our brains’ apparent flaws.

Memory Can Be Influenced

I may have told you before that I’ve kept a regular journal since fourth grade. Over the years, I’ve pulled them out to revisit my past and see what my younger self decided was important enough to document, and I can’t tell you how often what I wrote about an event conflicts with what I remember today. For one reason or another, my memories have warped.

Then again, it’s not just me. I just happen to have a written record of my life’s events to experience this phenomenon…