The Art of Manliness The Surprising Benefits of Forgetting
Oct 25, 2021
Dr. Scott Small, a memory science expert and director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at Columbia University, explores the unexpected perks of forgetting. He highlights how normal lapses in memory can enhance creativity, improve decision-making, and ease emotional burdens, particularly in trauma recovery. Forgetting allows us to generalize experiences and fosters resilience, challenging the view that memory loss is solely negative. Additionally, he discusses the interplay between sleep and forgetting, emphasizing its crucial role in our mental well-being.
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Benefits of Forgetting
- Forgetting isn't always bad; it can be beneficial.
- Recent science reveals normal forgetting is different from pathological forgetting (like dementia).
How Memory Works
- Memories aren't stored in one spot but distributed across the cortex.
- Key brain regions act like a computer: hippocampus (save), prefrontal cortex (retrieve), posterior cortex (hard drive).
Where Forgetting Occurs
- Forgetting mainly happens in the posterior cortex, where memories are stored long-term.
- It occurs when neuronal connections weaken, like wilting leaves.
