An elephant never forgets? An elephant I am not

Do you struggle to get out your front door without leaving an important item behind? Are you constantly forced to write things down or add reminders to your phone? I regularly berate myself for forgetting things.

So I'm heartened to read that according to a recent study the "goal of memory is not to transmit the most accurate information over time, but to guide and optimize intelligent decision making by only holding on to valuable information".

According to this study, there are mechanisms in our brains that are involved solely in forgetting information (as distinct from storing information). Production of new neurons means overwriting old ones in the hippocampus, which possibly explains why children, with their neuron production to the max, forget so much (apart from the fact that the limbic system is not fully developed).

I read voraciously, grazing from a broad range of diverse pastures that grows by the day. And I seem intent on cramming every crevice of my brain with brand new stuff. The payoff is that I have to force myself to keep focused on the practicalities, but the upside seems that decision making in the realms that matter to me is enhanced by my top-class ability to forget! .

I'd posit that forgetting is integral to the creative process. Forgetting allows us to get through much more information than if our brains, with their apparently limited memory capacity, were fixed storage units. Forgetting keeps our minds nimble and up-to-the-minute, allowing us to generate novel ideas and meld old and new learning.

All said, thank goodness for postits!

R U M M A G E
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Article: Scientific American: Why Do We Forget Things?