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Memory: Forgetting Is the New Normal

time.com — The more we study the workings of memory, the more we understand why it so often fails. The good news: it may be in your control.

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  • rlray216, on 05/15/2008, -2/+13Wired had an interesting article about memory not long ago too. One of the factoids that stuck out was that the human mind is capable of remembering about 300,000 facts, and that's it. It's amazing to me that we have people who have figured out such a thing with any degree of certainty.
    • zebragrrl, on 05/15/2008, -1/+8great... somewhere in my breain, that "8 glasses of water a day" and now "The human mind can only remember 300,000 facts" are taking up slots that used to by my mother's birthday, or my phone number.
    • simg, on 05/15/2008, -1/+6if only evolution followed moores law :)
    • bowserkid, on 05/15/2008, -1/+3I remember reading that the human mind never actually forgets something but just loses the pathways for recalling some info.

      But, hell, I don't remember where I even read that. :(
  • Armughan, on 05/15/2008, -9/+4What
  • CJArgus, on 05/15/2008, -6/+6Politics: Forgetting Is the New Normal

    Fixed.
  • taradisiac, on 05/15/2008, -10/+1Common sense, now all we need is a way to apply it. I'd be really useful for rape victims or someone who just served a prison term or went to war.
  • LittleFishChan, on 05/15/2008, -2/+6Interesting article. It's a well known fact that "If you don't use it, you lose it." If information is not used or reviewed in some way you're going to forget it, nomatter how smart or young you are. The problem is people are using their brains less and less to learn/ remember things for themselves and are simply allowing the internet to more less "become their brain." The problem is similar to someone relying more and more on artificial life support to breathe for them. If you take that breathing apparatus away, you're screwed. Thus, what would happen to people's ability to think and reason on matters if the internet were gone tomorrow? If/when such a thing ever happens, knowledge will be power. Remember stuff, it's good for you.
    • bubbadoo989, on 05/15/2008, -0/+1Sorry, I call *****! No one is using the internet for "...their brain." The internet is no different from a day timer or PIM or PDA... it's a tool used to manage aspects of our lives. Even browsing dubious web sites requires some cogntiive reasoning (thinking), whether you're conscious of it or not.

      Where we lose, is when we're lulled into passive entertainment, as in the case of television. You sit on the couch, growing fatter as you stuff doritos into your maw, bathed in the color, light and warmth of some *****, no-thought required television show, like 'Idol'. Give up the tv and the Doritos (or at least moderate them heavily) if you want to maintain a healthy brain.
    • LittleFishChan, on 05/24/2008, -0/+1Sorry, I think you misunderstood me. When I say "people use the internet for their brain," I mean that people no longer put forth as much effort to learn or remember things that they learn, because if they want to find out some sort of fact or piece of information all they do is "google it." Thus, they allow the collective body of human knowledge to be their main source of information, and they don't bother trying to remember it because the information is still on that web site.
  • uma22, on 05/15/2008, -8/+2If you want try some new style then click this link: http://www.reebokhexride.com/?um=01 because its relation of your fitness, health, and your sports life.
  • mrzack, on 05/15/2008, -3/+4American's forget that Vietnam was a disaster. They soon will remember that lesson in regards to Iraq...
    • MadHarvey, on 05/15/2008, -0/+2Juno's forget that using birth control prevents pregnancy. She soon will remember that lesson in regards to a baby being shoved through her vagina.

      Its fun making poorly formed comments completely unrelated to the article!
  • doctorcaligari, on 05/15/2008, -1/+5After hitting 30, I thought I was going crazy because I started forgetting little things constantly. It's good to know that it is normal. The other big piece of news from the article is that you can mitigate the age-memory issue by exercising more.
    • Zaggynl, on 05/15/2008, -1/+3Exercises such as?
    • Kranklin, on 05/15/2008, -0/+1I'd exercise and eat blueberries too more, if only i could remember to do it.
  • thatsoccerkid, on 05/15/2008, -2/+2i cant remember most of what i just read looks like my RbAp48 is low.!
  • DangerCollie, on 05/15/2008, -1/+3If you have a lot to memorize, there's a piece of software called SuperMemo that was developed my psychologist and his wife, both of them spent their life studying memory. It's cheap and it's amazing. If you're in college, especially a science field, it's a worthwhile investment. I wish this would have been around when I took A&P *shudder*.
  • luckyguy2000, on 05/15/2008, -1/+2whats about rainman?
  • Nutmegan, on 05/15/2008, -2/+1Great title. Boring article.
  • HubbertWins, on 05/15/2008, -2/+3300,000 facts and that is it? Hmm...porn sites, beer brands, sports information...yep, I am screwed.
  • jjustice, on 05/15/2008, -1/+2"is the new" is the new "is"
  • gkiltz, on 05/15/2008, -2/+2There are 3 signs of old age!
    The first is memory loss, now if I could only remember the other two!
  • queenmoweeny, on 05/15/2008, -0/+1Yeah! Now I feel like I am normal. That is a change of pace!
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