Most people picture human memory as something resembling a secure metal vault into which we cram our valuable—and not so valuable—thoughts for safekeeping. The people with the biggest vaults, then, can keep the most stuff. They know the most and make the fewest mistakes.
As this special report shows, however, human memory is a far cry from a passive storage unit. It behaves more like a seamstress who sews concepts from threads of vital information while snipping away extraneous material. The best memory, therefore, is not the one that holds the most data, but the one that can deftly distinguish between the pieces to keep and those to discard. In other words, the most astute individuals can both remember what is vital and, critically, forget the rest.
Without efficient forgetting, then, you would become confused, unable to home in on critical matters because irrelevant information would get in the way. You also might have a hard time being happy, as emotions from negative remembrances might overwhelm your psyche. To manage the most vivid emotional moments, a healthy brain holds on to the gist of these recollections while shedding many of the details, as we report on here. Most of this sorting happens unconsciously, but people can also willfully forget, a skill that correlates with some aspects of intellect and with mental health. Scientists are also investigating pharmaceutical means of erasing bad memories.
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Although people seem to want to remember everything, recording every fact you encounter and moment you experience is neither possible nor desirable. Forgetting pares down what you know to what you truly need, making the engine of thought run efficiently. Shutting out some reminiscences can also bring you considerable peace.