Theres not many people in this world you can trust. Our elite ruling class is run by cutthroats, crooks, and formidably profitable cowards. The common man is plagued by pressures so great that he indulges in weakness's which compromise his honesty, integrity, and his ability to make sound judgments. Surely in this dark time of deceit and subliminal coercion, we can hold on to hope and have the strength of mind to put faith in ourselves. Of course we can trust our own mental faculties to accurately record the world around us.
Well think again.
The 7 Sins of Memory- is a book by David Schacter(2001), a leading memory researcher and former chair of Harvards psych dept.
In it, Dr. Schacter reveals to us the truth behind human memory. He explains the implications of the findings from leading researchers studying memory. He organizes these findings into seven "sins". They follow as:
Transience- Memory integrity degrades over time. In some cases memories become faulty in as little as a few moments.
Absent Mindedness- When you are distracted, such as when you are multitasking, you have a great difficulty storing memories and organizing information.
Blocking- This occurs when you try to recall information and another memory interferes. This is the primary cause of the "tip-of-the-tongue" phenomena.
Misattribution- This is transgression of memory involves correctly recalling information, but attributing it to an incorrect source. A popular example includes watching a television show after seeing someone commit a murder can routinely blame the murder on someone who appeared on television.
Suggestibility- Our memories can be directly influenced not by what we have perceived, but instead by the descriptions of the event. So much so that we claim that we remember having "seen what others have seen" instead of remembering what we have actually seen.
Bias- Beliefs, goals, and external conflict can affect the way memories are interpreted and stored. For example when police officers see a speeding sports car they tend to remember it as going a lot faster than it actually was.
Persistence- This involves the memory system recalling information that is disturbing. These are thoughts or memories that are difficult to "erase" and persist with damaging effects.
These transgressions of memory are identifiable, measurable, and researchers have been able to design scenarios in which the quirk is produced in a significant number of people.
What is to stop others, say, super villains or aliens from doing something similar? do you have any reason to trust them not to?!
Is there a way to improve memory or become less subject to these quirks?
Well, clear focus and restraining from indulging absent mindedness seem to be of assistance, but a process which induces active memory recall may be beneficial as well. Things like keeping a daily journal encourages people to look for things in their lives which are memorable so that they may write them down later. It might also inspire them to do and say things which are memorable, thereby increasing their quality of life in some instances.
Memory is Important. -dvn
