I’m so smart. I’ve been employing this strategy for years! The only problem is when I remember what I forgot, I forget why I needed to remember what I forgot to remember.
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Trying To Remember Multiple Things May Be The Best Way To Forget Them
by CHRIS BENDEREV
“A new scientific model of forgetting is taking shape, which suggests keeping multiple memories or tasks in mind simultaneously can actually erode them.”
“Neuroscientists already knew that memories can interfere with and weaken each other while they are locked away in the recesses of long-term memory. But this new model speaks to what happens when multiple memories are coexisting front and center in our minds, in a place called “working memory.”‘
“It argues that when we let multiple memories come to mind simultaneously, those memories immediately lock into a fierce competition with each other.” When these memories are tightly competing for our attention the brain steps in and actually modifies those memories,” says Jarrod Lewis-Peacock, a neuroscientist at UT Austin.”
“The brain crowns winners and losers. If you ended up remembering the milk and forgetting the phone call, your brain strengthens your memory for getting milk and weakens the one for phoning your friend back, so it will be easier to choose next time you’re faced with that dilemma.”
It’s a strain on my brain
to remember
whether it’s June, July or December
Multiple memories,
lots of tasks
my brain crowns the winner
which I reward with dinner
Eats I never forget
Food being a permanent mind set
P.S. I forgot to tell you that you can read the entire article by clicking on the title above.
That’s interesting. One of the developmental stages for kids is that they can remember multiple steps–get the milk and then call your friend. How does that mix in with this study?
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Jacqui,
Great question. My guess is that different developmental stages of brain development would show different mechanisms/capacities/channels for memory consolidation and retrieval.
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That makes sense.
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Music helps people remember. When teaching Hebrew to kids, we always found they remembered the words better when singing them. Certain associations, such as identifying patterns, help me remember items, and writing anything long hand also helps.
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Shari B-P,
Yes, you are right! – also, people unable to speak can often sing (stuttering disappears when singing too) Our body-mind is a wonder.
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