The ability to lose information allows new information to come in that is more relevant, more pertinent to an ongoing reality. Forgetting allows us to update. In other words, forgetting is the brain's way of flushing out the irrelevant stuff so we can remember the important stuff.
One recent study found that people who can let go of unnecessary information are better at things like problem solving. Still not convinced? As Tania Lombrozo writes at NPR , "to appreciate the value of forgetting, consider what would happen if forgetting failed.
This is all too real for people who suffer from anxiety disorders, such as PTSD and phobias. For these people, reliving unwanted memories can cause a lifetime of suffering. Forgetting would provide immediate and welcome relief. Researchers are looking for ways to manipulate memory and facilitate memory loss to "erase" or redirect those memories.
Then there are people who have a rare condition called highly superior autobiographical memory HSAM. They can remember minute details of their lives going all the way back to childhood. Give them a date, and they'll vividly recall where they were, what they were wearing, and what happened on that date. One woman with HSAM says having a perfect memory is a huge burden. Perhaps key to overcoming our own anxieties about memory loss is knowing the signs of dementia and Alzheimer's.
Misplacing your keys or forgetting a lunch date is normal memory loss , and does not have to be cause for alarm. These lapses happen to everyone. Understanding and accepting the adaptive aspect of normal memory can help us relax into daily hiccups.
Some researchers even believe that forgetting is related to ethics. If unjust thoughts continue to linger in your mind, they may finally result in unethical actions. Forgetting helps us to get rid of the wrong kind of thoughts and actions. Forgetting is important for leaving behind previously experienced humiliations and continuing on with pride. Forgetting helps us to move towards the future, leaving the past behind.
Both memory and forgetting contribute to the continuation of life, allowing us to forget the anger and pains of the past. Without forgetting unnecessary things, we cannot create a design of our liking.
We cannot tell a beautiful story without omitting some secondary details. For proper balance in life, both conservation of memory and forgetting are important. Yoni Van Den Eede aptly wrote that:. In this doubled Faustian bargain, we must ask ourselves towards which of the two sides we have been biased, and how we can reach a balance that combines enforcement with—consciously sought-after—limitations.
Kearney, R. Questioning Ethics: Contemporary Debates in Philosophy. Psychology Press. Richards, B. The Persistence and Transience of Memory. Neuron 94, — Rossouw, P. The Neuropsychotherapist 2, Schlesinger, H. The Place of Forgetting in Memory Functioning. Skip to content. Our culture bombards us with directives to boost our cognitive skills and train our brains to retain information, and mental slip ups can be alarming.
We worry: Is this normal memory loss or the onset of dementia? Scott A. In Forgetting , Dr. Small, the Boris and Rose Katz Professor of Neurology at Columbia, where he also holds appointments in psychiatry and radiology, translates the current science of memory to explain why forgetting benefits our cognitive and creative abilities, and even our personal and societal health.
Psychiatry News spoke with Dr. Your training, research, and clinical work has focused on neurogenerative diseases that cause dementia. What prompted you to write a book about the upside of memory loss? The importance of forgetting is a relatively new concept for science.
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