Week #15- Kirti Kande- Why Do We Remember What We Remember
Why Do We Remember What We Remember?
Kirti Kande
“No scientist is perfectly sure how the brain physically sorts and stores all the information — and all the types of information — that gets encoded into memories”.
Finding out the answer to this question may be very beneficial. The answer can improve our education system, fix memory lapses, and help people who have impaired memory. Imagine if we knew the answer to how to make memorable images, then classrooms would know which images would remain in the children's minds longer and we, as a society, can “help design a more memorable world”.
When scientists at MIT tried to see which images would be more impactful with a random group, the conclusion, however, was inconclusive. Realizing, every person has unique interests; is what makes every person distinct. For example, when a nature lover is shown an image of a drawing and a forest, they will obviously remember the forest. On the other hand, if an artist was shown the two photos, they would remember the drawing.
Each person has their own individualistic qualities which are vital for society but that is what makes it hard to find the answer to this question, why do we remember what we remember and forget what we forget. Every single person has a certain importance to certain things and a lack of importance to certain things. So, will we ever know how to make the perfect, memorable things even with the most up-to-date technology and medicine? I think that answer is still up in the air.
https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/22716264/memory-science-memorability
Hi Kirti! Memory and its significance does seem like something that should have been figured out a long time ago so it really is a testament to the brain's complexity that it has not been figured out even all these years of studies. It also certainly does sound like finding out is very much in the best interest of society as a whole. The subjectivity of importance is also something that seems to play a role and I find it quite beautiful to think that even in something as scientific as memory, human feelings play a role.
ReplyDeleteHi Kirti, the way our brains work and how we are all unique is very interesting. I think it goes further than interest, it's the way how each of our individual brains functions. Every person has their own strength, whether it's remembering large sequences of numbers, or remembering vivid details of images, and everyone has their own ways of remembering things. The combination of everyone's strengths is what makes human interaction interesting and allows us to make advancements.
ReplyDeleteHey Kirti! I remember once reading that we only remember faces that we find distinct, or we somewhat recognize. Our brains have always been a mystery to us but based on the patterns we’ve observed and data we’ve collected, everything we know about the brain shows great potential for much more. Our memory is just one function of our brain that has yet to be completely explored. Perhaps one day we can finally uncover and find the exact answers to all these questions. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHey Kirti, this reminds me of how I can easily remember song lyrics without any effort but have the hardest time trying to remember English vocabulary words. It would be cool if one day someone could invent some sort of technology that could personalize memorization methods that could help us remember the material we want such as translating Beloved content into a song that I can easily listen and remember. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Kirti! I don't know if we'll be able to find the perfect formula for shaping images that everyone is most likely to remember, but it would definitely be really useful for all the reasons you mentioned. Everyone is so unique, so what we remember differs in terms of our interests, the way our brains function, which things we're better at remembering, and so many more different factors. This is what I really like about humans as a species, so maybe we'll be able to come together with our differences and solve these questions.
ReplyDeleteHi Kirti! A trend that I noticed with most of my prominent memories is that they are mostly all moments that were special to me. However, I always found it weird that I have some prominent memories of things that have no significance while I tend to forget things that I actually have to remember. Your blog allowed me to realize that even scientists have not done enough research to understand the trend of what we remember and what we forget. I definitely hope that more scientific breakthroughs can be made in this field in the near future as this topic is very interesting. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Kirti, I don’t think there will ever be a way to determine what makes an individual remember certain things and not something else. Like our fingerprints, humans all have different minds and ways of remembering things. Although interests may be similar, they are never exact for anyone. It would be extremely convenient if it were this way, though, because maybe it would be easier for humans to get along.
ReplyDeleteHey Kirti, I can definitely understand the idea that every human's brain is unique and will memorize different items. Although I will admit I am far from an expert (or even knowledgeable) in psychology, I can imagine that humans tend to remember things that stands out to their brain. And typically, what stands out to them when they are shown random images are the pictures that they are most familiar with. Our brain really is unique in this sense: it is impossible for two brains to function in similar fashion, for two to remember and store the exact same memories. Thank you for sharing.
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