Forgetting May be Part of the Remembering Process 191
CFTM writes "The New York Times is running an interesting article about how human memory works and the theorized adaptive nature of forgetfulness". From the article, "Whether drawing a mental blank on a new A.T.M. password, a favorite recipe or an old boyfriend, people have ample opportunity every day to curse their own forgetfulness. But forgetting is also a blessing, and researchers reported on Sunday that the ability to block certain memories reduces the demands on the brain when it is trying to recall something important. The study, appearing in the journal Nature Neuroscience, is the first to record visual images of people's brains as they suppress distracting memories. The more efficiently that study participants were tuning out irrelevant words during a word-memorization test, the sharper the drop in activity in areas of their brains involved in recollection. Accurate remembering became easier, in terms of the energy required."
Why is my mouse pointer over the submit button? (Score:5, Funny)
Give me a break Slashdot editors (Score:5, Funny)
I forgot what I was going to post (Score:5, Funny)
Re:The question I've always had about memory... (Score:1, Funny)
Reminds me of an old joke (Score:5, Funny)
An old couple both have Alzheimer's. One day they're watching TV and an ad for a burger place comes on.
Man says: "Hey, want to make some burgers?"
Woman says: "Sure, what to you want on yours?
Man: "I want lettuce, tomatoes and onions. Don't forget; lettuce, tomatoes and onions."
Woman: "Got it. Lettuce, tomatoes and onions."
A good hour goes by and she finally comes from the kitchen and hands her husband a plate of bacon and eggs. He says "You idiot! You forgot the toast!"
Comment removed (Score:4, Funny)
Re:The question I've always had about memory... (Score:5, Funny)
SELECT what_happened FROM drunken_weekend_haze WHERE night = 'saturday';
It's followed immediately by OMG I did what!!!!!! Followed in turn by
DELETE FROM drunken_weekend_haze WHERE embarrassing_episode = True;
Then when people say "Good weekend?" I can almost truthfully respond "Yeah but I got pissed and I can't remember a whole lot of it"
Old boyfriend? (Score:2, Funny)
Re:The question I've always had about memory... (Score:5, Funny)
Important Post (Score:4, Funny)
Exception in thread "Surf" java.lang.NullPointerException
at Slashdot.Post(Slashdot.java:1061)
at Slashdot.Read(Slashdot.java:75)
at MyBrain.main(MyBrain.java:4038)
Not for me! (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Why is my mouse pointer over the submit button? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Why is my mouse pointer over the submit button? (Score:2, Funny)
Alberto Gonzales? (Score:1, Funny)
I don't think that forgetting even more things will help you remember more at this point in time...
Re:another controversy (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Evolutionary Adaption? (Score:3, Funny)
Goatse
The more I know (Score:2, Funny)
Sometime ago I had a t-shirt that had this written:
The more I study, the more I know.
The more I know, the more I forget...
The more I forget, the less I know.
So why study?
Finally, a good excuse... (Score:4, Funny)
Yes, I post on slashdot. Yes, I have a real, live, breathing girlfriend.
Re:i don't even understand (Score:1, Funny)
Re:Finally, a good excuse... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Finally, a good excuse... (Score:1, Funny)
Re:The question I've always had about memory... (Score:3, Funny)
Ah yes... the good ol' linked mist!
Re:Computing and brain insights (Score:3, Funny)
As a computer technician, I welcome our vaguely interpreted and rather imaginary methodology of fixing computers... err.... overlords.