Having a great memory is something that we should all be proud of. Remembering all sorts of thing is a handy skill, whether that’s at work, while studying or even at home.
Having said that, forgetting some things can be really embarrassing. The moment when you forget a close friend or family member’s birthday is more than embarrassing. Although it might make you feel (and look) dumb, science has actually said otherwise.
According to a research study conducted by professors at the University of Toronto, having a far from perfect memory has nothing to do with how clever or intelligent you are. Actually, it’s quite the opposite, you might be even a little smarter!
Most people think that those who remember everything, including the smallest of details are definitely the clever ones.
However, the study found that those who occasionally forget small details are acting normally. They concluded that it was better if you remember the bigger picture rather than all the small details in the long run.
Our brains are much more complicated and smarter that we think. The hippocampus found in the brain is the part that weeds out all the important information from the unnecessary. As explained by CNN, it helps us to “optimize intelligent decision making by holding onto what’s important and letting go of what’s not.”
The claimed theory really does make sense because it’s more important to remember someone’s face than their name. Although both are important but remembering someone’s face can save you in many awkward social situations, whereas the name can be dealt with easily.
Our brains do a lot of hard work, they don’t simply delete memories or decide which is more important to remember, but rather, they overwrite the old memories. Brains that are overwhelmed with so much information are crowded with so many memories that it can then interfere with decision making as these memories start to conflict with each other.
Forgetting all the time may not be a good sign, but it’s absolutely normal to sometimes forget those small details every once in a while.
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