We all find ourselves in situations when we forget things. We forget the names and numbers of people we know or where we’ve put our keys, glasses or phone. But does this mean that we aren’t smart enough?
If you keep forgetting the things which other people usually remember for a longer time, it doesn’t mean that you’re losing your mind or you aren’t smart. Moreover, science shows the opposite.
In a new study, researchers Paul Frankland and Blake Richards say that forgetfulness is actually a sign that you’re intelligent. According to them, it’s the interaction between remembering things and forgetfulness that enables us to make intelligent decisions in a dynamic environment.
They further suggest that forgetfulness is a good, useful and significant thing. Namely, forgetfulness promotes generalization because it decreases the amount of information which we no longer need or is unimportant.
This leads to the conclusion that the goal of memory isn’t to transmit information over time but help the optimization of decision-making.
Replacing old and insignificant memories for new ones allows the brain to make intelligent decisions, and brings about our easier adaptation to new situations in life.
Additionally, our brain enables us to forget details about the past but remember the big picture. This helps us make a generalization of our past experiences and connect them to present situations appropriately.
The researchers suggest that you shouldn’t worry if you can’t remember everything, especially little details, because that means that your memory works really well and there’s nothing wrong with it. Moreover, in this modern time, we don’t have to try memorizing things which can be found online– the computers will do that for us.