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One of my favorite jokes involves a minister Suppose we remembered the details of
who visited one of his elderly parishioners every day of our lives – exactly which pair of
and advised, “Edna, at your age you should underwear we wore, exactly which pen we
start thinking about the hereafter.” used, and exactly how much change we got
“Oh, I do, Reverend,” she replied. “Whatever from every transaction. The few people who
room I go into I think to myself, now what were found to have that kind of memory
am I here after?” function were actually burdened by the
Most people who are past the half-century endless details.
mark start noticing these “hereafter” Different types of memories are stored
episodes with concern. Add on a few in different areas of the brain. There are
uncomfortable moments of blanking on a episodic memories such as where you
co-worker’s name or forgetting where we parked your car at a restaurant, the name
put our glasses and soon that concern ripens of your waitress, and what you ordered for
into full blown panic. breakfast. There are semantic memories –
Let’s delve into normal and impaired why your car needs gas, what a waitress job
entails and what the word breakfast means.
memory function. Then there are implicit memories such as
Every new experience brings information how to drive a car, order a meal, and use a
that is seen, heard, felt, tasted or smelled. knife and fork.
That information is transferred to various Memories that are tied to emotion are
areas of the brain where it’s held temporar- remembered more vividly than others.
ily, then sorted and stored – or discarded. You probably don’t remember where you
There is a normal “curve of forgetting.” parked, the name of your waitress or what
Fifty percent of the information that hits you ordered for breakfast a
our brain is gone in 20 to 60 minutes. Sixty year ago. But if you witnessed a terrible
percent is gone within a day and 75 percent accident in the parking lot that day, chances
is gone within a month. are you would remember every detail