Psychology, memory, forgetting. --- .This section is about forgetting. --- 1/24/2006
Psychology, memory, forgetting. --- (1) One view holds that we are continuously forgetting everything. The implication is that we need constant studying of everything to maintain our memory. (2) Another views hold that we remember everything unconsciously. All memories live forever in the unconscious. However it may not be accessible to conscious memory. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, memory, forgetting. --- (1) Trying to forget is actually trying to put something out of your mind. It is an attention phenomenon. (2) Trying not to forget. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, memory, forgetting. --- Forgetting and forgiving is almost as bad as forgiving and forgetting. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, memory, forgetting. --- Forgetting is a waste. Because then you need to re-learn. However forgetting trivial garbage and lies is good. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, memory, forgetting. --- Forgetting leads to disorganization (loss of chronological structure, loss of logical structure, and loss of priorities structure), which leads to sub-optimal behavior and mental illness. --- 01/19/1997
Psychology, memory, forgetting. --- Forgetting occurs to both (1) Things you understand and memorized, and (2) Things you understand but haven't memorized. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, memory, forgetting. --- Forgetting. (1) To some degree, humans have to "forget everything else" in order to get anything done. This is because our attention lets us hold only a few things in mind. Thus, forgetting is the default mode for humans. Humans tend to forget about everything except food and sex. Remembering becomes the big challenge. By the term "remembering" I do not mean merely "thinking about the past". By the term "remembering" I mean "thinking about everything else that exists besides food and sex". (2) People ask themselves, "How could I forget (such and such)?" The answer is because humans are forgetful. Very forgetful. Humans have a built-in laziness and apathy that causes them to not think, to not feel and to forget. That is why we use only 10% of our brains (see notes on auto-pilot). (3) Wait long enough and you will forget it all. (4) The real question is, how can I remember and what should I remember? The "natural", "ancient" human state is navel-gazing, nit-picking and cloud-watching. Remembering takes effort. Remembering is work. Remembering technology (ex. The Notes) is very important. --- 11/1/2000
Psychology, memory, forgetting. --- How much you forget. How soon you forget it. Why you forget (causes). --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, memory, forgetting. --- I forget an average of 50% of the material I learn in any subject within one year without studying. --- 10/25/1994
Psychology, memory, forgetting. --- Ideal: forget nothing. Problems. Forgetting momentarily, especially in clutch situations, when you need it most, and when the stakes are high. Forgetting totally or completely important things about self, others, world, and relationships. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, memory, forgetting. --- If you forget faster than you learn at maximum effort then you are in sad shape (devolving). --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, memory, forgetting. --- Problem. Forgetting that something happened, how happened, why happened, what its significance was, why important, how important, how you felt and thought about it, what you want to do about it, what you should do. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, memory, forgetting. --- So we see, forgetting is as important as memory. For if we never forgot anything, it might overburden our minds? --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, memory, forgetting. --- States of forgetting. (1) Repression. (2) Depression. (3) Amnesia. --- 6/2/2004
Psychology, memory, forgetting. --- The price(s) we pay for forgetting. (1) Mistakes made. (2) Losses and failures incurred. (3) Ignorance. (4) Relearning time and energy. (5) Inefficiency: slow. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, memory, forgetting. --- Time heals all wounds. Is this a case of forgetting emotionally painful experiences? Is it thus healthy? Only if they have been resolved, i.e. you have achieved catharsis. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, memory, forgetting. --- To ignore (an attention phenomenon) something is an attempt to forget it. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, memory, forgetting. --- Variable forgetting. I'll never forget it vs. I just learned it and now can't remember it. Why do we forget somethings quicker than others? --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, memory, forgetting. --- We can speak of healthy forgetting and unhealthy forgetting. Unhealthy forgetting involves things like psychological repression. Also, forgetting important things is unhealthy. Healthy forgetting means, for example, forgetting unimportant things. To be unable to forget unimportant things leads to problems like OCD. --- 3/11/2007