How Your Memory Works

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How does memory work? And how does… un-memory work? Our brain does a lot of remembering and forgetting every day, so you should probably make room for som info on how it works. You’ll also get to meet some people who can’t make memories, and also never forget anything.
References: bit.ly/2rdFW0O
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It’s Okay To Be Smart is hosted by Joe Hanson, Ph.D.
Director: Joe Nicolosi
Writer: Maria Ter-Mikaelian
Creative Director: David Schulte
Editor/animator: Karl Boettcher and Derek Borsheim
Producers: Stephanie Noone and Amanda Fox
Produced by PBS Digital Studios
Music via APM
Stock images from Shutterstock www.shutterstoc...

[@besmart]

Don't forget to remember… to subscribe and share! Leave us a comment and let us know what you thought of this week's video! Got any cool science questions we should check out next?

[@kxxlzr]

It's Okay To Be Smart first

[@Phantom_35]

What is an addiction?

[@senzubean1358]

Have you already done a video on sleep paralysis and strange conditions?? Cool vid btw.

[@Phantom_35]

Never mind my one this would be a cool vid I think

[@Phantom_35]

Gah, you beat me

[@repmel]

Passive Oblivesence. There! I didn't forget it! Take that Joe!

[@salacommander2674]

SciGeoHistory Now I won't forget it either 😂

[@Somkent]

I couldn't remember the passive part. So I could remember 50% or it.:)

[@BikeHelmetMk2]

I had forgotten it until he mentioned it. He annoyed my subconscious enough with that taunt... 6 or 7 seconds later I had it. xP

[@LucDutra92]

Didn't forget what?

[@jangwan]

It's *oblivescence U didn't remembered it properly 😂

[@snow.flower]

My boyfriend had a teacher in high school who never forgot anything. You can literally give her an exact date and she will tell you exactly what she did that day, to the tee. She remembers all of her students name, even from the very beginning of her teaching days. She also once started crying randomly during class because she can't forget about her daughter's death. It's a gift and a curse :( i wrote this before the video talked about it omg

[@vincentconti-jb3hd]

It is a curse. I have too good a memory.

[@jacesarmiento07]

i bet my college professors and faculties does not remember me. not any single one of 'em. 😂

[@Gaming-pharaoh]

What happened to all of the other replies? There can have only been 2 over the course of 5 years. Both of which have been made in this year

[@legendswillfall805]

they didnt comment duh lol@@Gaming-pharaoh

[@HaiNguyen-k1k6o]

She probably wrote it down somewhere to remember it

[@MagicMaster667]

Yeah, man. Memory is cool. When I explain it to people I explain it like 'a path in the forest', you walk along it multiple times and it becomes wider and more clear. Some of those memory-lanes in the brain are the width of high-lanes, since they've been in such constant use. But if you walk along a path once in that forest, and "forget about it", the path that leads to the thought you thought is gone. It fades away, passively. A great way for something to be easily remembered is thinking about it over, and over, and over again. More times than you'd think neccesary. Also, Déja vù fits in somewhere in there. - Stay Curious.

[@besmart]

This is a great way to explain it!

[@MagicMaster667]

Thanks. Though, I just explained it in the same way my favorite Tv show growing up did.

[@heatherbryant4197]

Neuroscientists have an expression: "Neurons that fire together wire together." Same principle. Through repeated use of the same neurons in the same sequence, whatever action was performed (whether it be recalling a memory, signing your name, parallel parking, or using a drug), it's like wearing down a path in a field gradually over time through repeatedly walking the same way. The connection between those particular neurons strengthens, making it much easier to repeat that action in the future. Much like a field becomes easier to walk through when there's a clearing in the grass. Our brains love to find ways of becoming more efficient. So when you repeat the same action over and over again, you brain figures, "This must be important! I will need to know how to do this again in the future!" The neural pathway strengthens, and the action can eventually become habitual. This is part of why addiction involves the hippocampus. Ever noticed that very negative people seem to be habitually unhappy and can't seem to learn to stop complaining? Part of this is because the negative thought patterns have become hard-wired into their brain. It's also because being chronically stressed out results in lots of cortisol exposure, including to memory-forming cells in the hippocampus, which die after long-term exposure to cortisol. This is perhaps a defense mechanism our brains have developed to prevent us from remembering traumatic events, but when a person has unhealthy habits of negative thinking, it tends to backfire, because the cortisol kills hippocampal cells, which causes them to not remember, which results in even more stress over not being able to remember or develop new positive/healthy habits and continued negativity, which results in more cortisol, which results in more cell death, and it continues in a snowball effect until eventually the person becomes stuck in their ways. I wonder if "can't teach an old dog new tricks" has anything to do with the hippocampus degrading over time.

[@Т1000-м1и]

The way that seems to work for me is to repeat alot of times (3-4 minutes maybe) and then focus on something else while repeating a few times every few minutes

[@SanthoshFabre]

But which part of the brain remembers it is a already used Neuron right?

[@okboing]

My deepest, darkest fear, short of drowning or suffocating, is forgetting. I already have poor short-term memory, and I'm deeply upset by how much I don't remember from early childhood. In one way, I hold childhood memories close to my heart, but at the same time, it hurts to stop remembering them and step back into stressful reality.

[@tracesprite6078]

You may be able to access some memories via smells. The smell of freshly baked bread, a cooked cake, mown grass or a cup of coffee might bring back some memories for you. A newly opened tin of paint, an oily rag, might do the same. And some sounds e.g. an old fashioned sewing machine or a gramophone record. A visit to a museum might trigger some memories. Sitting on a verandah or making a bed with freshly washed sheets might be evocative. And some old songs also.

[@bobikoart]

Everywhere At The End Of Time

[@GalacticHero2068]

I only remember stuff from when I was 10 years old, before that I can't remember anything. But I really don't care, there's nothing important in my past, no reason to remember it.

[@k_hole-r8f]

When I was babysitting recently, I tried to remember the nursery rhymes my mother sang to me as a child. It brought back some very old memories and a nostalgic feeling that almost brought a tear to my eye. It was unexpected. I also have a fear forgetting and loss of mental functions in general. I hope we have breakthroughs in medicine to help with it.

[@abowlofnoodle]

try writing diary! I have been writing diary since I was in middle school. Everytime I read my diaries, my past self tells my present self what happened on her day! I have been suprised by my past self many times

[@NewMessage]

That mouse needs serious therapy..

[@2nd3rd1st]

That mouse was killed after the scientists were done cutting its skull open.

[@sebastianelytron8450]

Thought I was listening to Colbert in a different voice when I saw this comment😂

[@adolfodef]

. _"No cartoon mouse was hurt in the production of this animation"_

[@dustierwand]

purely psychosomatic

[@Blake4014]

That mouse met leviathan! And survived! lol

[@sofieselene]

As somebody with a CS degree, the way memories work strongly reminds me of the way index tables function for RAM, databases, and hard storage. Rather than actually contain the data, it contains the *location* of that data.

[@fatelfelony3110]

so true

[@ghostkamba8106]

Tell me more... ur pov about brain n memory in cs related terms. How it connects

[@stefan7848]

If we forget embarrassing moments, we would do them again

[@rocketmanfossel1174]

we regret them because we remember them and their intensity. if we can forget them, it doesn't matter if we do them again or not. Because other people don't remember my embarrassing moments in school just like i don't remember theirs. when a student gets yelled at, he keeps remembering it but if i see him getting yelled at i will be paying attention for a moment but i will forget the intensity of that moment an hour later

[@3bodYking99]

@@rocketmanfossel1174 ok? That doesn't change or add to what he said, what they meant is that, as they say "history is set to repeat itself", that saying is about people not studying history as they should, and repeating the mistakes of their predecessors, that's why history exists, to learn what the people of the past have made and improve on it, and to avoid their mistakes, the same way goes with memory, everything we do is what shapes us, and that's because as he said in the video, forgetting isn't losing a memory, it's the memoys become less frequent, and fading slowly, usually never completely fading, but connecting to other memories, and if we forget what we regret, we don't learn from it, that's why most stuff that we regret don't fade like most stuff we encounter everyday, because these stuff are linked to most stuff we do later in. Since we are actively trying to avoid doing it again

[@klefromyoutube9953]

there are benifits of losing, you get to learn your mistakes

[@ahhwe-any7434]

I remember the dumbest sh too. Sometimes I wonder if other ppl do. Its ok, bc I remember too tho..

[@vincentconti-jb3hd]

Nice. I have a few that I would like to forget!

[@tonycoronado5844]

"You'll probably forget Passive Oblivescence" Me, a neuroscience major student: you're probably right

[@RaindropsBleeding]

"How would it be if you never forgot anything?" I know a friend like this and hers is a horror story. Sexually and physically abused as a child, enduring domestic abuse as she got older, and leading several fire rescue teams into danger in her early 20s, sending one team to their death. And she remembers all of it. The poor girl has total memory recall. Most people see it when she explains to them how much of their house is still standing, or when she helps friends find things they've misplaced. But she also remembers the abuse, the trauma, and the horrors she saw in the fire, all in excruciating detail. And she can't forget any of it. How she's still sane is beyond me. Forgetting things is important.

[@hittingyouoverthehead]

But to be fair, abuse is the kind of thing that anyone would remember, whether or not you have a superior memory like your friend. You may forget a random bullying incident that you went through but the big stuff sticks. I do feel really bad for your friend though. All those memories must have really messed her up.

[@ahhwe-any7434]

@@hittingyouoverthehead I remember things. Idk how it is for others going through trauma but I remember. I mean,, i know.. i know what the drs say about some. I am not those some. I remember details too. Idfk whats wrong w/ me but I guess im flighty. Im trying to be clever w/ my brilliant psychological words. Idk how I ended up such a well rounded person either 🥴. Survive or don't. Someone had to care about me. And it sure as hell wasn't others. Well, others couldve. It just a shameful thing. So, I just moved on. . I raised myself w/ out ever having a real clue about life. I didn't even know how to pay bills through the mail, bank accounts, nada. But in my defense my younger yrs were back when. And yeah. So, I raised myself

[@abhay4147]

@@hittingyouoverthehead I understand what you're saying, but the scenario for people with Hyperthymesia is worse. Nobody forgets trauma, but those people remember it in vivid detail. From the info I have gathered, they can see it like a video being replayed to them, covering every second. It's really a curse

[@cobalius]

Dunno, i have a very good intuition / imagination in a way that i can daydream hyper realistically. I don't know if that's normal, but sometimes i'll see complex scenarios like multiple growing crystals, water with its dozens of reflections and shadows or microscopic textures that are built like a randomized maze while there're several or even moving light sources and then i can rotate those things and see where and how shadows might change. Yeah and it's definitely a daydream thingy, because it's clearly imposssible to simultaniously see a generic tree several from feet away and feel their specific bark texture on my tongue.

[@johnmcguire4422]

Well, was she leading teams or sending teams? Story sounds sketchy to me.

[@bridge4]

You and your team are a godsend, for lack of better words. Great video as always :))

[@williamgustavk2184]

come on dude, 21st century, god is a myth

[@savagebot8724]

@@williamgustavk2184 he wrote it on 2019

[@williamgustavk2184]

​@@savagebot8724 doesnt matter, crazy ppl are everywhere, if no one says nothing this will never change the only place where "god" or "gods" are needed, is in places with war, high poverty, and death, soooo why european countries arent more atheist? cuz the parents inherit the religion/mythology, making the kids ignorants there are 4200 religions and 30.000 gods only 14% of the world is atheist the only god is the milky way in a way the big bang is a father god but thats a theory, not a law sooo until, is just the milky way have u saw those stupid parents making their kids to pray over the table?, FOR THE FOOD? when the parents are the ones who, work, earn money and buy the food................................... or catholic schools WHY THE F ARE THOSE STILL LEGAL? cuz no one cares(tolerant atheist ppl) or are busy doing crazy things like talking to the sky, when the only thing alive up there that we know off is the ISS nothing else there are 300 million habitable planets, the aliens will never come to do an apocalypse end of the world in 2012? my ballls tell to those in 2012 who jumped from a building, good job being ignorant, THOSE WERE ADULTS, F ADULTS, not kids www.livescience.com/14295-failed-doomsday-rapture-suicides.html here learn something kzbin.info/www/bejne/hIKXdIitbreWq6M

[@G0lden07]

@@williamgustavk2184 I kinda agree with almost everything you said except when you said big bang is just a theory. A scientific theory is not a guess. That's what a hypothesis is. In science a theory is an idea backed by evidence or other proven ideas or even mathematical laws. Oh and BTW a law is nothing like a theory. A theory is actually worth much more than a law. A law is just a thing that happens. Usually laws come as mathematical laws which are used to calculate something and sometimes they come as a true thing that's always the case like conservation of energy or entropy. So big bang won't become a law since a law is nothing like a theory and has nothing to do with the big bang. And big bang has evidence by the way so big bang is true.

[@dacioana881]

@@williamgustavk2184 god is real

[@カバルナハンナミツチ]

The animation is great.

[@TommoCarroll]

It really is, which was your favourite bit?

[@moonontheman1103]

Aspect Science the note-snipping part

[@JishnuWarrierA]

I was thinking the same, the amount of hardwork on that. wonder who did it

[@anak_kucing101]

I like too.

[@NetherTaker]

Just a question, what does kabarunahannamitsuchi mean?

[@darklion13]

From my knowledge, the brain has two indicators to know the importance of a memory 1. emotional value 2. usefulness Emotional value is, for example, that time when you ran away from a bear. The memory is frightening and holds great importance, or that time you found some sweat food and felt happy, as such remembered it. Usefulness is, for example, remembering how to make food because you have done it every day; repetition is the key. If you want to forget something, you should detach the emotional value from it. Usually, the best way to do this is to accept it. Imagine a kid. You don't want him to play with a specific toy. If you play with the toy all the time, he will want it. If you try to avoid it entirely, he will also want it. But if you don't give any special treatment to the toy, he will act the same.

[@alovesyou777]

Emotional value can be categorised into explicit memory - things you consciously think about. These are episodic and declarative (important emotional experiences) and usefulness is a biological function to keep us living, which is implicit or unconsciously thought about memory, such as semantic (facts and info) and procedural (how to do things). There are many sub genres into why we keep memories. To forget a memory is also to stop practicing it, stop re-consolidating. You sound like you've done a psych degree!

[@slimkt]

I need to master motivated forgetting, man. Too many negative memories keep me up at night.

[@mariejeandeslet1301]

slimkt just let it go life will be better trust me

[@evanro2396]

Same

[@PerceptionVsReality333]

+slimkt Same here

[@mariejeandeslet1301]

Bing Bong yes i am actually thx for noticing :p

[@sam08g16]

Recurring negative thoughts, mainly when they exaggerate the actual past experience - i.e. it was not a big deal but in our minds we keep blaming ourselves for that - is one of the symptoms of Social Anxiety Disorder. I did not know why I had these thoughts until someone diagnosed me with it. From that day on, every time I had a negative memory I just thought "eh, it's just part of my disease" and the thoughts started to vanish. Worked for me.

[@katkaat]

I was looking at my grandma's HS yearbook from 1946, and I said one name outloud and she described him perfectly, without looking at the book. It's pretty amazing.

[@lukejreid]

I have had over 40 treatments of ECT and I’ve lost heaps of memories, some bad, some good. I only realise it when my family fill in the blanks. It is very weird.

[@wholeNwon]

Hopefully you've benefited from the treatment. I've known 2 people who have had it done. One was my aunt and she improved only marginally. The second was a man whose life was completely changed for the best. He was so grateful to his doctor!

[@lukejreid]

wholeNwon ECT really helped me. I had such bad depression that I wasn’t responding to medication or therapy. ECT was the only thing that worked.

[@professorbaxtercarelessdre1075]

it sounds scary. i wouldn't say i have severe depression, more like extreme dissatisfaction lol. i wouldn't think getting shocked would help enough where the benefits outweigh the risks or even consequences

[@alansun70]

There's a so weird episode called memory. Cara Deliza starred in 40 episodes of this show.

[@christophergroom9153]

This guy seems like the popular smart kid from high school. Love him!

[@josephnicolosi6615]

great video, only complaint is that it should have been titled 'fuhgeddaboudit!'

[@tnttiger3079]

Also, they referred to Holmes as if he were a real guy lol

[@christianheichel]

Wait! What was that?

[@leuvinaful]

I read this with the appropriate hand gestures

[@prisssss]

Joseph Nicolosi HAHAHAHAHA

[@wolfstar420]

@@christianheichel it means forget about it

[@Notgivenit]

I’ve undergone ECT, you don’t lose old memories, those all stay intact. You loose short term memory stuff. Like I never forgot old memories, but I have no memory of the two months I was undergoing treatment.

[@kalinapto5730]

I'm bipolar and three years ago, while being hospitalised, I had 12 sessions of electroconvulsive therapy. It took six weeks. Normally I have amazing memory, so partial memory loss was very weird for me. I lost most of memories from couple of months before hospital and for these six weeks I almost had no short-term memory at all! Friends took me to the movies couple of times but then even seing posters of these movies didn't ring a bell for me. These memories didn't come back, because twice a week I forgot last couple of days. I know it sounds scary, but after therapy remembering went back to normal and conjoined with proper medicines I felt a lot better. Stay curious! ;)

[@Billaxle]

"That painful embarrassing memory from high school." *GEE, THANKS JOE! IMMA GO TAKE MY MEDS NOW!*

[@tornadodee148]

oh my gosh ACTUALLY THANK YOU to make me remember to take my meds!! XD

[@kiyominyo7521]

@@tornadodee148 LMAOOO

[@tornadodee148]

@@kiyominyo7521 yeah that time I had forgotten to take my meds and @Billaxle reminded me. thanks bro. xD

[@tornadodee148]

@@kiyominyo7521 shoot how do you tag someone if its not @? xD

[@andreifilip6364]

Man, the production value of this vid is amazing.. editing, animation, writing.. great job, you guys!

[@karolinabielska489]

I absolutely love how the all the videos here are made: from the visual side to the presenter's voice and body language. Thank you and keep it up!

[@yakov9ify]

That mouse has some serious PTSD

[@christianheichel]

Poor mouse we should raise money for all future mice with PTSD in memory of that mouse.

[@Sentient-potato]

Chris Heichel do you know what ptsd is

[@Neon_Dragon18]

@@Sentient-potato I know what P.T.S.D means it means "People transmit sexual diseases" it is a tragic thing to happen to someone.

[@Sentient-potato]

Neon _Dragon18 is that a joke? Also I disagree with my comment from not even a week ago lol

[@Neon_Dragon18]

@@Sentient-potato Yeah it's obviously a joke because the comment that guy made was perfectly clear but it looks like he doesn't know what P.T.S.D means for some reason. Maybe the way he put it in the sentence.

[@sylarvandoza5388]

Doctor walks into his office and says to his patient “Bad news. You’ve got cancer, and also Alzheimer’s...” Old man replies “Well...at least I don’t have cancer!”

[@generalferret7129]

XD

[@Vader4499]

@winsley ocampo Alzehimer's syndrome is the disease where you forget stuff.The man forgot he had cancer

[@BuickGeek24]

@@Vader4499 And also affects the rest of the brain besides just memory

[@MerkhVision]

winsley ocampo I diagnose u with the big dumb. U must have a smooth brain to not comprehend the very simple joke lol

[@jiagengliu]

@@BuickGeek24 Hippocampus is the very first thing affected by Alzheimer's, so patients are similar to H.M. mentioned in the video: they can't form new memory.

[@Kanzu999]

4:05 "We have at least three different ways of forgetting. The first is what happens when a memory fades over time, so called passive oblivescence, a term you will probably forget." You just gotta love that humor.

[@mattmobilee]

Didn't remember until about halfway through that I had already watched this video about a year ago

[@Bastogne1944]

The Great Big Story uploaded an interview very recently of a woman who was able to retain all of her memory. I am unable to post the link because it won’t appear in the comment section but I highly recommend to give it a watch. Great video by the way Joe.

[@kaiserwigglesiii2369]

General S. Patton thanks patton

[@dragoncurveenthusiast]

Why can't you post the link? I've postet links many times before. And even if the whole link doesn't work, you could post the video ID at the end of the link. I'm not trying to troll, I genuinely want to know whether my link-posting ability is a super-power I wasn't aware of.

[@InHumanoXY]

Check out The Mind of a Mnemonist: A Little Book about a Vast Memory - Aleksandr R. Luria

[@Bastogne1944]

Dragon Curve Enthusiast I honestly have no idea why I was not able to post a link, it could have been a bug but that is just a hunch.

[@Bastogne1944]

InHumano XY Thanks for the reference.

[@hkia7893]

It always baffled me when I had vivid dream at night and the detail was so clear, only to forget like 15min after waking up

[@zeromailss]

That animation is awesome, the mouse looks like it has a Vietnam flashbacks 😂

[@shock789]

Why is that a joke

[@randomguy-jd8su]

XD

[@Shadow-gm1qy]

@@shock789 cos this is the Internet.

[@Kumorini]

@@shock789 Bc people think making jokes about serious situations is funny, especially on the internet where they can hide behind a screen

[@MichaelAutism]

I mean, these comments are givin me EATEOT Vibes, but... Could i just say that the mouse was at stage 5 of dementia?

[@fergilhannie4682]

Even though there are awkward and regretting memories, you should always embrace them and it is completely natural to forget things now and then

[@Whatishappening32]

I was abused as a little girl, and blocked like 90% of my memories from that time. Watching me talk about the things that happened to me in my therapy videos, is like watching another person. It's weird

[@SuviTuuliAllan]

I was abused and I don't know if I blocked out any memories but it does seem like things are missing. Or it could be that my memory is just kind of random. Of course all the stress and anxiety I've experienced has probably affected my ability to form memories. TBIs and that small complication during birth may have had an effect as well. I don't even know if I want to remember but I still think about it every now and then. Why does one torture one's self with things one cannot change?

[@kev1773]

I happen to love forgetting. I look forward to growing and moving forward. I know it’s my trauma response but, I do hold onto the good.

[@Chribit]

I do want to be able to control this though. I want to know and remember everything about science, i.e. all the formulas, the entire periodic table, every protein in any organism... obviously not any smell or sight I come across. But i'd like to be actively able to tell my brain "okay, this is important to me, remember this." This is why I'll probably get a brain-machine-interface as soon as possible.

[@comicsans6487]

Chribit Easier ways to do it, learn the method of loci

[@Chribit]

Comic Sans method of loci?

[@brokkoliomg6103]

Comic Sans I'm interested as well haha

[@comicsans6487]

Chribit google it or read the book moon walking with Einstein

[@FranciT98]

You just need to manually do what your brain does: try to recall it as many times as possible to strengthen the connections, and keep recalling those memories all the time... Also called studying.

[@killa_tracks]

I love how BeSmart uses amazing small details in this video! At 6:58 you can see that he used Michael Jackson's "Off The Wall" album cover which was exactly also released at that year, 1979. Keep up the good work!

[@mrwelshmun]

I had a conversation the other day about "motivated forgetting" someone asked me about a house I lived in before. A house I lived in for 6 years. And for as hard as I tried I couldn't remember much about it. All that I can remember is it was the time when my parents broke up and me and my whole family fell out. Other than that as hard as I tried I couldn't remember anyy specific details.

[@chapo335]

At a youngish age (being 12 years old) I got knocked over by a car, I was said to be dead... Well nine to ten weeks later when I awoke from a coma, even though I thought I was still the same boy I felt a little different being pushed everywhere in a wheel chair. I had lost the ability to move down my right side. Doctors said I was lucky to be alive, but from then on I would be living a life unlike the one I lived before. Understanding the Doctors (but not letting it settle) I wanted to be like my family & friend again. Having two parents whom were as eager as I was to get as close as I could at being 'Normal' again they took me all different places where I were told to move different and even told just to lay on a bed where I was put to sleep (healed) by others. Even though I can't move my right side as freely as a everyday human can I cope with life yet seem to remember allot of things that occurred in my life that other family members can't, yet my brain is injured for life.

[@jamesthomas9788]

I love how informative and yet accessible the videos on this channel are. They really help to bring a lot of what we know or learn down to an accessible level for those of us who don't spend years learning in these particular fields. Also, I find it amusing the mouse found itself in the maze from the Hellraiser movies ;)

[@pebblesandwoowoo]

I forced myself to forget a lot of painful memories and emotions I "cut them off"; it's an active habit but does have side effects. I struggle to remember new events, I have really bad aphasia, and I feel very emotionally disconnected and often empty - but I know it's a lot better than before, and I do have times of happiness. I am certainly more content with my life now but everything comes with a price. Actively forgetting and cuttimg off emotions is 100% possible.

[@KK-zw6bo]

What happens in the brain when people have photographic memories?

[@matt_swan]

Tyrese Okeke depends on the type of memories, I only know one and it's for personal memories: hyperthymesia

[@KK-zw6bo]

ApolloAwe okay good to know, thanks!

[@binky2819]

There is no such thing as photographic memory. It is a myth.

[@KK-zw6bo]

binky2819 but what about that guy who can draw things he remembers even if it is he first time he has seen it he can draw it just from memory?

[@Vyker]

Tyrese Okeke it's not actual. He's drawing from his memory which could be nothing like a photograph. His imagination will fill in all the gaps.

[@etownshawn]

Amazing how music can enhance a memory... but listening to that same song over & over again diminishes the effect. .. and yeah sometimes you need to forget- like trying to get over a crush ♥

[@vikhyatrao4472]

I forgot I even watched this video, youtube told me I watched it...

[@hollywan8082]

Thank you for explaining memory in a fun and easy way! I love the part at 4:16: "Passive oblivescence (a term you will probably forget)" p.s. trying to use motivated forgetting to forget a bad dream I had this morning

[@johnslugger]

The brain uses CANNABINOID receptors (Cannabis) to erase 98% of useless memory. YES the brain has it own "POT" factory to make "FORGETTING Chemicals". This is why POT kills SHORT TERM memory and why you should NOT smoke POT when in school or college OR YOU WILL FORGET most of it.

[@jmanj3917]

3:00 That mouse needs to learn how not to dwell on negative experiences...lol

[@locke_ytb]

My memory can forget so I can forget those times that I embarrassed myself.

[@trademarkt]

Lucky!

[@saarangkelkar1424]

The way you started the topic and then conclude it is simply speechless. I would love to know how you think like that to make videos like that

[@monstermushmush]

I thought this was Ted-Ed for the first 10 seconds of the video...

[@ispilloil]

I remember working at Subway a few years ago and I had a really bad day where this old guy came in and yelled at me about how our menu was confusing. About a year or two later, I realized I had completely forgotten about the event

[@deniser3467]

I’m not sure what age group this is targeted to but I’m 30 and I’m learning so much! I love how much information you give and the matching animations. I wish school was like this... or maybe it was but I forgot? 😅

[@EyeJustSleep]

When u think about it, some of the bad memories I want to keep because its a learning experience

[@professorbaxtercarelessdre1075]

i've found it isn't remembering something that's bad, its the feelings of pain and regret from remembering those things that i'd rather do without

[@Twillinsan]

This was an amazing explanation of the topic. Thank you! Its not always easy to explain and understand complex subjects but you did great!

[@friskylime]

Oh boy, making me take a trip down memory lane! That's okay though, I'm glad I can still remember so many things from my past.

[@geshtu1760]

8:18 "An *elementary* part of solving this great mystery we call life"

[@hittingyouoverthehead]

Everyone saw it. I was waiting for him to wink at the camera.

[@Song_In_Room]

the best channel ever seen for entertainment learning thank you

[@gupta-pw5xb]

I will never forget this........

[@gupta-pw5xb]

a person23675 that forgetting is needed.

[@Miaureum]

did u forget this?

[@NoirL.A.]

i'm 53 and so well remember life before the internet. though i know some is due to simple aging i know for a fact that because i have access to the internet i'm just plain cramming my head with too much info. from watching vids like this day in and day out and it is compromising my memory. not critically yet but it's happening no doubt.

[@iamnotahandle]

Nice Hellraiser 2 reference!!!

[@dannya8614]

Yeah, I was about to post a comment on that. Well spotted sir :)

[@jackalope2302]

Ditto

[@gone3281]

the person I most love can't forget anything I did wrong for the last 13 years, yet I only remember the things I love from her since the day I met her 😢

[@xtremer2642]

Spread the Gospel!

[@longliveplanetawesome3223]

I can barely remember what I talked about a minute ago. I am so forgetful. My parents are thinking of legally changing my name to "Forget". I'd probably forget that.

[@professorbaxtercarelessdre1075]

ditto friend, and i likely won't remember reading your comment, or replying to it, by the end of the week lol

[@1tsjaboisam973]

@@professorbaxtercarelessdre1075 do you remember

[@professorbaxtercarelessdre1075]

@@1tsjaboisam973 only thanks to it being in my youtube comments lol. i remember it existing once i see it. in a few years though i doubt i will

[@jangwan]

I remembered the passive part, but oblivescence is kind of new word for me so didn't quite remembered it completely😁

[@winnersneverquits2570]

🎈

[@skessisalive]

Oh man, things make so much sense now!! 🤯 🤯 Every moment of my life is a traumatic event and there are so many people telling me so much useless information every day, so I experience targeted forgetting and motivated forgetting every night while I sleep and that’s why I wake up every morning taking so long to remember who and where I am and everything else about existence.. 😅

[@mrwelshmun]

Also I had an idea watching this video. The part where 2 memories that were similar became scrambled. Maybe, when you have a similar corresponding situation of sights, smells and sounds and you think you remember this, maybe that explains the "de ja vu" experience?? Thoughts?

[@poisenouspuppy3822]

I feel like perfect memory is portrayed as a couple things, remembering everything, being able to remember any experience from any sense, even the things are brain ignores, remembering the background stuff your brain is aware of but ignores cause you aren't focused on it, being able to remember the emotions, be able to remember the inner nobologue at the time, perfect recall, and weirdly also being able to to consciously be aware of all of that stuff even while your in the present. This means you have are aware of all of your past even while being aware of the present.

[@noaccount8957]

Wow this is so cool!!!

[@naqiyahmulachelah5668]

Let me tell you a personal story. I watched this about a year ago. Today, i read a book that mentioned abt how brain works, i got confused. So i watched several TED videos, but I only got more confused head. So i get back here and everything becomes clear. I'm not saying that your channel is better than TED, Joe. I'm just saying i like how you explain things and how informatively you pack the informations. I'm forever thanking you for your great job.

[@zkennedy5671]

Both channels are the same thing. @It'sOkayToBeSmart, is more "easier" to understand the concept, 'cause you have animation.

[@fingernailclipper2152]

Last time I was this early, H.M. could still make experiences memories

[@naxel37]

If only I could remember to stop forgetting to remember things!

[@adityanagarkar4326]

listen to "remind me to forget" by kygo for motivational forgetting

[@litost]

wow! thank you, I've looking for this for a long time. a better understanding of what's an idea. i'm dazzle by the fact this really looks like a simulation. like we have an image or an idea of something but they're just pieces, just like our cellphones, just light, electricity, and the right amount of red, green and blue.

[@lettuce1626]

Oh shoot, I've been living my whole life remembering random trivia, my attic can barely fit anything

[@ikhlasulkamal5245]

For people who have perfect memory, do you remember the sense of regret when remembering something that you regret in the past? if you do, can you do that in several iterations like month 1 you did something stupid, month 2 you remember that thing, month 3 you remember remembering the thing in month 2, and so on

[@Disitha.Perera]

Passive Oblivescense - Happens because of the connections between brain cells gradually weaken overtime or when the memory is still there but loses the triggers. (Sights, sounds, etc.) Targeted forgetting - Happens when we sleep. In certain stages of sleep, we prune the connections between the cells and erase unneeded memory circuits. Motivated forgetting

[@eeveefennecfox]

memories are weird though,like sometimes I can't remember what I did yesterday or even last week or a few months ago

[@professorbaxtercarelessdre1075]

i don't remember anything lol, especially conversations i've had or people's faces

[@royalfelineandtracygrant]

My brain is lazy. It throws anything it wants away without checking if it’s important. I’ve literally forgotten what I was about to say so many times within milliseconds. *sigh

[@AFloridaSon]

I had to come back to this 3 years later, because I couldn't remember why we forget. 🤔😆

[@maartjevijn7040]

Cool Vid!! Really liked the braincells background that cept expanding!

[@jujuoof174]

I love this so much, I learn lots of things every video!

[@blackparadoxx9656]

He who forgets, will be destined to remember. Nothingman - PJ

[@landongall2080]

This channel takes the cake.

[@Shilag]

Three elephants? THREE elephants?! How DARE you!

[@Mr_pumpkin_]

Shilag I was saying the same!!!! It's four elephant's!!!

[@motazfawzi2504]

5:00 But they are 5

[@christianheichel]

Oh, he dared!

[@Anonymous-kn6oq]

calm down greta

[@voltovsky3856]

@@Anonymous-kn6oq one year ago

[@musickfreak]

I dreamed last night about a guy from high school, someone I was never friends with and haven't talked to since, but in the dream I remembered his face and name. I pulled out a yearbook to confirm it this morning. Memory is very strange indeed.

[@ahhwe-any7434]

I remember having a dream that I was playing w/ a black baby boy. And that was about a week ago. Have no clue where that came from. 🤔🤷🏻‍♀️ but at least he was a sweet giggly baby

[@BoSinnfan54]

How do i activate my memory? My memory only activates when there are no exams.

[@주명화-w3c]

Gladly to say, forgetfulness can be another bliss in the light of sweeping away bad memories of the past. Like baptism by pouring holy water upon your head, casting spell, you gonna make yourself sleeping beauty in abandoned forest. The only risk about this is some intruder stepping over the border into your castle and Demolishing all the legacy that should be preserved in your awakening. But those who have no good memories can live like the ignorant. People would say, ignorance is also a type of bliss. So there are two bliss in the world, forgetfulness and ignorance. I must be blessed, thank God!! I have no idea nor no thinking process going on with me.

[@SciWise]

Memory works by 're-igniting' a network of neurons which have recorded the various aspects of the memory. It's interesting to see how emotion helps strengthen memories, and how things interesting to a particular individual are remembered more!

[@johnslugger]

The brain uses CANNABINOID receptors (Cannabis) to erase 98% of useless memory. YES the brain has it own "POT" factory to make "FORGETTING Chemicals". This is why POT kills SHORT TERM memory and why you should NOT smoke POT when in school or college OR YOU WILL FORGET most of it.

[@ninakochan7]

This was fascinating to me because I have PTSD and I seem to remember almost everything, but I get easily overwhelmed and always need some alone time to cope and center myself.🤔 Everything new I learn is a bit much sometimes 😅

[@paulcastillo1880]

When I remember how something tastes, I can still taste it....

[@sophierender5736]

Well for someone with short term memory problems (like Dory lol) my memory tends to forget important things so I have to write it down, yet it sometimes remembers useless information instead of important information 😂 why brain why! Loving your videos by the way they’re so interesting and informative!

[@averagebidetuser6228]

Imagine mastering motivated forgetting and having perfect memory

[@stompsandsynths]

Loving the Hellraiser II reference there!

[@fabiofdez]

4:35 what's that memory!

[@Carbon2861996]

Just a legless tapir worshipped by slime puppies.

[@ktzach11]

It's perplexing how he can say how we don't know exactly how a lot of this works but in the same breath he can say there's only 3 ways of forgetting. If we don't know for sure then we can't confidently make statements like there's only 3 ways of forgetting.

[@opiegal101]

Me hearing the words "Sherlock Holmes" waiting for him to bring up House M.D.: he's not gonna bring up House *House M.D. gets mentioned* Me: :0

[@Aisha-XDDD]

I have a diary that I've been writing from 2013 in which I'm briefly writing only the good and fruitful memories of my life.. So that i can rewind those and forcefully forget the bad ones😇

[@rfldss89]

1:26 oh no, your gills are showing. I hope I'll be able to erase this image from my brain soon

[@glennso47]

Sometimes memories don’t work. I often forget to remember. Other times I remember to forget.

[@Shacogami]

Passive Obliblasdance? IDK I forgot

[@John_C_J]

Passive Obliviation.

[@Vader4499]

@@John_C_J you forgot

[@AmericaFromScratch]

That mouse sure looked tasty! -Scratchy The Eagle

[@besmart]

Keep your talons to yourself!

[@Chanhee]

America From Scratch rip mouse

[@AmericaFromScratch]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/pmXJmmeGlsiCl9E

[@mohammedsanogo3627]

6:59 ayyy that’s the *Off the Wall* album cover by Michael Jackson

[@sqweed653]

The earth is carried by 4 elephants not 3... I thought you were smart

[@kritikitti3868]

What holds the elephants up?

[@jessicasoderberg5953]

The giant turtle swimming through the universe, of course

[@SSS20025]

but what holds the universe then🤔

[@sreenath834]

Yup 3 elephants wont b stable only 4 elephants can b stable enough to support earth's mass.

[@ks.doherty]

@@SSS20025 wats that

[@jameseddy6835]

Absolutely amazing video. Hope I can remember it. Please keep up the great work.