Reflection 1: What can the brain teach us about memory?- Dr. Elissa Aminoff

Our brains are constantly lying to us. I knew that memory could be very unreliable but what I did not know was that there was a reason for that. Dr. Aminoff’s presentation made me realize the true complexities and reasoning behind what memory actually is like. The neurons in the hippocampus that fire when a certain memory association happens. What I came to appreciate which once used to really bother me is learning about how the brain forgets things in order for us to be able to function. I used to find photographic memory so cool and almost like a superpower. I now know that it is a curse for those who have it, it makes it difficult for individuals to be able to function.

So many things go into memory and can affect the way we recall events like bias, sleep amount, health and there are even different types of memory like spatial, episodic, and explicit. All of these things make us who we are and our memories, as flawed as they may be make us better people.