Neuroscientists Say Your Forgetfulness Is A Sign Of Extraordinary Intelligence
Tuesday, March 5, 2019 IST
How often you find yourself forgetting things? Whether it is the date of a friend`s birthday, the name of someone from the past, or a word you want to use. This might have felt troublesome and uncooperative. But, you can get relax now as according to recent studies, forgetfulness is a sign of higher intelligence.
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Some people`s brain is more capable at remembering, others` is capable in other sectors, whether it is music, mathematics, or other. These people have a great memory as nature has provided them with an efficient brain.
But, as humans it isn`t always possible to memorize every tiny detail, apart from that it is also difficult to remember things you learned in school, particularly for a long time period.
You might wonder why such things happen and why minor brain lapses occur in the first place, but this is completely normal as researchers Paul Frankland and Blake Richards from the University of Toronto have discovered that old memories in the brain are “overwritten” by new memories. It is even more difficult for us to remember the old impressions, or forget them entirely.
According to the research, just because a person has a better memory, it doesn’t mean that the person is highly intelligent. In fact, the study discovered that the opposite appears to be correct. There are people who memorize all details in their heads, which is useful, but it is even more useful and healthier to remember a larger scale of everything and forget tiny facts.
“It’s important that the brain forgets irrelevant details and instead focuses on the things that will help you make decisions in the real world,” Richards explained in an interview with CNN.
There is a mechanism is the brain called hippocampus that stores memories in our minds. But, it will delete the less important memories in our heads in order to focus on what really is important. This mechanism helps us to make better and wiser decisions.
When the brain is overwhelmed with unimportant memories or too many of them, it will lead to mind conflicts and prevent us from making good decisions. For instance, a brain with too many memories can be indecisive as it accounts for too many variables.
“We know that sport increases the number of neurons in the hippocampus,” said Richards. “It’s these very details from your life that are not important, and maybe keep you from making good decisions.”
It is far more acceptable sometimes to forget small details as you can now easily look up at any fact you need at any time.
But, do you find yourself forgetting large segments of important information? If yes, there might be a more serious issue and it is critical to get help from a medical practitioner. Otherwise, it is absolutely fine to forget minor details. Therefore, there is no need to feel stupid when you cannot remember because it means that your mind is working properly!
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