For subscribers
Why we are built to be forgetful
It is not necessarily a sign of mental impairment.
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All these forms of forgetting help our brain function efficiently and have supported our survival over many generations.
PHOTO: PEXELS
Sven Vanneste and Elva Arulchelvan
Forgetting is part of our daily lives. You may walk into a room only to forget why you went in there – or perhaps someone says hi on the street, and you can’t remember their name.
But why do we forget things? Is it simply a sign of memory impairment, or are there benefits?
