The Downside of 100% Memory

A Wisconsin man is making headlines for his extraordinary memory. He can remember what he did and what world events occurred on any given date of his life. Scientists are interested in studying his brain to better understand how memory works and maybe even help the memory-challenged among us.

The first thing that everybody thinks when they hear this is how cool it would be to be able to remember that much. In school, as long as you studied, tests would be a snap. You could make a ton of money on Jeopardy! or at spelling bees.

But on second thought, think of how terrible it would be to remember everything. Everybody experiences something that they’d much rather forget (people doing mean things to you, you doing mean things to others, etc.). Our forgetfulness allows us to put those terrible experiences out of our minds. It allows to get along with those who have offended us. It allows us to look back on the past, which really had a lot of negative points, with fondness.

So, if the option ever comes along to get 100 percent of my memory restored, sorry. I’ll pass. I’d rather take my chances with limited memory.

Tags: headlines humor memory man

Marcus Varner is an expert on education and careers, having covered these topics since 2007 on ClassesandCareers.com. He enjoys reading, watching movies, writing, designing, and working on his sites, Content Gladiator.com and TopYoungAdultBooks.com.