“The true art of memory is the art of attention.”
— Samuel Johnson
Memory is not a record of the past, it’s a resource for acting in the present. You remember in order to know what to do or not to do, not for nostalgic purposes.
For the smartest beings in the universe, we certainly don’t see, hear, or remember much. There have been savants who remember everything, and their brains appear no different than ours. We could remember so much more, but we don’t. And the reason we don’t is because it would be a waste of resources. The question we might ask, given the incredible things our brains are capable of, is why aren’t we doing more with it?
Amnesia
Recall
Trauma and Significance
Regression
Memory, amnesia, and your self (podcast)