Memory can be a frustrating thing, as I often struggle to find the answers that I know I have somewhere in my head. The more frustrating thing is that even if I have a clear memory of something, that memory might not be accurate. More specifically, the clarity of your memory doesn’t mean that it’s accurate. The event that you remember from 20 years ago “like it was yesterday” may have been nothing like what your memory is telling you.
There have been a number of studies over the years to prove it, like this study on memories of 9/11. I remember hearing a podcast related to a while ago, and (if memory serves…) some of the stories went like this:
- Asked during the days immediately after 9/11: Where were you when you heard about the attack? “At my friends house, getting ready for work.“
- Asked again two years later: Where were you when you heard about the attack? “In my car on the way to work.”
- When pressed for clarity on why the story changed, they insisted “I know I was in my car on the way to work, I don’t know why I would have told you that I was at my friend’s house“.
From an outsider’s perspective, it’s clear that they were at their friend’s house, but hearing stories and reports and other things over the years caused their memory to shift. It’s not their fault, and the memory of being in the car was likely very clear in their mind, but it was simply wrong.
Save Brian Williams
Another great example of this was with Brian Williams and his inaccurate story of being on an aircraft in Iraq that was under attack. Perhaps he made up the story to try to look good, but Malcolm Gladwell lays out a compelling argument in this podcast episode that Williams was telling the truth as he knew it, and his memory was simply lying to him about what happened.
It’s a humbling thing to think about. We all have memories from years gone by, and sometimes we’ll be chatting with a friend that has a different recollection of the day. How could they? “My memory of that day is super clear“. Maybe you’re right, maybe you’re wrong, but without a literal recording of the day to review you’ll never know.
Enjoy your memories, but don’t always trust them.
