Forgetting isn't a failure of memory. It edits the memory archive. Forgetting is integral in shaping us.

Emotion is an highlighter of memory. Strong emotion help us remember, but negative memories can trap us.

Neuroscience is starting to reveal that there is an active forgetting process.

“I am more forgetful these days. Is this normal for old age or am I getting dementia?“

“I am more forgetful these days. Is this normal for old age or am I getting dementia?“

I started my last post with this question and reflected on how attention intersects with our memory. We first need attention to record an event or fact into our memory.

Today, I want to focus on another aspect of this question. Assuming that we did in fact record the memory, what makes us forget it?

Neuroscience has focused on the study of memory in detail over the last decades, but studies on “forgetting,” its counterpart, are a bit lagging. Case in point: A PubMed search on “memory” (June 17, 2026) returned more than 460,000 articles, whereas “forgetting” resulted in 16,000, about 3.5 percent.

But understanding the mechanisms of forgetting may be just as important as understanding memory itself.

One of the more fundamental advances in understanding memory is that our memory is a dynamic phenomenon. We may even call it a reconstruction by our brain, rather than a passive recording of events.

This shift in perspective allows us, in turn, to understand that “forgetting” can also serve a purpose.

Forgetting isn't a failure of memory; it's a consequence of processes that allow our brains to prioritize information that helps us navigate and make sense of the world.

Imagine remembering every........

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