The human capacity to forget is not merely a failure of memory but a fundamental adaptive mechanism. Memory suppression and intentional forgetting involve the active inhibition of unwanted or ...

Memory researcher Dr. Scott Small would like to reassure you that you’re not losing your wits. Visit him in his lab at Columbia University’s Medical Center, tell him how the last time you went to a ...

Don't sweat forgetting names; it's normal! Your brain prioritizes what's important, and names often lack context, making them ...

Social learning is typically thought to be most beneficial when the environments in which individuals live change quite slowly – they can safely learn tried and tested information from one another and ...

For most people, it would be hard to imagine a life in which the mind did not routinely discard once-remembered details—from temporarily memorized facts and figures to the characteristics of people ...

Dr. Small is the director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at Columbia University and the author of the book “Forgetting: The Benefits of Not Remembering.” This article is part of Times ...

You meet someone new, they introduce themselves, and thirty seconds later you’ve completely forgotten their name. You feel embarrassed, maybe a bit stupid. The truth is more interesting. Forgetting ...

Everyone forgets something sometime so I don't believe forgetting where I left my glasses or not remembering an item I wanted at the store has anything to do with age. My grandchildren forget more ...

Are you creative? Of course you are, says social entrepreneur Anne Basting, who for three decades has unleashed innate creativity in seniors, their families and caregivers, and nursing home staff.