Forgetting is Forgiven

For my fifth grade science project, I attempted to prove the grade-school girl mantra: Girls rule, boys drool. How? A battle of short-term memories.

After actually going to the library (gasp!) and checking out several books on short-term memory, I devised a test to score my classmates’ memories. The exam consisted of several exercises which tested their ability to recall long numbers, pictures and other random information shown to them briefly. All in all, this was a step-up from the previous years’ science project: Which brand of popcorn pops the most kernels? I ate a lot of popcorn that year. And for those wondering, Orville Redenbacher is your man.

Despite my scientific aspirations, the project didn’t win any awards (My best friend, however, won first place. She tested which brand of nail polish stayed on her fingers the longest without chipping—riveting). I don’t remember my specific results, although instinct and 21 years of interaction with boys lead me to believe that girls won.

Regardless, an article in the October issue of the American Scientist suggests that the winners of my fifth grade project might actually be the losers. According to two recent studies, forgetting is a good thing.

First—forgetting conserves energy. A study of students at Sanford showed that students who forgot irrelevant facts needed less effort to remember information that actually mattered. Efficient or just lazy?

Second—forgetting improves short-term memory of important details. For this finding, researchers impaired the long-term memory of mice and tossed them in a maze (If PETA only knew). They found that mice with weakened long-term memory had exceptional short-term memory and better chances of finding their way out of the maze. When one type of memory shut down, the other excelled.

In humans, the article equated this concept to forgetting someone’s name. Blanking on this long-term memory fact simply makes room for a more vital short-term memory fact, like where you left your car keys. This is great, unless maybe you’re on a date. Wait—I take that back—the scenario is actually perfect. As soon as you do mix up your date’s name with another girl, you might need those car keys for a quick getaway.

So there you have it. Someone actually came up with a scientifically based excuse for being absent-minded. Maybe it’s the fifth grader in me, but I have a sneaking suspicion these studies were authored by men. The good news—two can play this game. Oh, you don’t like romantic comedies? Must have slipped my mind.