Can we talk about how memory works? I found a stat that says most early memories are fake

I was reading a psychology article from UC Irvine last week and it said 40% of people's first memories from before age 3 are completely made up by their brains. It made me question that vivid memory I have of my second birthday party in 1987 where I dropped cake on the dog. So is it better to just enjoy these false memories or should we try to fact check them with family photos and old relatives?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_wendy1mo ago

Oh I've been through this exact thing with my own memories, it's such a weird rabbit hole to go down. What I learned the hard way is that fact checking with family can actually be kind of fun if you do it right, like pull out the old photo albums with a parent or grandparent and let them tell you their version first before you share yours. My mom and I did this with my supposed memory of knocking over a Christmas tree at age 2, turns out it was actually my cousin who did it and my brain just stole the memory for me because it was so vivid in family stories. The trick is to enjoy the fuzzy memories as part of your personal story but don't get too attached to them being 100% accurate, like that dog cake memory might be totally fake but if it makes you smile then who cares really. Just don't go confronting relatives like you're a detective trying to bust them, that ruins the whole thing and makes everyone defensive, treat it like a fun mystery instead.

cole_baker1mo agoMost Upvoted

Man my whole take on this used to be "if it didn't happen dont claim it" but you @the_wendy actually got me thinking. The whole Christmas tree thing is wild, I had a similar thing with a memory of falling off a swing that apparently belonged to my brother. Youre right though, it is way more fun to just let the stories be what they are instead of trying to fact check everything like a cop.

betty_kelly91mo ago

Oh man I read this thing the other day about how our brains basically rewrite memories every time we recall them, like a game of telephone with ourselves. So that dog cake memory could be totally made up but your brain just kept it because it liked the story.