Question: why do you forget things?

Tim Fosker answered on 14 Jun 2011:

Hi @gabz

Sorry I forgot! 🙂

Only joking! We can forget things for a number of reasons. Quite often we may not store a memory of something in the first place. For example if I tell you 20 random numbers one after the other you are very unlikely to remember more than 9 of them, you won’t forget them, you just won’t be able to store them all in your brain quick enough.

When we do store memories there is a theory called ‘trace decay’ which says that as time goes on memories fade and become less strong. We don’t yet know how this works in the brain, but it is likely to involve changes in the connections between different brain cells (neurons).
Not all memories are thought to be the same either and some seem to last longer than others. We can have memories for things that have happened to us and memories for information we have read for example.
Our memories are fascinating and there are lots of theories about how we remember and forget things, but we know very little about how memory works in the brain.

I hope this answers you question.