What if you can't trust your memory?

 

Our memory deceives us more than you can imagine.

So how do we know for sure if our memory is correct?

 How does memory work in our brain?

What does the Mandela effect show about our memory?

 How easy is it to hack our memories?

Memories are like Monet's impressionistic paintings. They can be vivid and very detailed, but they are never perfect. This is because our brain's ability to process and store memories is as limited as a computer's hard drive. But instead of 1 and 0, our brain stores memories in the interactions between our neurons.

Removing or altering just one chemical or molecule in the brain can alter these neural connections. And it can prevent the formation of memories. Or it can erase pre-existing memories. So, how do we really know if our memories are real?

Before answering this question, let's take a look at how memory works. Like saving a file on a computer, our brains encode our memories. Then they store them in our neural network, so that our conscious mind can discover them later. We process different types of memories in different ways.

We create memories by feeling. When sensory information is received, our brain acts on it. It can be like seeing a cute dog on your morning walk. We store short-term memories ranging from a few seconds to several minutes, like remembering someone gave you a phone number.

Here's a pro tip: carry a pen with you the next time you visit. Working memories are a type of short-term memory that we store until a task is completed. They are like a server remembering a complex dinner order. And long-term memories are the moments or things that are imprinted on our minds, such as the first kiss, or something as simple as your birthday date.

Each of these types of memories reshapes the brain by triggering molecular responses in our neurons. Short-term memories are processed in the prefrontal lobe. And if they are particularly memorable, they will become long-term memories at the hippocampus. So why do some memories stay with us longer than others?

Well, those vivid memories, like your child's first steps or sudden world events like 9/11, are called flash bulb memories. Many people claim to remember minute details during these events, such as where they were, what they wore, or even the time of day. While these memories may seem right to us, even the strongest memories may be wrong.

This is because our emotions can often distort or ruin our memories. So if you think it's raining on this sad day you lost your job, well, it could be sunny. Unfortunately, these are not just flashlight memories that can go wrong, but literally every memory you have.

This is because our brain stores only a small fraction of the information we experience. And every time we recall the memory, the data changes a little bit. And people may associate your memory with a point where they may try to convict you of something you did not do.

Some of the police interrogation tactics can create false memories. Physicians are also known for giving false memories through a type of psychological analysis called regression therapy.

In one study, psychologists asked people who had witnessed a car accident to remember the incident in great detail. Researchers hacked his memory by mentioning a broken headlight on one of the vehicles involved. Many witnesses remembered a broken headlight. There was only a catch, no broken headlights.

Perhaps the most common example of a false memory is the Mandela effect, a type of collective false memory. The name comes at a time when many claim to remember coverage of Nelson Mandela's death in the 1980s, and even a speech by his widow. Yet in reality, or at least in fact, Mandela died in 2013, not in the 1980s.

Some conspiracy theorists believe that these false memories are the result of slipping into our alternate universes that are almost identical to ours, except that small things like food labels or popular movie lines are different. Remember that famous Star Wars line, "Luke, I'm your father"? Well, the bottom line is, "No, I'm your dad."

A study published in the Journal of Psychological Science reported a series of interviews with multiple participants. People who were interviewed began to believe that they had experienced a very emotional event that never happened. Interviewers provoked these memories with a mixture of misinformation, imagination and repetition.About 70% of the participants made a false note that they had committed a crime, and 77% made a false recollection of highly emotional events. They reported seeing, hearing, smelling, feeling and even tasting things during memory.

It just shows how clear and dangerous transplanted memories can be. Innocent people can be manipulated, and they can go to jail for a crime they never committed. Although memory hacking can be dangerous, it has its benefits.

Our brains have a way of preventing some painful memories. But for people with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, these bad memories can be easily triggered and disturbed.