Memory

I found myself asking myself this question recently: How can two people remember the same thing or event differently than one another? Both lived it - both remember it differently.

Memory does not work the way you think it does.

A lot of folks think that memory is a recording of events that happened around you like a videotape from a camera. No, not at all. Your own eyes do not even tell your brain what is going on (look up saccadic masking). Memory is a jumbled, non-linear series of subjective impressions and emotions, all mixed together.

And it gets weirder.

Memory recall is destructive. That means every time you remember something, that memory is basically erased and rewritten. And that's not all. Memory is state-dependent too. Mediation of emotional memory is handled by a structure in the brain called the amygdala, and it recalls things most easily that have an emotional resonance similar to whatever emotion you are feeling right now.

Put simply, it's easier to remember things that make you sad when you are sad; easier to remember things that make you angry when you are angry.

Let's not forget about personal viewpoint, past experience influence, and the filters of the individual.

All that being said, I disagree. I think I remember everything perfectly and other people have problems with their memory. Their brains malfunction. Mine works great.

To put that into practice I can recall this week's menus without even looking at the list.

Chicken Pasta w/Sun dried tomatoes, spinach and artichokes.

Black Bean Burgers (with all the fixins and real burger buns)

Super salad with crusty buns.

Leftovers