The Brain Paradox

If you tend to forget tiny details, or, perhaps, larger particulars, you share a common trait with many. Forgetfulness is quite a normal phenomenon and usually not an early symptom of cognitive impairment. Although the brain is a splendid computer, it fails to excel as a recalling machine. As a matter of fact, it has a bad memory. Its poor recording ability allows the brain to become a unique self-organizing and self-maximizing system. The average human brain contains about 100 billion neurons, or nerve cells. Learning new things involves brain cells in the hippocampus, a region of gray matter tissue in the medial temporal lobe. By learning new things hippocampus cells erase old memories. This allows us to adapt to new situations. It seems that the aim of memory is to make optimal decisions, to work out the best strategies for advancement and survival, by choosing what is important and discarding what is not. Thus, our master organ is a paradoxical device, which by forgetting things actually enhances our cognitive faculties and allows us to become smarter.