Charan Ranganath

And in fact, it looks like our brains are really kind of forming these detailed snapshot memories at these moments when we're struggling a little bit because something's new or surprising. Or at times where this is just motivationally very important to us. We just achieved a goal of some kind, right? And so... These moments are kind of these snapshots that we have.

And in fact, it looks like our brains are really kind of forming these detailed snapshot memories at these moments when we're struggling a little bit because something's new or surprising. Or at times where this is just motivationally very important to us. We just achieved a goal of some kind, right? And so... These moments are kind of these snapshots that we have.

And then later on, they can often spontaneously pop into our heads. Like if you hear a song that you haven't heard in a long time, or if you go back to a place you haven't been to since you were a child, all of a sudden these memories pop into your head, right? But what happens is you get these little bits and pieces, and then you reconstruct that into a story.

And then later on, they can often spontaneously pop into our heads. Like if you hear a song that you haven't heard in a long time, or if you go back to a place you haven't been to since you were a child, all of a sudden these memories pop into your head, right? But what happens is you get these little bits and pieces, and then you reconstruct that into a story.

And then later on, they can often spontaneously pop into our heads. Like if you hear a song that you haven't heard in a long time, or if you go back to a place you haven't been to since you were a child, all of a sudden these memories pop into your head, right? But what happens is you get these little bits and pieces, and then you reconstruct that into a story.

And so what's critically interesting about that piece is that when we're remembering, we're never really replaying the past. We're imagining how the past could have been. Just like an archaeologist imagines how an ancient civilization might have been based on some fragments of pottery that they take up, right?

And so what's critically interesting about that piece is that when we're remembering, we're never really replaying the past. We're imagining how the past could have been. Just like an archaeologist imagines how an ancient civilization might have been based on some fragments of pottery that they take up, right?

And so what's critically interesting about that piece is that when we're remembering, we're never really replaying the past. We're imagining how the past could have been. Just like an archaeologist imagines how an ancient civilization might have been based on some fragments of pottery that they take up, right?

there's many factors um i actually came up with an acronym for this after talking about memory for a long time and it took me forever to realize that i could come up with a mnemonic to help me remember these things which is medic um and so it stands for meaning error uh Let's see, it was meaning, error, now I'm trying to remember it all. You've got to remember the mnemonic.

there's many factors um i actually came up with an acronym for this after talking about memory for a long time and it took me forever to realize that i could come up with a mnemonic to help me remember these things which is medic um and so it stands for meaning error uh Let's see, it was meaning, error, now I'm trying to remember it all. You've got to remember the mnemonic.

there's many factors um i actually came up with an acronym for this after talking about memory for a long time and it took me forever to realize that i could come up with a mnemonic to help me remember these things which is medic um and so it stands for meaning error uh Let's see, it was meaning, error, now I'm trying to remember it all. You've got to remember the mnemonic.

Distinctiveness, that's right. Meaning, error, distinctiveness, importance, and context. It did come to me, the mnemonic L. There it is. So let's go through that. Meaning is just like what I was telling you in the LeBron James example. When you have a body of knowledge about something, it makes it really easy to memorize new information. based on what you already know.

Distinctiveness, that's right. Meaning, error, distinctiveness, importance, and context. It did come to me, the mnemonic L. There it is. So let's go through that. Meaning is just like what I was telling you in the LeBron James example. When you have a body of knowledge about something, it makes it really easy to memorize new information. based on what you already know.

Distinctiveness, that's right. Meaning, error, distinctiveness, importance, and context. It did come to me, the mnemonic L. There it is. So let's go through that. Meaning is just like what I was telling you in the LeBron James example. When you have a body of knowledge about something, it makes it really easy to memorize new information. based on what you already know.

So for instance, if you're a football fan, I'll say European football or whatever, everybody outside of America, what they would call football, right? So now I give you a hypothetical player who doesn't exist at all. And I give you the statistics on their performance. And I say, here's all the statistics you need to know about what this player is good at, what they've done in the past and so forth.

So for instance, if you're a football fan, I'll say European football or whatever, everybody outside of America, what they would call football, right? So now I give you a hypothetical player who doesn't exist at all. And I give you the statistics on their performance. And I say, here's all the statistics you need to know about what this player is good at, what they've done in the past and so forth.

So for instance, if you're a football fan, I'll say European football or whatever, everybody outside of America, what they would call football, right? So now I give you a hypothetical player who doesn't exist at all. And I give you the statistics on their performance. And I say, here's all the statistics you need to know about what this player is good at, what they've done in the past and so forth.

If you're a soccer expert, you can grab that information immediately, even though it's just a bunch of random numbers I just made up, a name of somebody who I've made up. Because you have a structure in your mind for locking in that information. And so meaning is a really good way to lock in new information by being able to tie what you're trying to learn with stuff you already know.

If you're a soccer expert, you can grab that information immediately, even though it's just a bunch of random numbers I just made up, a name of somebody who I've made up. Because you have a structure in your mind for locking in that information. And so meaning is a really good way to lock in new information by being able to tie what you're trying to learn with stuff you already know.

If you're a soccer expert, you can grab that information immediately, even though it's just a bunch of random numbers I just made up, a name of somebody who I've made up. Because you have a structure in your mind for locking in that information. And so meaning is a really good way to lock in new information by being able to tie what you're trying to learn with stuff you already know.