Charan Ranganath

But what happens is that sometimes things can really get out of hand where people have trouble telling the difference in things that they've imagined versus things that happen. But also, as I told you, the act of remembering can change the memory, right? And so what happens then is you can actually be exposed to some misinformation. And so Elizabeth Loftus was a real pioneer in this work.

But what happens is that sometimes things can really get out of hand where people have trouble telling the difference in things that they've imagined versus things that happen. But also, as I told you, the act of remembering can change the memory, right? And so what happens then is you can actually be exposed to some misinformation. And so Elizabeth Loftus was a real pioneer in this work.

But what happens is that sometimes things can really get out of hand where people have trouble telling the difference in things that they've imagined versus things that happen. But also, as I told you, the act of remembering can change the memory, right? And so what happens then is you can actually be exposed to some misinformation. And so Elizabeth Loftus was a real pioneer in this work.

And there's lots of other work that's been done since. But basically, it's like if you remember some event and then I tell you something about the event. Later on, when you remember the event, you might remember some original information from the event as well as some information about what I told you.

And there's lots of other work that's been done since. But basically, it's like if you remember some event and then I tell you something about the event. Later on, when you remember the event, you might remember some original information from the event as well as some information about what I told you.

And there's lots of other work that's been done since. But basically, it's like if you remember some event and then I tell you something about the event. Later on, when you remember the event, you might remember some original information from the event as well as some information about what I told you.

And sometimes if you're not able to tell the difference, that information that I told you gets mixed into the story that you had originally. So now I give you some more misinformation or you're exposed to some more information somewhere else. And eventually your memory becomes totally detached from what happened.

And sometimes if you're not able to tell the difference, that information that I told you gets mixed into the story that you had originally. So now I give you some more misinformation or you're exposed to some more information somewhere else. And eventually your memory becomes totally detached from what happened.

And sometimes if you're not able to tell the difference, that information that I told you gets mixed into the story that you had originally. So now I give you some more misinformation or you're exposed to some more information somewhere else. And eventually your memory becomes totally detached from what happened.

And so sometimes you can have cases where people—this is very rare, but you can do it in the lab, too, where a significant—not everybody, but a chunk of people will fall for this—where you can give people—

And so sometimes you can have cases where people—this is very rare, but you can do it in the lab, too, where a significant—not everybody, but a chunk of people will fall for this—where you can give people—

And so sometimes you can have cases where people—this is very rare, but you can do it in the lab, too, where a significant—not everybody, but a chunk of people will fall for this—where you can give people—

misinformation about an event that never took place and as they keep trying to remember that event more and more what happens they start to imagine they start to pull up things from other experiences they've had and eventually they can stitch together a vivid memory of something that never happened because they're not remembering an event that happened they're remembering the act of trying to remember what happened and basically putting it together into the wrong story

misinformation about an event that never took place and as they keep trying to remember that event more and more what happens they start to imagine they start to pull up things from other experiences they've had and eventually they can stitch together a vivid memory of something that never happened because they're not remembering an event that happened they're remembering the act of trying to remember what happened and basically putting it together into the wrong story

misinformation about an event that never took place and as they keep trying to remember that event more and more what happens they start to imagine they start to pull up things from other experiences they've had and eventually they can stitch together a vivid memory of something that never happened because they're not remembering an event that happened they're remembering the act of trying to remember what happened and basically putting it together into the wrong story

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, this is exactly what they do. And so all these kind of foibles of human memory get magnified when you start to have social interactions. There's a whole literature on something called social contagion, which is basically when misinformation spreads like a virus. Like, you remember the same thing that I did, but I give you a little bit of wrong information.

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, this is exactly what they do. And so all these kind of foibles of human memory get magnified when you start to have social interactions. There's a whole literature on something called social contagion, which is basically when misinformation spreads like a virus. Like, you remember the same thing that I did, but I give you a little bit of wrong information.

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, this is exactly what they do. And so all these kind of foibles of human memory get magnified when you start to have social interactions. There's a whole literature on something called social contagion, which is basically when misinformation spreads like a virus. Like, you remember the same thing that I did, but I give you a little bit of wrong information.

Then that becomes part of your story of what happened. Because once you and I share a memory... Like I tell you about something I've experienced and you tell me about your experience of the same event. It's no longer your memory or my memory. It's our memory. And so now the misinformation spreads.

Then that becomes part of your story of what happened. Because once you and I share a memory... Like I tell you about something I've experienced and you tell me about your experience of the same event. It's no longer your memory or my memory. It's our memory. And so now the misinformation spreads.