What do these examples tell us about memory?
What these examples tell us about memory, is that memory is very malleable and complex. From my experiences with memory, memories have come back to me at very sudden moments that are triggered by an external source such as a familiar scent, taste, touch, sight or sound. Memory plays a amazing role in our lives and society and it is common knowledge that there are different types of memory. Most notably, there are short-term and long-term memory which depends on the amount of time the memory is stored.
The example of looking up a phone number in the directory and are about to make a call when being interrupted by a friend and it being difficult to retrieve the memory of the phone number is because, especially for short-term memory when being distracted as it takes a lot of concentration and/or repetition for the information to be absorbed. A similar experience to this
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And also recognize an old teacher you once had, but you can’t remember her name is likely to be indicative to long-term memory. The triggering of these cues cause our brain to flash with memories of a distinct event or location that we associate clearly with certain emotions. I have many memories that are triggered by scent cues which remind me of memories from my childhood like the scents of certain foods or perfumes. One that stands out to me is the smell of wood chips and manure were the first smells coming out of the airport when I first immigrated to Canada and whenever I smell the scent now, I am always brought back to coming out of the airport. As I have visited my high school a few years ago I definitely did have the experience of seeing a teacher who taught me in high school but could not remember her