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Have you ever misplaced something you were just holding? Completely blanked on a famous actor's name? Walked into a room and immediately forgot why? Neuroscientist Lisa Genova digs into two types of memory failures we regularly experience — and reassures us that forgetting is totally normal. Stay tuned for a conversation with TED science curator David Biello, where Genova describes the difference between common moments of forgetting and possible signs of Alzheimer's, debunks a widespread myth about brain capacity and shares what you can do to keep your brain healthy and your memory sharp. (This virtual conversation was part of an exclusive TED Membership event. Visit to become a TED Member.)
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The worst for me is when I remind myself to grab something or do something, and then a minute later, I completely forget to do it.
You’re simply focused on other things – repeat what you’re doing a couple times in your head.
The worst is when you’re looking for something and it’s in your hand lmaooo
Well this makes me feel a lot better, but damn shame how we forget almost all of our lives
That’s not a shame, we can get an idea from this that life is about constantly moving, evolving and learning.
Is it a shame? I mean most of our lives is sleeping, doing minor tasks or just staring at a phone lol. As long as we remember the important moments that’s what matters.
There are many internet gurus who “train” your memory, but this video just debunks the frauds and would save so many people if they just saw this. Thank you TED
Thanks for this video. I have experienced all of these moments.
This video made me remember that tommorow is friday and its the deadline of my homework,and I Havent answer anything
*Takes Loan and forget it*
Bank few months later: So you have chosen Death.
This is a wonderful talk. Thank you.
Thank you! Such a relief and also, I now know what to be mindful of. Sleep and balanced diet are the key to so many health issues.
this is a really cool coincidence because i recently got her book called Remember and started reading it. this was great btw! thank you for sharing
Forget the worthless stuff but you should never forget the lessons learned in Life as well as important factors within responsibilities
I really needed this video. I literally took a final, went to sleep, just woke up so scared that I slept in and missed the final.
This makes me think that my lack of exercise and my sleep habits are affecting my memory.
I’d already realized that we only remember what we pay attention to and what we deem to be important for us to remember, but I didn’t know how I could remember things which I want to recall so thank you Ted talk!
‘I’m gonna get Alzheimer’ followed by thoughts of mild amnesia and then Parkinson’s Disease…. Totally relatable.
About once a month I forget if I have yet washed my hair while I’m still in the shower.
You know what’s crazy, I’ll have moments where dreams I’ve had years ago just randomly pop into my head throughout the day. This happens many times, and the scenarios in those dreams still fresh, it’s insane
Quick trick: if you’re trying to remember something short term, think about *where* you need to remember the task, so you don’t forget you’re looking for your glasses in the kitchen
Or add another two small things, three works a lot better in my case
Great talk! I’ve been reading Hyperfocus by Chris Bailey which is related to this topic and highly recommend it.