Forgetting Actually Strengthens Your Memory

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The opening of this shiur, in Hidabroot - Torah & Judaism’s own words— taken from the captions, so names and Hebrew terms may be approximate.

Did you always think that forgetting is the enemy of memory? That everything we forgotten is simply lost? Science has discovered something completely [music] different and astonishing. In fact, partial forgetting is what strengthens memory and cements it forever. In the 1880s, [music] a researcher named Ebbinghaus mapped the forgetting curve. We forget new information at a dizzying speed, but modern researchers have discovered the secret. When we almost forget something and then have to make an effort to recall it, [music] the memory is etched much deeper than with easy and continuous repetition. This is called desirable difficulty. Listen closely. [music] A person who repeats material over and over without a break while everything [music] is still fresh feels like they know it but forgets quickly. But someone who lets the memory fade almost to the point of forgetting and then struggles to recall it is the one who truly retains [music] the knowledge for good. The effort to remember after getting is what builds the strongest memory.

Jump to a moment

1. 0:04Did you always think that forgetting is the enemy of memory? That everything we forgotten is…
2. 0:34[music] the memory is etched much deeper than with easy and continuous repetition. This is called…
3. 1:05Forgetting is not the opposite of memory. It is a part of it. Temporary distance is…
4. 1:35But our sages taught us the law of the soul's forgetting curve. In Tractate Berakhot, Rabbi…
5. 2:06all. Just like memory that actually grows stronger after forgetting. Someone who struggled to return [music]…
6. 2:36been possible without it. So, the next time we feel guilty for having grown distant, for…

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