The memory 専門家 who says it's okay to be forgetful 

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輪郭（を描く） A 最近の 調査する 設立する that 80 per cent of us worry about memory loss. There are the little annoyances: forgetting the gym locker code or where we left the car 重要なs. Then there are the bigger 関心s such as dementia, which 影響する／感情s one in 14 over-65s. But should we worry about the things we forget?

Frontline Enter neuroscientist Charan Ranganath, 53, who is spearheading a 深い dive into how memory 作品 with his new 調書をとる／予約する, Why We Remember: The Science of Memory and How it 形態／調整s Us (Faber, £20*). The good news? You shouldn’t worry so much. Dr Ranganath says ‘our typical （民事の）告訴s’ ? forgetting someone’s birthday, for example ? are benign. ‘The problem isn’t our memory,’ he explains, ‘it’s that we have the wrong 期待s of what memory is.’

Story line Our memory is like a 抱擁する とじ込み／提出するing 閣僚 in our neocortex ? the grey tissue on the outside of the brain ? 力／強力にするd by more than 80 billion neurons. This 閣僚 蓄える／店s two types of とじ込み／提出するs: semantic memory is knowledge and facts; episodic memory is our ability to reimagine scenes from our past.

Keyline It’s this distinction that makes humans special. AI has semantic memory, so it learns facts. But it doesn’t have episodic memory, which 許すs us to remember exceptions and contradictions. ‘Most birds have wings and can 飛行機で行く’ is a fact (semantic). Tell a human a penguin can’t 飛行機で行く but is a bird, and we 蓄える／店 that anomaly (episodic). That anomaly will make AI glitch.

Blurred line Episodic memory 要求するs imagination. When we 解任する a past episode, we imagine it もう一度. This explains distorted memories. If we’ve forgotten 確かな 詳細（に述べる）s, ‘a healthy dose of imagination’ fills in the gaps, explains Dr Ranganath. 

It’s easier to imagine how something made you feel than 固める／コンクリート 詳細（に述べる）s. That means childhood memories often 焦点（を合わせる） on emotion (how a teacher’s words made you feel) rather than physical realities (the colour of the shirt they wore).

Online The 重要な to memory is 焦点（を合わせる）ing on important 詳細（に述べる）s and discarding surrounding noise. Nowadays, that’s 近づく impossible. We’re exposed to around 11.8 hours’ 価値（がある） of （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） a day thanks to our phones, 無線で通信するs and TVs. 

This sensory 強襲，強姦 means it’s not surprising we don’t remember some things. ‘On the contrary,’ says Dr Ranganath, ‘it’s amazing that we remember anything.’

Help line The harder you 焦点（を合わせる）, the more you remember. Sounds simple, but how often do you check your texts while scheduling 計画（する）s? Another example is 記録，記録的な／記録するing a special event. Because you’re 焦点（を合わせる）ing on filming (getting the 権利 angle etc), you’ll remember いっそう少なく about the event than if you just concentrated on 訴訟／進行s.

Dotted line Our brains love using 関係s as a memorising 道具. For example, says Dr Ranganath, if you met someone called Charan (as in, Dr Charan Ranganath), you might link his 指名する with the ferryman of the 暗黒街 in Greek mythology (called Charon). If you can find part of Charan’s 外見 that reminds you of Greece or mythology, you’ll 解任する his 指名する more easily.

Lifeline Then there’s the straightforward stuff that keeps our brain 独房s healthy: sleep, 演習 and a balanced diet. Running is good for your memory, because it 原因（となる）s your brain to create a 化学製品 that makes your neurons work better. It also 減ずるs 危険 of hypertension and 糖尿病, which both 損失 your cortex.

Timeline Dr Ranganath 譲歩するs that ‘we’re designed to forget’. But this isn’t all bad news. As we age, semantic memory 固執するs more robustly than episodic. That means we might forget our 重要なs, but we 保持する a wealth of facts. That’s why 年上のs have always played an important societal 役割: they can pass this bank of knowledge (language, recipes, 薬／医学) to the younger 世代. 

As we get older and wiser, says Dr Ranganath, we prioritise memories that can help our offspring. ‘Memory, then, is doing 正確に／まさに what it has 発展させるd to do, and in the 過程 it connects us with one another.’

 *To order a copy for £17 until 5 May, go to mailshop.co.uk/調書をとる／予約するs or call 020 3176 2937. 解放する／自由な UK 配達／演説／出産 on orders over £25.

Next week fit ness: the Tracy Anderson method 

The memory 専門家 who says it's okay to be forgetful