How might life be different without long-term memory?
369540
We'd all be a bunch of bewildered, wandering idiots incapable of surviving.
196979
Ability to form memories.
868601
Memory can be developed by practising Dhyana......\nKeeping the mind concentrated only can help you remember at the time of necessary..........So practise DHYANA daily.......................
276541
It's a huge misconception that people only use 8% of their brains.  I'm a neuroscientist and have yet to find someone who will volunteer to let me take out 92% of their brain.  If you take out 92% of a brain, that person would be lucky to be alive in a persistent vegitative state.  \n\nTo answer the question, why people loose their memory ...\nPeople loose anything they don't use on a regular basis, including performing tasks or remembering information.  If you don't 'excite' a conection in the brain regularly, that conection degrades, as it is an inefficient use of brain energy to keep a conection alive when it isn't needed.  It's just a part of life.
582594
Well it depends on if you want to improve your long term memory or your short term memory - they're separate entities.  I suggest looking into some psychology texts in your local library.\n\nMemory is all about practise - it's like learning your times tables when you're young.  Repetition is a good way to do it, but is more suited to memorising something specific.\n\nRemove as many outside distractions as possible when trying to learn something, or else your focus will be split in several directions.
680498
Thats a very interesting question, and has been addressed at least to some point-It's clear, though we don't conciously remember events, that we do learn a great deal during this time, thus we "remember' a huge amount- the process of walking, controlling your limbs, facial expressions, on and on and on, are all learned and remembered event from infanthood- What we don't seem to remember are events per se- It appears as if that portion of our learning is developmentally controlled, such that the limbic system filters much of the detail out in infancy- only later, when high-level socialization occurs, does the limbic system start to recognize details and allow them to reach long-term memory. Essentially, the brain and learning are very very tightly developmentally controlled, so that certain things are learned at certain times- biologically, the brain is wired such that the most critical learning, such as how to control the body, how to interact in the most general way with people, etc, are learned first, and everything else is weeded out.  It's probably critical that this occurs, else we would remember being a baby at the expense of not learning how to walk until we were in Junior high!\nJust to address some things that were said before-we have an excellent memory as infants, and learn extremely quickly, but it is wired in a different way- There is also no evidence that events are stored at all, and thus no evidence that any of the infant memories can be "recovered" because they were not laid down to begin with.
144329
most people remember things through visual memory which is why they remember faces but not names.  me i just have pretty good memory so if i've met the person before most likely i'll remember the name.
761779
It isn't true that we only use 10% our brains.  That is a very common myth that was started because of misinterpretation of scientific data.  The fact is that only 10% of our brains is made of up actual neurons that transmit signals, while the rest are glial cells that provide structural support and nutrition to the neurons and clear waste products and excess neurotransmitters.   However, these cells are all used most of the time.\nTo answer your actual question though, the brain is sort of designed to forget things for two reasons.  There is so much going on around us that we experience, if we paid attention to and remembered everything we would be overloaded by all this information pretty quickly.  Secondly, new connections need to be made all the time to incorporate new things that we learn, so in the midst of that some other connections are weakened or lost.  Sometimes things we mean to remember are lost in this process.  Of course, our brain doesn't always work how we would like it to, but like you said generally the things that are most important are the things that we remember, which is exactly how it should be.  Why store unnecessary information?
673315
Every new skill (and thought and emotion) tries to resolve itself against the patterns of your previous experience..  That is, if it is recognised as something familiar, then those linkages (neuronic connections) are reinforced.  Totally new information must create NEW linkages to your OLD information.  This process MUST be repeated (learning) or you will not remember the new information for long
401211
No expert, but I can say unequivocally, we all have been "there" before life. Same place as after death, only none of us can remember because memory is a human condition. In the before and after, time doesn't exist, therfore memories cannot as they are based on experience and time...both of which are "Earthly" conventions. Consciousness, as an illusion and condition of human and perhaps other life forms' existence, leads us to many erroneous beliefs and misconcpetions about life after death. Life is now, death is later, so there is no "life" after death, else there is only life. But there is a condition and that condition is similar, if not the same, as pref-life. But I am no expert...
904131
I'm not a guy and I don't have ADD.  What I do have is huge case of forgetfullness.  I have to be reminded of things two, three, sometimes four or five times.  There's nothing wrong with me.  In fact, my long term memory is better than most.  But my short term memory absolutely sucks.  The people in my life find it annoying, heck, so do I, but they love me so they deal with it.  And, contrary to some opinions, a lack of remembering things does not constitute a lack of caring about things.
510555
yes you can.  the olfactory system in the brain has the longest memory of all.  think back to when you were little and try to remember smells from them and you will smell them again.
458355
the mind works efficiently by segregating inputs to diffrent categories like short term, medium and long term memories. short term memories are quickly delete by the brain like plate numbers of cars passing by, color of the shirt of a stranger walking by etc, medium term are stored longer and long term memories are stored longest in the brain like faces, names, age etc of family members.
842072
Yes, as long as life continues there is a process of growing more dendrites - connections - between neurons. This process is enhanced by stimulation: crossword puzzles, reading, even going to work, meditation, soduku, learning a new language or musical instrument, etc., etc.\n\n;-)
149817
If you haven't used a word in a long time, or if that word is not part of your daily vocabulary, you don't use it, and eventually forget what it means.
287869
Short-term memory: 7 ± 3 chunks of information\n\nLong-term memory: 10^13 - 10^20 bytes (usually assumed 10^17 bytes) but for a human lifetime essentially infinite\n\nProcessing speed: 10^16 operations/second\n\nMemorization: The processes involved are not well understood.\n\nHuman Enhancement:  See the articles on"Human Enhancement" and "Transhumanism" on Wikipedia
58805
The future and the past are only in our minds. All you have is the present, and if you cant concentrate on it, you are really missing out I guess.