Study Says Forgetfulness May be Sign of High Intelligence

“Ever walked into a room and said, ‘Hey, what the heck? I don’t ever remember why I walked my sorry self in here!’ while you laughed out loud, but secretly thought you might be losing your marbles? Well, don’t worry. It might just be a sign of high intelligence.”

So says Joshua D. Reesorch, a research scientist at the University of Glasgow. In a recent article he wrote for Brain Today news, he explained: “Forgetting is a way the brain tries to remember the things most important to survival. For example, if you see a huge bear on its hind legs in the forest blocking your path, your brain immediately knows this is the time you should whip out your iPhone and call all your relatives because you are about to be dinner.”

In this case, the brain remembers that huge bears are a potential threat, while it may “forget” where your car keys are because that is not critical information to survival.

Now, the reverse is true is well. You can train your brain to remember where the car keys are by connecting them to survival.

Say to your brain, “Brain! If I don’t find my car keys, I won’t be able to go to Baskin Robbins and get a triple scoop of Strawberry Surprise, Rainbow Rainbow and Chocolate Dream, and if I can’t do that right now, I am going to die!”