# Why Do We Forget? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 4, 1999, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-forget/3083 "1999-09-04T03:56:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![NanoByte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecc23a/32.png) [@NanoByte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NanoByte)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 1999, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-forget/3083/21 "1999-09-06T06:16:00Z")
Oh, and the Eric Kandel article was in the Jan 16, 1998 issue of _Science_. Ray ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 1999, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-forget/3083/22 "1999-09-06T06:21:00Z")
**Babar714** : we appreciate the English lesson, but watch yourself. There were 3 misspellings in that short post. ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 1999, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-forget/3083/23 "1999-09-06T09:13:00Z")
Cristi, please let me clarify: the effects of seizures and drugs that I mentioned above are transient, and nothing to worry about. What I’ve seen when I was working with a couple of people with epilepsy were the confusion while waking up from a seizure, and mild sedation from some medications, especially if you have recently changed your prescription. ## Sometimes I can be pretty insensitive, and forget that it wasn’t just a general question. Bob the Random Expert “If we don’t have the answer, we’ll make one up.” ---
**Author:** ![NanoByte](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecc23a/32.png) [@NanoByte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NanoByte)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 1999, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-forget/3083/24 "1999-09-08T01:02:00Z")
Time Magazine picks up on Dr. Tsien’s genetic ally engineered superior-intelligence [“Doogie” mice at Princeton](http://www.pathfinder.com/time/magazine/articles/0,3266,30526,00.html). They don’t forget. Ray ---
**Author:** ![Persephone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@Persephone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Persephone)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 1999, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-forget/3083/25 "1999-09-08T16:29:00Z")
Thanks everyone, for the great answers. By the way rjk, I’ve been seizure-free for about a year and a half, so I know the meds I’m on now are doing their job. I know what you mean, though, about the confusion following a seizure. I hate that. And on the occasions when I’ve switched to new meds, I’ve been a little groggy for a little while, until it kicks in and my body gets used to it. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 1999, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-forget/3083/26 "1999-09-08T19:02:00Z")
\*Cristi: … And am I the only female on the planet who cannot remember her own wedding anniversary? I know it’s at the end of November. My husband and my mother say it’s the 29th. But I consistently want to say it’s the 28th. \* Perhaps so! I was all set to forget my anniversary, because we got married on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend. (I forgot my sister’s because she got married on Mother’s Day.) Then, Princess Diana goes and dies on our first anniversary. Now, when I turn on the Today show on 8/31/2006 and they do a special tribute on the 9th anniversary of Di’s death, I can say, “Shit! It’s my 10th anniversary!” ---
**Author:** ![torq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dfb087/32.png) [@torq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/torq)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 1999, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-forget/3083/27 "1999-09-08T19:33:00Z")
We forget things because it’s neither necessary nor desirable for us to remember EVERYTHING. The system isn’t perfect, in that we forget some things we’d really like to remember and remember some things that we’d just as soon forget, but by and large it works pretty well. When it doesn’t work… ever see the movie “Rainman”? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-forget/3083.md?page=1)