Be forgetful: According to neuroscience in new study, this is a sign of extraordinary intelligence

Forgetfulness can certainly be problematic with faster or more accurate memory retrieval at school. So if you are learning multiplication tables, for example, this is more of a disadvantage. A good memory can also be useful at work when trying to remember a coworker’s name. It happens to the best of us to forget names or important facts. It’s not uncommon for you to feel a little stupid when you have brain failure like this.

Don’t be scientifically forgetful

After all, there is nothing worse than going to the grocery store and forgetting the most important things. If, like the rest of us, you wonder why you sometimes forget about seemingly simple things, the answer is that there is probably nothing wrong at all. In fact, a study by the Neuron Journal suggests that being forgetful is actually a natural brain process that could ultimately make you even smarter.

So the study by professors at the University of Toronto found that perfect memory may have nothing to do with your intelligence. If you occasionally forget details, you might even get smarter. Usually, people see the person who remembers most things as the smartest. However, research shows that it is normal to occasionally forget about details. In fact, in the long run, remembering the big picture is better for your brain and your safety than small details.

Our brain is much smarter than we think. The organ is developed in such a way that the hippocampus, in which memories are stored, sorts out the most important details. This helps us, as CNN puts it, “optimize intelligent decision-making by sticking to what is important.”

Proof of intelligence

This theory makes sense when you think about how much more important it is to remember a person’s face than their name. Both may be ideal for social purposes, but when we are in the animal kingdom we will stay alive reminding ourselves that someone or something is threatening instead of remembering their name. Not only does the brain decide what is important and what to remember, it actually retains new memories and overwrites old ones. When a brain is cluttered with memories, there is a higher chance that conflict will arise and the ability to make efficient decisions will be disturbed.

So it is becoming less and less important for us humans to keep a big picture of memories as technology and access to information keep improving. Evolutionarily, it is therefore more useful for us to know how to google the spelling of a word or how to install a shower head than to remember exactly how to do it. In no case should people be constantly forgetful. But it is perfectly fine and healthy to overlook a small detail from time to time. So next time you forget something, keep in mind that it is only your brain that does its job.

Read more about the new study here.