Mind Hacks

Hack #96. Reminisce Hot and Cold

Find the fire that’s cooking your memory systems.

Our emotional system contributes not just to how we respond to the world at a given moment, but how we store representations of what has happened in the past. The makeup of our memories is not decided dispassionately by an impartial documentary reel in our brain, but by passionate, loaded mechanisms that draw out the aspects with the most juice.

In Action

Read the following two tales. ¹ There will be a quiz at the end of class.

Tale 1

“A mother and her son are leaving home in the morning. She is taking him to visit his father’s workplace. The father is a laboratory technician at Victory Memorial Hospital. While walking along, the boy sees some wrecked cars in a junkyard, which he finds interesting.

“At the hospital, the staff are preparing for a practice disaster drill, which the boy will watch. Makeup artists were able to create realistic-looking injuries on actors for the drill.

“After the drill, while the father watched the boy, the mother left to phone her other child’s preschool. Running a little late, she phones the preschool to tell them she will soon pick up her child. Heading to pick up her child, she hails a taxi at the number 9 bus stop.”

Tale 2

“A mother and her son are leaving home in the morning. She is taking him to visit his father’s workplace. The father is a laboratory technician at Victory Memorial Hospital.

“While crossing the road, the boy is caught in a terrible accident, which critically ...