Why We Make Mistakes: Post #3--We Search for Meaning

We Search for Meaning: We forget names all the time but are far less likely to forget people’s professions or hobbies—seems like these both give meaning to people. Look at this stream of numbers: 1, 7, 7, 6, 1, 9, 4, 5. Now look away and see if you can recall them. Now try this one: There are two sets of number 1776 and 1945—two historically meaningful dates. Are they easier to remember? Same numbers, different results. And if you want to remember someone’s face, attach some sort of emotion to it, like honesty or anger, or sadness.