Memory? It Uses Your Brain, And Your Sight
I remember, years ago, seeing a man expose himself on a busy main street while I was out running. I immediately went to the police station and was asked to look through a notebook of potential suspects. I saw someone immediately who looked like the man, but we had seen a movie recently with a villain who (oddly enough) looked very similar. Figuring that couldn't be the right man, I said I couldn't pick him out of the faces. The cop pointed to the exact same picture and said, "Is that him?" Now, if I were a witness on the stand who was asked the same question, a trial might have gone very differently. (I never heard back, but clearly, he was a frequent flier!) Turns out that many decisions we make are often influenced by our memories and the confidence we have in them. (Don't get me started on False Memory Syndrome, that awful -- and false -- idea put forward by groups in the '90s trying to deny sexual abuse memories that surface later in life.) B...