The Truth About False Memories: Why We All Walk a Fragile Line

We can’t avoid having them

Although the brain is a powerful piece of machinery, it can be led astray by the subtlest of influences.

It’s when these errors play out publicly that their impact becomes evident and sometimes…embarrassing.

One such incident happened in the public eye as the veteran news anchor Brian Williams remembered an event from the Iraq war in 2003. While at a New York Rangers hockey game in 2015, Williams told the crowd a story where he claimed he was on a U.S. military helicopter that had been hit and forced down by the enemy fire.

Except this never happened.

Before he admitted to misremembering the incident, he told the altered version many times in interviews with David Letterman, Alec Baldwin, and even on NBC News.

Williams only came forward with an apology on national TV after soldiers present at the scene posted on social media about his lies. He was actually on a helicopter an hour behind three others that came under fire. He was never near the line of fire.

Was he lying back then or did something else happen?

He apologized by saying,

“I don’t know what screwed up in my mind that caused me to conflate one aircraft with another.”

This conflation has a name: false memory. While Williams publicly admitted his memory error, what if we carry similar inaccuracies without ever having the chance to compare them to reality?

These erroneous recollections can shape our beliefs, behaviors, and decisions, and we may never discover the truth behind them, which could have lasting effects on our lives.

That’s why it’s so important to learn about this concept and realize its potential impact on our lives. Otherwise, we might carry these made-up ideas, based on false memories, with us throughout our lives without even realizing it.

Our memory is frail

Our recollections are susceptible to contamination, distortion, and even supplementation — a vulnerability shared by all of us.

With false memories, we weave bits and pieces of events into a narrative that never happened. However, since it’s spliced between real past events, we think of them as true.

This is a flaw that’s even more dangerous when we can’t detect it.

We seem to remember these events clearly. We blur the line between fantasy and reality, fooling ourselves that they’re the same.

And you might think this doesn’t happen to you, but it’s more common than you think.

• Even people with amazing memory are susceptible to forming false memories. Researchers at the University of California state that no one is immune to them in their study on this topic.
• Not only do false memories happen spontaneously but they can be implanted. According to research, almost a third of people (30%) are susceptible to remembering a false autobiographical event. Another study claimed almost 70% of people could fall prey to this phenomenon.

Why does this happen?

Several reasons can drive us to create vivid but inaccurate recollections:

• A wrong interpretation of something we saw or heard: our brain misinterprets or distorts sensory information, causing us to remember events or details inaccurately.

Let’s say you see a distant figure in a dimly lit alley. You can easily misinterpret it as a shadowy figure, which you later recall as a potential threat, even though it was just a passerby.

• Interfering info: post-event information or suggestions can be included in the original memory, making it difficult to distinguish between what truly happened and what was added later.

For instance, after watching a movie with friends, they suggest a scene that was never in the film, and over time, you start remembering the non-existent scene as if it were part of the movie.

• Vivid imagination: our ability to visualize and generate mental images can lead to the creation of rich, detailed, but entirely fictitious memories.

For example, you vividly remember attending your favorite celebrity’s concert and even recalling the songs, but it never happened; you had merely daydreamed about it.

Just a reminder that these false memories aren’t a sign that you’re sick, dumb, or have a brain disease.

It’s a product of how our brain processes information and how it saves it in our memory.

Memories are not static, they’re created and recreated over time. It makes them alive and magical but also susceptible to changes we might not be aware of.

Tips to help cope with them

With these house cleaning measures, we can help our memory be more accurate.

First, try to maintain a critical mindset with what you see, hear, or read. Question the source, the credibility, and the consistency of information. Avoid forming strong memories based solely on a single piece of information.

Cross-reference info from multiple reliable sources.

Also, be open to the idea that your memory might not be entirely accurate, especially when you recall events that happened a long time ago.

Second, take care of your mental health. Get a good night's sleep so you can preserve your memory’s accuracy. If you’re fatigued or sleep-deprived, your cognitive functions might be compromised which can lead to the formation of false memories.

Finally, practice mindfulness. If you make it a habit to stay grounded in the present, you’ll reduce the likelihood of daydreaming or images infiltrating your memories.

Let me give you a treat

This wouldn’t be my article if it didn’t have some reference to music.

Music can help us ground our recollections in actual events and maintain a healthier state of mind. These positive vibrations will make it more difficult for false memories to take root.

These songs not only draw inspiration from memories but also have the power to put us in a positive mindset, helping protect us from developing false memories.

Vieuxtemp’s trip to America in the 1840s inspired him to write variations on the folk tune “Yankee Doodle”. Just as he creatively transformed a familiar tune, our brains can sometimes alter or reconstruct memories.

Then we have “Memory of a Dear Place”, a music piece by Tchaikovsky but later arranged for orchestra by Glazunov. Just as music can evoke a deep sense of nostalgia and allow us to relive our emotional memories, this piece serves as a reminder of the transformative role of music in people’s memories.

And finally, the anonymous song “Paxarico Tú Te Llamas,” interpreted by Jordi Savall for the Sephardic diaspora, demonstrates the profound connection between music and memory. This traditional Sephardic song carries the memories, stories, and emotions of a people dispersed over centuries.

Music is the vessel that ensures the community’s cultural memories will endure.

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