top of page

Remembering to Forget

It is a great blessing to remember. Memory is such an individualistic attribute that it seems to exist outside of everything else that a person can have. Indeed, there are many benefits to having a strong memory. They do well in school, they receive good jobs because they are able to recall the relevant information for their work (lawyers, doctors, etc.), and even might have a chance to win some good money on a trivia show. In contrast to strong memory, we also are aware of people that suffer from problems with their memory. As a society, we generally look down on such people. Children are often berated for forgetting to do certain chores. But my question for this week is what do we do when we want to forget but can't?


The inspiration for this blog comes from one of my favorite short stories: Funes the Memorious by Jorge Luis Borges. Its focus is on a man who never forgets. He eventually suffocates. There are such people, 11 in existence. They remember the layout of the sprinkles of their 3rd birthday cake. Is it really a blessing to remember as much as we want to?


As a person who has what many people have called a "stellar memory" (EG: I used to run a trivia show and write my own questions for it every week for 4 years), it does feel like enormous pressure.

My memory is incredibly sensory, perhaps even didactic, emotions are not let go of easily in my mind. For example, I can't walk down a street in Toronto without thinking of who I was with last time I walked down that street. I also am called upon to remember things that I have learned long ago. Sometimes it is fun to relish that you have such a strength and indeed I enjoy that I can bask in such glory. It draws me back to the time in 9th grade when we had to discuss a special flaw we had. What is meant by "special flaw" this means a characteristic trait that is valuable but dangerous to have. My memory is that for me. There are certain things I want to forget. I can't. What does this thought mean for historians?


It tells me that we have to work hard to be sensitive to the strong and understanding to the weak (in regards to memory). Teaching history involves a certain amount of balance. Maybe we need to work on our balance between teaching facts and teaching emotions because for some people one will work better than the other. This gives a new meaning to "sticky situation". Teaching people how to remember is not the job of a historian, but helping them decide what to remember is what we can do.


The work continues...

(Old Cincinnati, Ohio library-demolished in 1955)


bottom of page