I think this is a cheap optimization the brain uses. Every time our location changes, it clears short term memory to have a fresh slate and be aware in the new

I think this is a cheap optimization the brain uses. Every time our location changes, it clears short term memory to have a fresh slate and be aware in the new situation. Think of it as setting up a new stack frame. I think it evolved so that a caveman could exit the cave and immediately forget what he was thinking about before and be fully aware, watching for predators and looking for food. He can start climbing a tree and suddenly the whole word is that tree and that task. Nowadays that's why we walk into another room and can't remember why we went there, or we open the fridge door and can't remember what we wanted. I turn on my phone to do something, but somehow the phone itself is a new context and I end up doing something else.