This is a bit of a tangent from the original topic, but I've pondered the same thing. I'm often amazed by how clearly some people appear to be able to remember

This is a bit of a tangent from the original topic, but I've pondered the same thing. I'm often amazed by how clearly some people appear to be able to remember events that happened when they were very young. For me, I barely remember stuff that happened even a decade ago, much less when I was a child. The mortifying memories probably stick longer than the pleasant ones do, but ultimately they all fade. It used to bother me, especally when sharing with partners who found it a reason to pity me, and for a period I wondered if I actually had some kind of trauma that I was hiding from myself. But eventually I stopped caring, because worrying about holes in your memory is just wasting time you could have spent thinking about things that are productive or entertaining or actionable in the present. I have come to think that my mind just works a bit differently to the folks who are more focused on their past. For me, now, I accept that if something no longer appears useful, it gets garbage-collected. Doesn't mean it wasn't worth experiencing in the first place, just means I acknowledge it was a fleeting moment of joy (or pain) and that's fine. I would be a lot more worried if I started losing actually-important memories like language skills, motor skills, general knowledge and so on.