3 ms·

> Memory isn’t just a passive recording device: our brains decide what matters, and emotional events can reach back in time to stabilize fragile memories So th

by rdtsc 1y ago

> Memory isn’t just a passive recording device: our brains decide what matters, and emotional events can reach back in time to stabilize fragile memories So they are saying … attention is all you need? :-) If it’s surprising or shocking enough you’ll pay very close attention to it and remember it. Also smells have a very strong recall factor. You smell the same unique smell and it immediately takes you back to the time and place. At least that’s how it works for me.

nadermx 1y ago
For those who don't get the reference. It's googles breakthrough paper on LLM's. https://arxiv.org/abs/1706.03762 https://arxiv.org/abs/1706.03762
- rybosome 1y ago
  Those of us subscribing to AI newsletters are constantly slapped in the face with “___ is all you need” style jokes, such that I didn’t even register someone might not make that connection.
parpfish 1y ago
I have a pet theory that the reason that smell-based memory is so strong has something to do with the fact it’s the only sense that bypasses the thalamus. Smell is wired up to the brain… differently
- accrual 1y ago
  Yeah, that mirrors my anecdotal experience. Certain smells give me a sensation of recall very different from simply thinking or remembering something.
hshshshshsh 1y ago
I think it's a bit opposite. If you are really paying attention you probably don't need to remember the event since you already processed it properly at that time. You tend to generally remember stuff that you didn't process properly or generated a ton of emotions that are more than the baseline.
accrual 1y ago
> You smell the same unique smell and it immediately takes you back to the time and place. At least that’s how it works for me. I have experienced this too. Recently I was in new place I've never been before and while waiting in line at a shop, I randomly smelled something that instantly gave me déjà vu for my very early childhood, like age 5 or less. It was wild how vivid and fleeting it was - it lasted only for a moment but I remember the sensation.
jandrewrogers 1y ago
As a very young child, I grew up in the remote hill country of the Pacific Northwest. Thirty years later, I moved to Seattle and decided to go hiking in the Cascades. The smell of those mountains immediately unleashed memories I didn’t know I had. It was really unexpected how much memory was keyed to that smell. Also, that smell induced a strange feeling like I was supposed to be there as if it was my native environment, and I hadn’t lived in the region for decades. I am an avid outdoorsman. One thing I have realized is that every wilderness locale has a distinct natural smell. It isn’t just the plants but also the minerals, soil, and bacteria that live in that environment. There are vast regions of the US where I can probably identify the locale with some degree of fidelity by the smell. It is a bit like how an expert sommelier can identify wines. Civilization is more hit and miss but wilderness is almost fingerprinted by its smell. Humans are clearly capable of sensing it and imprinting based on it. We don’t think about it much but it is there.
- esseph 1y ago
  Going without food for a few days, or packing light and eating light, my nose goes crazy. I can smell everything.
mchinen 1y ago
Definitely! This makes me think of petrichor, the earthy smells released during rain, in urban environments is very local and memory triggering because it's tied to bacterial soil/rock/plant composition. There's something visceral about it for me because my default model of memories is audio and video playback, and the smell hits me with a forgotten dimension when I go back to a place and it rains.
prmph 1y ago
I don't know, i think it varies with people. For me smells do not stimulate memory recall at all.
tsoukase 1y ago
My father kept an old closet with simple personal stuff in our basement and was opening and smelling it in order to remember his childhood. This continued for 60+ years.

by rdtsc 1y ago

nadermx 1y ago

For those who don't get the reference. It's googles breakthrough paper on LLM's. https://arxiv.org/abs/1706.03762 https://arxiv.org/abs/1706.03762

rybosome 1y ago
Those of us subscribing to AI newsletters are constantly slapped in the face with “___ is all you need” style jokes, such that I didn’t even register someone might not make that connection.

parpfish 1y ago

I have a pet theory that the reason that smell-based memory is so strong has something to do with the fact it’s the only sense that bypasses the thalamus. Smell is wired up to the brain… differently

accrual 1y ago
Yeah, that mirrors my anecdotal experience. Certain smells give me a sensation of recall very different from simply thinking or remembering something.

hshshshshsh 1y ago

I think it's a bit opposite. If you are really paying attention you probably don't need to remember the event since you already processed it properly at that time. You tend to generally remember stuff that you didn't process properly or generated a ton of emotions that are more than the baseline.

accrual 1y ago

> You smell the same unique smell and it immediately takes you back to the time and place. At least that’s how it works for me. I have experienced this too. Recently I was in new place I've never been before and while waiting in line at a shop, I randomly smelled something that instantly gave me déjà vu for my very early childhood, like age 5 or less. It was wild how vivid and fleeting it was - it lasted only for a moment but I remember the sensation.

jandrewrogers 1y ago

As a very young child, I grew up in the remote hill country of the Pacific Northwest. Thirty years later, I moved to Seattle and decided to go hiking in the Cascades. The smell of those mountains immediately unleashed memories I didn’t know I had. It was really unexpected how much memory was keyed to that smell. Also, that smell induced a strange feeling like I was supposed to be there as if it was my native environment, and I hadn’t lived in the region for decades. I am an avid outdoorsman. One thing I have realized is that every wilderness locale has a distinct natural smell. It isn’t just the plants but also the minerals, soil, and bacteria that live in that environment. There are vast regions of the US where I can probably identify the locale with some degree of fidelity by the smell. It is a bit like how an expert sommelier can identify wines. Civilization is more hit and miss but wilderness is almost fingerprinted by its smell. Humans are clearly capable of sensing it and imprinting based on it. We don’t think about it much but it is there.

esseph 1y ago
Going without food for a few days, or packing light and eating light, my nose goes crazy. I can smell everything.

mchinen 1y ago

Definitely! This makes me think of petrichor, the earthy smells released during rain, in urban environments is very local and memory triggering because it's tied to bacterial soil/rock/plant composition. There's something visceral about it for me because my default model of memories is audio and video playback, and the smell hits me with a forgotten dimension when I go back to a place and it rains.

prmph 1y ago

I don't know, i think it varies with people. For me smells do not stimulate memory recall at all.

tsoukase 1y ago

My father kept an old closet with simple personal stuff in our basement and was opening and smelling it in order to remember his childhood. This continued for 60+ years.