Semantic memory refers to knowledge, such as the name of the park, and that the park is located in the city of Providence, which in turn is located in Rhode Island. Semantic memory also encompasses knowledge of the even more fundamental facts needed to make sense of this story, such as that water can turn into ice, and that icy water is cold. Episodic memory refers to my ability to mentally re-experience the episode, see the ice in my mind’s eye, invoke the emotional content of being cold, and recall that the shallow water made it fairly easy to pull myself back onto the edge.
