When your brain retrieves a memory, it does not do it like a computer does, which calls up a complete record of what’s on its hard drive (e.g., document, picture, song). Your brain rebuilds implicit and explicit memories from their key features, drawing on its simulating capacities to fill in missing details. While this is more work, it’s also a more efficient use of neural real estate—this way complete records don’t need to be stored. And your brain is so fast that you don’t notice the regeneration of each memory. This rebuilding process gives you the opportunity, right down in the
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