Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Charan Ranganath discusses how and why we remember.
Does this match with your personal experience of memory?
With a free trial, you can watch the full talk NOW at iai.tv/video/memory-is-a-construction?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=description
Our understanding of memory often focuses on its failures: the names we cannot recall, the reasons we walked into a room, the experiences that seem to vanish within hours. But what if forgetting is not a flaw, and memory is far more powerful and purposeful than we realise? Join Charan Ranganath, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at UC Davis and author of Why We Remember, to explore the cutting-edge neuroscience behind how memory truly works. Drawing on discoveries from his own laboratory, Ranganath examines how the brain forms, stores and retrieves memories, and reveals why memory is not simply a record of the past but the dynamic thread connecting past, present and future.
#memory #neuroscience #psychology
Charan Ranganath is Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience and Director of Dynamic Memory Lab at the University of California, Davis, where he spent more than 25 years investigating how the brain encodes, stores and retrieves memories. He is the author of Why We Remember: The Science of Memory and How It Shapes Us.
The Institute of Art and Ideas features videos and articles from cutting edge thinkers discussing the ideas that are shaping the world, from metaphysics to string theory, technology to democracy, aesthetics to genetics. Subscribe today! iai.tv/subscribe?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=https://iai.tv/video/memory-is-a-construction
0:00 Intro
0:25 Memory is not so much about the past, but instead about the present and the future.
2:35 Event boundaries - how our mind divides up events
9:35 How event boundaries affect us in real life
16:20 How sleep and memory interact
17:31 How curiosity improves memory
For debates and talks: iai.tv
For articles: iai.tv/articles
For courses: iai.tv/iai-academy/courses
Charan Ranganath discusses how and why we remember.
Does this match with your personal experience of memory?
With a free trial, you can watch the full talk NOW at iai.tv/video/memory-is-a-construction?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=description
Our understanding of memory often focuses on its failures: the names we cannot recall, the reasons we walked into a room, the experiences that seem to vanish within hours. But what if forgetting is not a flaw, and memory is far more powerful and purposeful than we realise? Join Charan Ranganath, Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at UC Davis and author of Why We Remember, to explore the cutting-edge neuroscience behind how memory truly works. Drawing on discoveries from his own laboratory, Ranganath examines how the brain forms, stores and retrieves memories, and reveals why memory is not simply a record of the past but the dynamic thread connecting past, present and future.
#memory #neuroscience #psychology
Charan Ranganath is Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience and Director of Dynamic Memory Lab at the University of California, Davis, where he spent more than 25 years investigating how the brain encodes, stores and retrieves memories. He is the author of Why We Remember: The Science of Memory and How It Shapes Us.
The Institute of Art and Ideas features videos and articles from cutting edge thinkers discussing the ideas that are shaping the world, from metaphysics to string theory, technology to democracy, aesthetics to genetics. Subscribe today! iai.tv/subscribe?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=https://iai.tv/video/memory-is-a-construction
0:00 Intro
0:25 Memory is not so much about the past, but instead about the present and the future.
2:35 Event boundaries - how our mind divides up events
9:35 How event boundaries affect us in real life
16:20 How sleep and memory interact
17:31 How curiosity improves memory
For debates and talks: iai.tv
For articles: iai.tv/articles
For courses: iai.tv/iai-academy/courses
