Why Your Memories Are Wrong

disturbing news everything you remember. is. wrong hi I'm Madison and I'm Anna and. we're from Mak Georgia let's talk about. [Music]. [Applause]. that good mythical morning this episode. is brought to you by culas dcom that's. of course the guys with the goods Goods. like the barbecue Pizza Pan you got a. grill you want to make a pizza we can.

make your dreams come true link I. actually do want to do that so I'm going. to take this home and I'm going to grill. a pizza perfectly tonight outdoors link. become more manly your memories your. memories are tainted by yourself did you. know that speak for yourself I I I'm a. big fan of Wired Magazine we both. subscribe to it for some reason your. Wired Magazine comes to my house and. then I have to give it to you that's. because you gifted it to me but put but. I put my own address on it yeah so you.

gifted it to yourself but then regifted. it to me but it has your name on it. which should make you feel good okay and. it's a gift from me to you I I'll let. that start making me feel good if you're. interested in the types of things that. mythical beasts are interested in uh you. might enjoy Wire magazine a couple of. months back one of the issues actually. the cover story was about how memories. work now I actually read this story too. but I don't remember any that's good so. I'm I'm kind of leaning on you to. actually remember this this story about.

well I had to reread it uh recently to. Reem it so I can now explain it okay. they've known for years that when you. form a memory there's actually something. physical that happens in your brain okay. so it's almost like your brain is a hard. drive and the same way that there's a. physical change that happens inside a. hard drive when you load information. onto it I don't know that that's true. there is it's a very small physical. change but it's something physical is. happening in there and what happens in. your brain is that there's new ner. neural Pathways that are built basically.

neurons align themselves in certain ways. proteins are synthesized and you form a. memory that is a physiological reality. inside your brain. okay but what they have recently. discovered and what this article is. about and this is where it gets really. fascinating is that when you recall a. memory when you go back to that place in. your brain when you remember when you. remember you rebuild the memory.

it isn't like you just go back and you. like take a picture of this perfectly. constructed thing but actually when you. go back to that place in your brain and. I know we're using some analogies here. that I I'm probably insulting the. scientific Community but you don't go. back to that place yeah but you guys. don't. care the what happens is those neural. pathways are basically completely. rebuilt and resynthesized new proteins. are built now what this means is that. when you go back and you re access that. memory whatever you happen to be doing. at the time whatever you happen to be.

going through at the time actually. changes and taints the way that you. remember it and the the cumulative. effect is that memories change over time. and they did this experiment there's a. study that these guys who were doing. this memory study um. referenced they had people who. experienced 9/11 who were like involved. in the events like rescue workers and. people who were in the buildings and. that kind of thing okay recall the. events right after them you know they. took testimony and they took different.

stories to kind of recreate what. happened then they went back a year. later and they realized that 37% of the. details of the Original Stories had. changed just over the course of a year. as those people had continually gone. back and relived this traumatic thing. this thing that had been deeply. implanted and built inside their brain. and then I think it's a 10-year study. they hadn't had the the complete results. but like 5 years later 50% of the. details have been changed so memories. are kind of like playing a game of. telephone within your own.

brain my first question is if you don't. access the memory does it fade and you. don't remember at all so is it better to. at least access it even if you're going. to rebuild it and thereby change it. somewhat isn't that better than not. accessing at all because then it's just. going to go away well they didn't talk. about that but it sounds like a good. theory to me you you could be a. scientist you should wear a white coat. every day you need to change into a. white cardigan probably be better than. one this Ensemble and okay but what they.

discovered is that these people who and. by these people I mean all people we. don't think we don't think that we're. lying we're not lying it's not that. these people are going back and changing. their testimony it's that the memory. they sincerely believe that this is. what's happening because they rebuilt it. and well it's it's interesting because. even in yesterday's episode the one. episode when we sang the song for you. guys I'm surprised more of you guys. haven't pointed out in the comments but. we realized it when watching the episode. back Rett.

Rett Sing About Me eating a rat's tail. which I did not do you ate a worm's anus. I the way to a woman's heart is through. a worm's anus we said we reaccessed the. memory multiple times and each time we. said the way to a woman's Hearts to. worm's anus worm's anus I can't even say. it right I'm remembering it wrong but. then when you wrote the song you wrote. it differently you wrote the part about. the rat tail which I also kept in my. book back it was an Associated memory. and you didn't pick up on it and and.

only a few people have commented on it. yeah I heard the lyrics and I was I was. about to point something out but then I. forgot what I was about to point out and. I was distracted by something else and. then it just became reality when I went. back to rebuild the memory I wanted to. block out the worms anus and I wanted to. embrace the rat's tail and I suddenly. replaced them and bu build a new memory. and then inserted it into a song I. ruined the 100th episode song and didn't. realize it until today but at least we. have a record that we can go back you. know maybe we should journal or at least. tape record all of our memories and put.

it in a. show every morning and then we can we'll. hold ourselves to that well that would. be smart that's what we are doing but. here's there's. therapy there's a therapeutic thing. happening here what they're trying to do. with this research is they're basically. trying to say they want to get to a. point where it changed the way that. people who have traumatic events in. their past things that they've. experienced memories that haunt them and. they actually determine the course of. their lives they want to go back and. have people ultimately what they want to. do is they want to have people re access.

those memories and they want to give. them a drug at the time of them re. accessing those memories where they. cannot build the proteins and they will. actually forget and erase the memory. that's the ultimate goal according to. the article Eternal Sunshine SP a little. scary but in the meantime what they're. already doing is they're giving people. drugs while they re access these. memories they give them feelings of. euphoria so if you've got a traumatic. event and you re access it under the. influence of these drugs that give you. this good feeling you change the way. those neural pathways are built and your.

in the memory isn't as traumatic anymore. and these people administering the drugs. that's wired.com. yeah yeah good great job we'll never get. wired to sponsor any of our videos now. oh it's it's culas decom no no it's not. they're erasing memories it's not one of. our sponsors it's just some some doctors. out there the guys with the white coats. okay but we don't do drugs and we're not. going to do drugs on this uh show but. what we are going to do is I I I I kind. of see myself as a therapist in some way. I'm going to have link here as an.

experiment re access a tra interestingly. enough I do not see you as a therapist. good A traumatic memory from his past. but I'm going to do something I'm not. going to administer drugs to him while. he's doing this in order to change the. memory and give it a good taste in his. brain I'm actually going to feed him. yogurt from Yogurt Land also not a. sponsor but they are the closest yogurt. place so what they do sell drugs in the. back loves yogurt it gives him a feeling. of euphoria makes him happy I just I'll. go ahead and give you a little bit and.

and I and I am going to feed this to you. yes I don't want you to eat it not too. much cuz my my my teeth are really. sensitive okay I don't so I don't want. to be a traumatic experience right so I. need to relive a memory therapist and. we're going to see if this a good yogurt. yeah it is it is good that that's key. Superior to ice cream I want you to. close your eyes I want you to re access. a traumatic memory just kind of relive. it and I'm going to feed you yogurt. throughout it we're going to recreate a. new memory in your brain it's going to. be a good one okay this is the uh bad. memory that I have of uh sixth grade.

when I went over to Zach West's. house Zach West kept asking me over to. his house and I was a Tim child I didn't. want to I didn't like going over to. anybody's house and Zach like was. growing facial hair in sixth grade he. was really I don't know when it's going. into my mouth this got I was this one's. got a strawberry in it be right for that. I did I didn't I didn't want to go over. to his house cuz he was grown a beard in. sixth grade.

but he kept asking me so I went over. there and Zach West house it was a long. ranch style house one half of it was. where he lived with his mom and. then the other half of it his grandma. lived there now she had her own. kitchen and she had her own living room. she it was basically a separate house. but it was connected she was retired she. lived there they kept an eye on her. whatever but I go over to Zach West. house I'm going to spend the night Zach. West says. [Laughter]. just keep going keep going it's still.

pretty an unpleasant memory but it. tastes good the memory starting to taste. better just let them meld let them meld. together Zach says hey let's go spy on. my grandmother and I'm like what so we. start crawling down the hallway and I. remember slowly opening the door to her. living room and I can. see I can. see I could see that her back was to us. we we creeped by behind her couch and.

she was watching a soap opera on the. couch and uh and we're just spying. spying on her for the longest time and. nothing was happening so then Zach West. said starts creeping around in front of. the. couch it's a big strawberry the world I. want you to be happy about this give me. more yogurt I don't really like the. strawberries okay sorry I don't want to. ruin it so anyway down here around in. front and she sees us why what are y'all.

doing in here I'm trying to watch my. program and then Zach West picks me. [Laughter]. uput kind of he turns me over and he. performs the wrestling move known as the. pile driver on me right in front of his. grandma she just kind of looked at the. whole thing. happening she didn't say a word.

really you know she he dropped me right. on my head you know and it. was was. embarrassing I feel like a. baby feel like I'm regressing back to. sixth grade but oh okay thank. you so anyway that was it he pile Dr me. I never went back to his house and I. never saw his grandma again but she okay. why didn't she stand up for me okay on. the count of three.

I want you to pop out of it I want you. to take the spoon until you feed. yourself okay three two one okay now. snap out of the memory I wasn't. hypnotized I was just sharing a memory. how how you. feel I feel. satisfied now I want you to wait a I. want you to wait a couple of days to re. access that memory and you're going to. have good feelings or at least you're. going to Crave yoga I'm supposed to. report back yeah report back okay let's. spend the wheel and end this ridiculous. episode.

I don't know that was a terrible memory. hopefully it'll uh this is good though. it's good memory. now I don't know I don't know if it's a. good. memory it's better totally true by the. way it just need to be. better. cellmates what are you in here for LaRon. you know what that is yeah that's when. you burn stuff no that's uh that's Aron. oh. it's amazing what one little L can do to.

a crime leny a lot of people think it's. stealing cars leny it's actually when. you when you uh when you burn cars when. you plagiarize the guy from The Far. Side that's pretty good are you a. comedian yeah his name's Gary. Larson get it hey man I heard you I got. it yeah you want some. yogurt you know they serve AC yogurt in. here get that.

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