Sometimes remembering things isn't as easy as we'd like, and sometimes it'd be nice to be able to conveniently forget some memories. Plenty of folks are researching how memory works, but it's still a pretty big mystery exactly how our brains store so much information -- and which information to forget. Here are just a few interesting links on making (and un-making) some memories.

• People with superior autobiographical memory can remember an amazing amount, but they're not savants, nor do they have photographic memories or use common memory tricks. Many of them also exhibit obsessive-compulsive tendencies, but researchers have only extensively studied about a dozen subjects with this ability so far. [url]
• Currently, implanting false memories in lab mice involves some combination of genetic engineering, boxes, electrical shocks, brain implants and drug injections, and these procedures aren't recommended for humans (yet). Ten points for re-writing that sentence as a Tom Swifty. [url]
• Erasing painful memories could be helpful for some people, but if reliable techniques are developed to make people forget certain events, what would people choose to remove? Therapeutic forgetting has some obvious benefits, but there could be unintended consequences for criminal trials and witness testimonies. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post.

There's a lot we still don't know about how our own brains work. Our minds are sufficiently complex that the only practical way to begin studying how they work is to categorize the different processes and try to look at how those individual parts operate. How the brain stores memories is a fascinating field -- that's just starting to yield some real scientific knowledge. Here are just a few tidbits on remembering things.

• Older brains don't remember stuff as well as younger brains because the pathways leading to the hippocampus degrade over time. Now we just need to figure out how to rejuvenate those connections -- or grow completely new ones. [url]
• The "doorway effect" is a fairly common phenomenon in which you walk into another room and then realize you've forgotten why you're there. The effect works in virtual environments as well as in real life, but don't blame the doorway -- it's more likely that your brain is pre-programmed to purge your working memory after a triggering event. [url]
• Connecting our brains to computers could, if done right, extend our memories and computational abilities. Some predictions say it'll happen in about 100 years, or maybe sometime in 2100. [url]
• To discover more interesting articles on the human mind, check out what's currently floating around the StumbleUpon universe. [url]  

By the way, StumbleUpon can recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

The human mind is often described using computer terminology -- with the mind as the software running on our soggy brain hardware. The analogy breaks down in many ways, especially since our brains don't actually execute instructions like CPUs do. However, there are still plenty of folks trying to "hack" our wetware to improve -- or just change -- the way we think. Here are a few quick links on ways to change the way people think.

• Experiments with Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) can turn people into Rain-Man-esque idiot savants. There's a new movie adaptation for Flowers for Algernon somewhere here.... [url]
• Metaphors are influential to how we interpret and understand all kinds of concepts. Hopefully, the "planetary" description of atomic structures is being phased out in science. [url]
• Monogamy in mammals could be turned on/off with some chemicals. Pharma labs are probably working on love potions that don't involve little blue pills. [url]
• One of these "love" chemicals, oxytocin, can also make people more trusting and cooperative. Results may vary. If gullibility lasts more than 4 hours, consult a doctor. [url]
• To discover more interesting articles on the human mind, check out what's currently floating around the StumbleUpon universe. [url]  

By the way, StumbleUpon can recommend some good Techdirt articles, too.

The mind works in mysterious ways. There are all sorts of studies that try to connect how the mind can affect its surroundings. Bending spoons probably won't fool too many people these days, but there are still a lot of unanswered questions about placebos and other "mind-controlled" effects. Perhaps the fundamental problem is that people in general are just inherently bad at statistics and interpreting data and correlations. Whatever the case may be, here are some quick links about mind-over-matter topics.

Stress might be able to affect your genes. So far, just yeast cells have been shown to have genes changed by stress. Maybe larger organisms' genes are affected by stress, too? [url]

In a 1997 survey, 18 million Americans reported having a near death experience (NDE)... and neurologists are studying the states of consciousness that can "blend" during an NDE. They might figure out how Inception really works while they're at it. [url]

Conquer your fears and self-doubts with acceptance. Easier said than done! [url]

Does ESP exist for predicting sexy pictures? Statistics don't lie... err, yes they do all the time. Guessing something right 53% of the time doesn't sound like ESP. [url]

The human brain is a pretty interesting contraption. And generally, we learn about how it works when things "go wrong" with it. The results of brain mapping are pretty fascinating -- especially when we find out that many humans have common brain areas that perform the same tasks. Armed with this information, we can try to trick ourselves and hack our own thoughts. But even if we can't quite figure out how our brains work, the odd cases of various brains gone awry are interesting to see. Here are just a few examples:

A woman who knows no fear has been studied at the University of Iowa. Researchers say, "It is quite remarkable that she is still alive." [url]

One Vietnamese man hasn't slept in decades. Unfortunately, he doesn't like taking MRIs, so it's tough to say what's going on with him. [url]

A few people have really really good memories. Not being able to forget things doesn't quite seem like a comic book superpower, but maybe it should be. [url]

Harvard researchers show that the placebo effect works even when patients are told they're being given sugar pills. This study actually just proves how bad doctors are at running control experiments (... or maybe that some patients really don't trust anything a doctor tells them.) [url]

Transcranial magnetic stimulation sounds like a cool way to turn off parts of your brain. But becoming an idiot savant probably isn't as appealing as it sounds. [url]