When you retrieve a memory, you’re likely to bathe it in the light of hindsight without realizing it. Researchers at Northwestern University observed that after memorizing a series of photos, participants later relied on brand new information to recall details of those images. Spoiler: They remembered them wrong. This trick of the mind, the researchers say, is a brain adaptation that likely explains love at first sight. It’s probably not that we really fell in love on the spot, but that when we remember meeting our sweetheart, we overlay the memory with our current adoration.
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