Can you trust your earliest childhood memories? | childhood memories
MartinConwayalsosuggeststryingtospotimplausibledetails.Oneofhisearliestmemoriesinvolveshimsittinginanappydiggingdirtoutofpavementcracks.Hecametotheconclusionthatthischerishedsnapshotisfictionalbecausehe’swearingHuggiesinhisrecollection.“Theyweren’tinventedinthe1950swhenIwasachild,”hesays.“Soithadtobewrong.Ifyoureflectuponthedetailsintheseearlymemories,you’lloftenfindthatthey’rejustnotplausible.”Andwemaynotwanttoridourselvesofthesememories.Ourmemories,whetherfictionalornot,canhelptobringusclo...
Martin Conway also suggests trying to spot implausible details. One of his earliest memories involves him sitting in a nappy digging dirt out of pavement cracks. He came to the conclusion that this cherished snapshot is fictional because he’s wearing Huggies in his recollection. “They weren’t invented in the 1950s when I was a child,” he says. “So it had to be wrong. If you reflect upon the details in these early memories, you’ll often find that they’re just not plausible.”
And we may not want to rid ourselves of these memories. Our memories, whether fictional or not, can help to bring us closer together. Brock Kirwan, director of the MRI research facility at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, explained that the act of reminiscing can act like a social glue[1], so that “shared experiences could help form the basis for your group identity and solidify group cohesion”.
A memory of a beloved grandparent or long-gone family pet can bring us happiness, whether it is fic...