In case you missed it, NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams is in hot water. The anchor is being placed on six months of suspension after allegations came to light that an often-told story from his time in Iraq may not be accurate. Several times Williams claimed a helicopter he was in was hit by enemy fire, an incident that simply didn’t happen.
But Williams may not be completely at fault.
The New York Times’ Well blog shared a post about how false memories can quickly trick our brains. In fact, through years of telling this story, Williams may actually believe his helicopter came under fire. The article cites other instances when well-known individuals shared experiences that turned out to be false, including Hillary Clinton’s claim to be under fire in Bosnia and Mitt Romney’s memories of an event that happened before he was born.
This happens – under a lesser degree of public scrutiny – to all of us. Have you heard your parents tell a story about your childhood so often you can picture it happening? How about a favorite story from middle school or high school? Our brains are fallible objects – we don’t have photographic memories. When memories are retrieved, they are not the exact experience you had – almost like that game of telephone you played in school.
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