The Architecture of Memory

We are inclined to think of memory as a faithful recording of past events.

我們往往把記憶看作對過去事件的忠實記錄。

In fact, each act of remembering involves reconstructing the experience from scattered fragments.

事實上，每一次回想都是用零散的片段重新建構當時的經歷。

During this process, memories are susceptible to distortion by subsequent information.

在這個過程中，記憶很容易被後來獲得的資訊扭曲。

Experiments have shown that subtly worded questions can alter what witnesses believe they saw.

實驗顯示，措辭微妙的提問可以改變目擊者自認為看到的內容。

Some participants have even been induced to recall childhood episodes that never occurred.

甚至有一些參與者被誘導回想起童年時從未發生過的事情。

Such findings carry profound implications for courts that rely heavily on eyewitness testimony.

這些發現對嚴重依賴目擊證詞的法庭有著深遠的意義。

Confidence, it transpires, is a notoriously unreliable indicator of accuracy.

事實證明，自信程度是衡量準確性的一個出了名不可靠的指標。

Yet this malleability may be adaptive, allowing us to update our understanding of the world.

不過，這種可塑性也許是一種適應性的表現，讓我們能夠更新對世界的認識。

Memory, in other words, serves the future at least as much as it preserves the past.

換句話說，記憶服務於未來的程度，至少不亞於它保存過去的程度。