#430 – Charan Ranganath: Human Memory, Imagination, Deja Vu, and False Memories

Charan Ranganath is a psychologist and neuroscientist at UC Davis, specializing in human memory. He is the author of a new book titled Why We Remember. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
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Transcript: https://lexfridman.com/charan-ranganath-transcript

EPISODE LINKS:
Charan’s X: https://x.com/CharanRanganath
Charan’s Instagram: https://instagram.com/thememorydoc
Charan’s Website: https://charanranganath.com
Why We Remember (book): https://amzn.to/3WzUF6x
Charan’s Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ptWkt1wAAAAJ
Dynamic Memory Lab: https://dml.ucdavis.edu/

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OUTLINE:
Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
(00:00)– Introduction
(10:18)– Experiencing self vs remembering self
(23:59)– Creating memories
(33:31)– Why we forget
(41:08)– Training memory
(51:37)– Memory hacks
(1:03:26)– Imagination vs memory
(1:12:44)– Memory competitions
(1:22:33)– Science of memory
(1:37:48)– Discoveries
(1:48:52)– Deja vu
(1:54:09)– False memories
(2:14:14)– False confessions
(2:18:00)– Heartbreak
(2:25:34)– Nature of time
(2:33:15)– Brain–computer interface (BCI)
(2:47:19)– AI and memory
(2:57:33)– ADHD
(3:04:30)– Music
(3:14:15)– Human mind