November 7, 2026 · Knowledge Management Made Simple
Imagine remembering something perfectly.
You are absolutely certain!
Then someone shows you a photograph.
Oops. That’s not what happened.
Psychologist Elizabeth Loftus spent decades studying how human memory can change.
Her research revealed something surprising: our memories aren’t perfect recordings of the past.
Let’s explore three funny examples.
1. Oxana’s Birthday Cake
Pavel remembers Oxana’s birthday cake.
“It was enormous! Three layers!”
Oxana shows him a photograph.
One small chocolate cake.
“Are you sure?” asks Pavel.
“Perhaps the other two layers escaped?”
What did we learn?
Confidence doesn’t guarantee accuracy. Memories can become distorted over time.
2. The Mysterious Office Meeting
Pavel remembers a meeting starting at 9 AM.
A colleague asks:
“Remember when everyone arrived late for the 10 AM meeting?”
Suddenly, Pavel isn’t so sure.
“Wait… Was it nine or ten?”
Fortunately, the calendar still has the original invitation.
What did we learn?
Information received after an event can influence what people later remember.
This is related to the misinformation effect.
3. The Invisible Broken Glass
Imagine watching a video of two cars colliding.
Someone asks:
“How fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?”
Later, they ask whether you saw broken glass.
But there wasn’t any!
“Perhaps the glass went on holiday?”
What did we learn?
In a famous 1974 experiment, Loftus and John Palmer found that suggestive wording influenced speed estimates and later reports of broken glass.
The Big Idea
Memory is reconstructive. We don’t always retrieve an exact copy of an experience.
Suggestions, later information, and expectations can affect what we remember.
Why This Matters for Knowledge Management
Important decisions shouldn’t depend only on someone’s recollection.
Dates, original documents, meeting records, and source references help us distinguish what happened from what people remember.
What About Artificial Intelligence?
AI can compare accounts with documented evidence.
But if its sources are inaccurate, it can repeat or amplify the same mistakes.
Elizabeth Loftus’s Words
“Memory works a little bit more like a Wikipedia page”
Source: Elizabeth Loftus, How Reliable Is Your Memory?, TEDGlobal, June 2013.
The takeaway: Remembering something clearly doesn’t necessarily mean remembering it correctly.
Especially if your birthday cake has mysteriously grown two extra floors.
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