## TL;DR

Human memory is not a recording device — it's reconstructive and fallible. Types: sensory (milliseconds), short-term/working (seconds, 7±2 items — Miller, 1956), long-term (unlimited capacity). Long-term: explicit (declarative: episodic + semantic) and implicit (procedural skills, conditioning). Consolidation: moving memories from hippocampus to cortex during sleep.

## Core Explanation

Working memory: 4±1 chunks (Cowan, 2001 — updated from Miller). Chunking: group information into meaningful units. Encoding: deep (semantic, elaborative) > shallow (visual, acoustic). Retrieval: context-dependent (same environment), state-dependent (same emotional/physical state). Forgetting: Ebbinghaus curve, interference (proactive/retroactive), retrieval failure (tip-of-the-tongue). Flashbulb memories: vivid but not more accurate — we're confident but wrong.

## Further Reading

- [The Seven Sins of Memory (Daniel Schacter)](https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-seven-sins-of-memory-daniel-l-schacter)