News Anchor Brian Williams and the Science of Memory
Memory distortion has become a hot topic this week in the wake of NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams’s admission of falsely recounting one of his experiences during coverage of the Iraq War.
For years, Williams talked about riding in a helicopter that was ultimately forced down after taking fire during the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. But this week he publicly apologized and admitted that he had been mistaken after reports surfaced that he was not in that particular aircraft, but in a following helicopter.
Williams said he made a mistake in recalling the incident, having conflated video he had seen with his own experience. He described the error as resulting from the “fog of memory over 12 years” and this explanation has fueled interviews in many high-profile outlets with psychological scientists who are memory experts.
Psychological science continues to uncover new findings about the factors that shape how memories are formed, how they can change over time, and how we can end up with false memories, including these recent discoveries reported in Psychological Science and the APS Observer:
Comments
I’m not totally sure what the big deal is??????
He’s been a wonderful journalist, put his life on the line to report the news
Then we as his fellow HUMAN BEINGS want to totally destroy him personally and professionally over ONE LAPSE OR CONFUSION????
I personally think it’s UNGODLY, HYPOCRITICAL, AND TOTALLY LOWLIFE for this man to be treated this way
So much for human kindness and consideration. And to the hypocrites
Remember
WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND
What leads you (or anyone) to believe this has anything to do with memory? Williams’ assertions aside (to the extent they can be trusted).
By the way, what exactly is “memory”? And, once you answer that one, what sanctions calling a “memory” a “false memory” (sounds incoherent on its face, but I suppose that such an assertion really does require a little rational thought about definitions).
*Insert inaudible, electronic gasp about here*
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