--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A good memory is one trained to forget…" description: "\"A good memory is one trained to forget the trivial.\" — Clifton Fadiman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5e/clifton-fadiman-11053_forget_a-good-memory-is-one-trained-to-forget-t_6172.jpg" --- # A good memory is one trained to forget the trivial. ![“A good memory is one trained to forget the trivial.” quote by Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5e/clifton-fadiman-11053_forget_a-good-memory-is-one-trained-to-forget-t_6172.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5e/clifton-fadiman-11053_forget_a-good-memory-is-one-trained-to-forget-t_6172.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5e/clifton-fadiman-11053_forget_a-good-memory-is-one-trained-to-forget-t_6172.jpg) > “A good memory is one trained to forget the trivial.” [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Memory should prioritize meaningful experiences, discarding insignificant details to preserve mental clarity. **In simple terms:** Prioritize significance over minutiae. Key Takeaway Distill memory to essentials. Themes cognitive efficiency selective attention mental hygiene memory optimization focus information hierarchy Mood thoughtful analytical reflective Type aphor maxim advice When to use this quote - studying for exams - organizing personal archives - designing AI memory systems - curating historical records - personal reflection journaling Key Concepts memory filtering significance weighting cognitive load management mental prioritization Practical Applications - enhance learning retention - improve decision-making Questions to Reflect On - What criteria determine what is trivial? - How does selective forgetting affect identity? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Good memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-memories/) [Good memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-memory/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) ## Related quotes > [An educated man is not one whose memory is trained to carry a few dates in history - he is one who can accomplish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/an-educated-man-is-not-one-whose-memory-is-trained-to-carry-a-few/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) > [By the time I got to record my first album, I was 26, I didn't need pen or paper - my memory had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-z/by-the-time-i-got-to-record-my-first-album-i-was-26-i-didn-t-need-pen/) [Jay-Z](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-z/) > [A good memory is one of the most precious assets of spiritual living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-anders/a-good-memory-is-one-of-the-most-precious-assets-of-spiritual-living/) [Max Anders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-anders/) > [A good memory and a tongue tied in the middle is a combination which gives immortality to conversation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-good-memory-and-a-tongue-tied-in-the-middle-is-a-combination-which/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I used to believe having a good memory meant being able to remember everything in perfect detail. Now I believe having a good memory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-dermont/i-used-to-believe-having-a-good-memory-meant-being-able-to-remember-2/) [Amber Dermont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-dermont/) > [One must have a good memory to keep the promises one has made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/one-must-have-a-good-memory-to-keep-the-promises-one-has-made/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) > [Memory is the friend of wit, but the treacherous ally of invention; there are many books that owe their success to two things; good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/memory-is-the-friend-of-wit-but-the-treacherous-ally-of-invention/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [If man has one good memory to go by, that may be enough to save him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/if-man-has-one-good-memory-to-go-by-that-may-be-enough-to-save-him/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [I should remember more, and I have a pretty good memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-romero/i-should-remember-more-and-i-have-a-pretty-good-memory/) [Cesar Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-romero/) > [There is nothing higher and stronger and more wholesome and useful for life in later years than some good memory, especially a memory connected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/there-is-nothing-higher-and-stronger-and-more-wholesome-and-useful/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [A good forgettery is a happier possession than a good memory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myrtle-reed/a-good-forgettery-is-a-happier-possession-than-a-good-memory/) [Myrtle Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myrtle-reed/) > [A good memory, which nature has endowed us with, causes things long past to seem present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/a-good-memory-which-nature-has-endowed-us-with-causes-things-long/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [I've always been able to recount things, and I have a really good memory about dialog and what people have said before and this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-burnett/i-ve-always-been-able-to-recount-things-and-i-have-a-really-good/) [Carol Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-burnett/) > [I didn't want it to be one good memory that led to a lot of bad ones. I wanted it to stay what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-scott/i-didn-t-want-it-to-be-one-good-memory-that-led-to-a-lot-of-bad-ones/) [Elizabeth Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-scott/) > [I do have a really good memory. I mean, like, I can remember all the phone numbers of everybody on the street I grew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-karr/i-do-have-a-really-good-memory-i-mean-like-i-can-remember-all-the/) [Mary Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-karr/) ## More by Clifton Fadiman > [To divide one's life by years is of course to tumble into a trap set by our own arithmetic. The calendar consents to carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/to-divide-one-s-life-by-years-is-of-course-to-tumble-into-a-trap-set/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [A bottle of wine begs to be shared; I have never met a miserly wine lover.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/a-bottle-of-wine-begs-to-be-shared-i-have-never-met-a-miserly-wine/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [ \[Books\] will visit you at your convenience, whether you are lonesome or not, on rainy days or fair. They propose themselves as either transient… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/books-will-visit-you-at-your-convenience-whether-you-are-lonesome-or/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [Name me any liquid except our own blood that flows more intimately and incessantly through the labyrinth of symbols we have conceived to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/name-me-any-liquid-except-our-own-blood-that-flows-more-intimately/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [Wine is a civilizing agent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/wine-is-a-civilizing-agent/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [When you read a classic, you do not see more in the book than you did before; you see more in you than there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/when-you-read-a-classic-you-do-not-see-more-in-the-book-than-you-did/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [To take wine into your mouth is to savor a droplet of the river of human history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/to-take-wine-into-your-mouth-is-to-savor-a-droplet-of-the-river-of/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [The adjective is the banana peel of the parts of speech.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/the-adjective-is-the-banana-peel-of-the-parts-of-speech/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [“Don't be afraid of poetry.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/don-t-be-afraid-of-poetry/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [Being a child is in itself a profession.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/being-a-child-is-in-itself-a-profession/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [ Seriously, I do not know what to say of this book \[ Absalom, Absalom!\] except that it seem to point to the final blowup… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/seriously-i-do-not-know-what-to-say-of-this-book-absalom-absalom/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [A man who is careful with his palate is not likely to be careless with his paragraphs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/a-man-who-is-careful-with-his-palate-is-not-likely-to-be-careless/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [To feel at home, stay at home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/to-feel-at-home-stay-at-home/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [The kind of poetry to avoid in the pretty-pretty kind that pleased our grandmothers, the kind that Longfellow and Tennyson, good poets at their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/the-kind-of-poetry-to-avoid-in-the-pretty-pretty-kind-that-pleased/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [We prefer to believe that the absence of inverted commas guarantees the originality of a thought, whereas it may be merely that the utterer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/we-prefer-to-believe-that-the-absence-of-inverted-commas-guarantees/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) [Explore all 62 Clifton Fadiman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) ## More Forget quotes > [I Never met her,i never talked to her,but in my whole day I am either thinking about her or trying to forget her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subhananda/i-never-met-her-i-never-talked-to-her-but-in-my-whole-day-i-am-either/) [Subhananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subhananda/) > [What people tend to forget is the journey that I had getting to Formula One. 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There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-goes-to-show-you-how-we-in-the-press-so-often-miss-the-big-stories/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn't. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/your-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-doesn-t-it-simply-files-things/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“Which people take the time to care for their souls, these days? I reckon not many. But...hear this: I think that maybe in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-fletcher/which-people-take-the-time-to-care-for-their-souls-these-days-i/) [Susan Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-fletcher/) > [The problem with people is they forget that most of the time it's the small things that count.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-niven/the-problem-with-people-is-they-forget-that-most-of-the-time-it-s-the/) [Jennifer Niven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-niven/) > [Remind a man of what he remembers, and you will make him forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plautus/remind-a-man-of-what-he-remembers-and-you-will-make-him-forget-it/) [Plautus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plautus/) > [“So you try, and try, to move past it and forget about them, but it's like they're stuck in your head -- you can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abby-mcdonald/so-you-try-and-try-to-move-past-it-and-forget-about-them-but-it-s/) [Abby McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abby-mcdonald/) > [People forget that there is a big difference between coercion and persuasion. The idea that evangelism is coercive is nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/people-forget-that-there-is-a-big-difference-between-coercion-and/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [People are disturbed not by things but by the view they take of them. They may forget what you said, but they will never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/people-are-disturbed-not-by-things-but-by-the-view-they-take-of-them/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [I don't think people will ever forget I was an 'Angel,' anymore than they'll forget Sally Field was 'The Flying Nun.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-ladd/i-don-t-think-people-will-ever-forget-i-was-an-angel-anymore-than/) [Cheryl Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-ladd/) > [If God knows me I will never forget him](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trunxbeats/if-god-knows-me-i-will-never-forget-him/) Trunxbeats > [Our memory is a monster; you forget it - it does not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/our-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-it-does-not/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) Browse all 11,315 Forget quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A good memory is one trained to forget the trivial.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Clifton Fadiman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/a-good-memory-is-one-trained-to-forget-the-trivial/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Forget" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/a-good-memory-is-one-trained-to-forget-the-trivial/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5e/clifton-fadiman-11053_forget_a-good-memory-is-one-trained-to-forget-t_6172.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5e/clifton-fadiman-11053_forget_a-good-memory-is-one-trained-to-forget-t_6172.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5e/clifton-fadiman-11053_forget_a-good-memory-is-one-trained-to-forget-t_6172.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A good memory is one trained to forget the trivial.” — Clifton Fadiman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Clifton Fadiman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A good memory is one trained...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/a-good-memory-is-one-trained-to-forget-the-trivial/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/a-good-memory-is-one-trained-to-forget-the-trivial/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```