--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: So why bother investing in one’s memory…" description: "\"“So why bother investing in one’s memory in an age of externalized memories? The best answer I can give is the one I received unwittingly from EP, whos..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4e/joshua-foer-4147_character_so-why-bother-investing-in-one-s-memory_1949697.png" --- # So why bother investing in one’s memory in an age of… ![“So why bother investing in one’s memory in an age of externalized memories? The best answer I can give is the one I received unwittingly from EP, whose memory had been so completely lost that he could not place himself in time or space, or relative to other people. That is: How we perceive the…” quote by Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4e/joshua-foer-4147_character_so-why-bother-investing-in-one-s-memory_1949697.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4e/joshua-foer-4147_character_so-why-bother-investing-in-one-s-memory_1949697.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d4e/joshua-foer-4147_character_so-why-bother-investing-in-one-s-memory_1949697.png) > ““So why bother investing in one’s memory in an age of externalized memories? The best answer I can give is the one I received unwittingly from EP, whose memory had been so completely lost that he could not place himself in time or space, or relative to other people. That is: How we perceive the world and how we act in it are products of how and what we remember. We’re all just a bundle of habits shaped by our memories. And to the extent that we control our lives, we do so by gradually altering those habits, which is to say the networks of our memories. No lasting joke, invention, insight, or work of art was ever produced by an external memory. Not yet, at least. Our ability to find humor in the world, to make connections between previously unconnected notions, to create new ideas, to share in a common culture: All these essentially human acts depend on memory. Now more than ever, as the role of memory in our culture erodes at a faster pace than ever before, we need to cultivate our ability to remember. Our memories make us who we are. They are the seat of our values and source of our character.”” [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Memory shapes perception, habits, and identity; external storage cannot replace the creative and cultural functions of personal recollection. **In simple terms:** Our memories form who we are and drive our actions. Key Takeaway Cultivate personal memory to preserve creativity and character. Themes identity creativity culture habit formation technology impact Mood reflective thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical motivational cautionary When to use this quote - Learning new skills - personal reflection - creative brainstorming - cultural participation - habit change Key Concepts Neuroscience psychology philosophy of mind cognitive development Questions to Reflect On - How does reliance on digital storage affect your personal growth? - What habits can you change to strengthen your memory? A Different Perspective External tools may aid recall but cannot generate original insight or humor. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Perception](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perception/) [Remembering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remembering/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“How we perceive the world and how we act in it are products of how and what we remember. We’re all just a bundle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/how-we-perceive-the-world-and-how-we-act-in-it-are-products-of-how-2/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [Our culture is an edifice built of externalized memories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/our-culture-is-an-edifice-built-of-externalized-memories/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [We're all just a bundle of habits shaped by our memories. And to the extent that we control our lives, we do so by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/we-re-all-just-a-bundle-of-habits-shaped-by-our-memories-and-to-the/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [I guess what I find so interesting about memory, and its role in a person's identity, is how the attempt to achieve accuracy requires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-julavits/i-guess-what-i-find-so-interesting-about-memory-and-its-role-in-a/) [Heidi Julavits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-julavits/) > [Now more than ever, as the role of memory in our culture erodes at a faster pace than ever before, we need to cultivate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/now-more-than-ever-as-the-role-of-memory-in-our-culture-erodes-at-a/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [“How we perceive the world and how we act in it are products of how and what we remember...No lasting joke, invention, insight, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/how-we-perceive-the-world-and-how-we-act-in-it-are-products-of-how/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [“Words are not static.Language shape our memories, and it is also shaped by our memories.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/words-are-not-static-language-shape-our-memories-and-it-is-also/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [As a relentless gatherer of moments, I find that my favorite images, although grounded in the present, are like spirits shaped by memories. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plachy/as-a-relentless-gatherer-of-moments-i-find-that-my-favorite-images/) [Sylvia Plachy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plachy/) > [“To remain vital, culture must be renewed in the minds of the members of every generation. Outsource memory, and culture withers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-carr/to-remain-vital-culture-must-be-renewed-in-the-minds-of-the-members/) [Nicholas Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-carr/) > [Without memory, there is no culture. Without memory, there would be no civilization, no society, no future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/without-memory-there-is-no-culture-without-memory-there-would-be-no/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [Refuse any image that could have a rational meaning or any memory or culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-bunuel/refuse-any-image-that-could-have-a-rational-meaning-or-any-memory-or/) [Luis Bunuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-bunuel/) > [Culture is sustained in our synapses...It's more than what can be reduced to binary code and uploaded onto the Net. To remain vital, culture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-g-carr/culture-is-sustained-in-our-synapses-it-s-more-than-what-can-be/) [Nicholas G. Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-g-carr/) > [“Perhaps, as Borges concludes in his story, it is forgetting, not remembering, that is the essence of what makes us human.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/perhaps-as-borges-concludes-in-his-story-it-is-forgetting-not/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [What’s the use of remembering anything? If it was unpleasant it was unpleasant and if it was pleasant it’s over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-dundy/what-s-the-use-of-remembering-anything-if-it-was-unpleasant-it-was/) [Elaine Dundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-dundy/) > [“The days may last forever, but the years pass by in a blink; the secret to survival is actually remembering to take a deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-smokler/the-days-may-last-forever-but-the-years-pass-by-in-a-blink-the-secret/) [Jill Smokler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-smokler/) ## More by Joshua Foer > [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [“I don’t think I’m an exceptionally bad reader. I suspect that many people, maybe even most, are like me. We read and read and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/i-don-t-think-i-m-an-exceptionally-bad-reader-i-suspect-that-many/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [Life seems to speed up as we get older because life gets less memorable as we get older.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/life-seems-to-speed-up-as-we-get-older-because-life-gets-less/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [“We can only think about roughly seven things at a time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/we-can-only-think-about-roughly-seven-things-at-a-time/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [With our blogs and tweets, digital cameras, and unlimited-gigabyte e-mail archives, participation in the online culture now means creating a trail of always present,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/with-our-blogs-and-tweets-digital-cameras-and-unlimited-gigabyte-e/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [How much are we willing to lose from our already short lives by losing ourselves in our Blackberries, our iPhones, by not paying attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/how-much-are-we-willing-to-lose-from-our-already-short-lives-by/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [“I Came away from the U.S. Memory Championship eager to find out how Ed and Lukas did it. Were these just extraordinary individuals, pridigies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/i-came-away-from-the-u-s-memory-championship-eager-to-find-out-how-ed/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [The 'OK Plateau' is that place we all get to where we just stop getting better at something. Take typing, for example. You might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/the-ok-plateau-is-that-place-we-all-get-to-where-we-just-stop-getting/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [“One book, printed in the Heart’s own wax / Is worth a thousand in the stacks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/one-book-printed-in-the-heart-s-own-wax-is-worth-a-thousand-in-the-2/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [Languages are something of a mess. They evolve over centuries through an unplanned, democratic process that leaves them teeming with irregularities, quirks, and words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/languages-are-something-of-a-mess-they-evolve-over-centuries-through/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [Invented languages have often been created in tandem with entire invented universes, and most conlangers come to their craft by way of fantasy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/invented-languages-have-often-been-created-in-tandem-with-entire/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [“Perhaps, as Borges concludes in his story, it is forgetting, not remembering, that is the essence of what makes us human.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/perhaps-as-borges-concludes-in-his-story-it-is-forgetting-not/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [Someday in the distant cyborg future, when our internal and external memories fully merge, we may come to possess infinite knowledge. But that's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/someday-in-the-distant-cyborg-future-when-our-internal-and-external/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [What makes things memorable is that they are meaningful, significant, colorful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/what-makes-things-memorable-is-that-they-are-meaningful-significant/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [“As the historian Jocelyn Penny Small pointed out, GODISNOWHERE comes out a lot differently when rendered as GOD IS NOW HERE versus GOD IS…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/as-the-historian-jocelyn-penny-small-pointed-out-godisnowhere-comes/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) [Explore all 114 Joshua Foer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. 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