How Memory Deceives You

Memory distortion follows predictable patterns:

• Hindsight bias — you remember yourself as having predicted events that surprised you. "I knew it all along" is almost always a memory edit
• Emotional enhancement — emotional memories feel vivid but are no more accurate, just more confidently held
• Source confusion — you remember information correctly but misattribute its source
• Consistency bias — you remember your past self as more similar to your current self than you actually were

Each distortion maintains a coherent self-narrative. But they make you a terrible witness to your own past.