Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Many students, especially I, find it difficult to learn school topics. At the same time, it is easy to learn songs and other unnecessary stuffs easily. So, is it possible to erase specific unnecessary memories from brain and use that space for learning useful things?

Hi Amritha,

Are you doing a science fair project on memory and learning? This board is specifically for people doing science fair projects, not for general science questions. I think this could be a great topic for a science fair project. There are all sorts of methods and mechanisms people use to try to memorize important things, including rote repetition, mnemonics, learning while listening to music (and then listening to the same music while trying to recall the information), studying while chewing gum (and then using the same flavor to help recall information). I'm not sure there is a specific technique to "erase" unnecessary memories (and it's not always easy to know what memory is unnecessary), but you could certainly develop a project around different methods of studying and whether one helps you learn and recall information more readily than another.

If this is an area of interest to you, I recommend you do some more research on this topic on google. You should be able to find lots of information, just make sure you are using reputable sources (government websites ending in .gov, or education websites ending in .edu are usually good bets).

I hope this helps!
JMP

JMP,
I am actually planning to make a new invention based on this, but not exactly for a science fair. I think of making a machine which can give you access to the contents of your own brain (similar to brain mapping) and selectively adding or deleting stuffs from it. I know it sounds complicated and is far too advanced.

Your help had been valuable and thanks for spending your time on my question.

Wow, this is extremely ambitious, and also rife with ethical concerns. There is some work being done on erasing unpleasant memories for the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder. This would be a good topic on which you should do some reading regarding the technical and ethical/moral aspects of this sort of work.

Regards,
Colin