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The Big Idea

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A big idea that shapes how we understand our place in the world - from the idea’s creator.

What are the big ideas shaping our world?  This new series from the BBC World Service picks the best ideas from economics to psychology, neuroscience to philosophy, political science to anthropology, and makes them easy to digest.

Each episode of "The Big Idea" outlines the important idea through the words of the person who’s developed the theory. In just nine minutes we offer a weekly chance to listen and feel just a little bit wiser.

The Big Idea: Memory wars

Memory Wars

09/06/2018 GMT

Memory wars

BBC World Service - The Big Idea, Memory wars

Should you trust your memory?  The fascinating research of psychologist Elizabeth Loftus shows how unreliable memory can be.

Many criminal court cases rest on eye-witness accounts of what happened.  There’s a problem though.  Elizabeth Loftus – one of the world’s most influential psychologists – has shown in numerous experiments that memory is not nearly as reliable as we once believed.  It is easy to alter memories.  It’s even quite easy to implant entirely false memories – making people believe they remember something which never occurred. 

Presented by David Edmonds

 (Photo: Brain and eraser, Photo credit: Shutterstock)

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