#430 – Charan Ranganath: Human Memory, Imagination, Deja Vu, and False Memories

Lex Fridman Podcast

Charan Ranganath is a psychologist and neuroscientist at UC Davis, specializing in human memory. He is the author of a new book titled Why We Remember. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
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Transcript: https://lexfridman.com/charan-ranganath-transcript

EPISODE LINKS:
Charan’s X: https://x.com/CharanRanganath
Charan’s Instagram: https://instagram.com/thememorydoc
Charan’s Website: https://charanranganath.com
Why We Remember (book): https://amzn.to/3WzUF6x
Charan’s Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ptWkt1wAAAAJ
Dynamic Memory Lab: https://dml.ucdavis.edu/

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OUTLINE:
Here’s the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.
(00:00) – Introduction
(10:18) – Experiencing self vs remembering self
(23:59) – Creating memories
(33:31) – Why we forget
(41:08) – Training memory
(51:37) – Memory hacks
(1:03:26) – Imagination vs memory
(1:12:44) – Memory competitions
(1:22:33) – Science of memory
(1:37:48) – Discoveries
(1:48:52) – Deja vu
(1:54:09) – False memories
(2:14:14) – False confessions
(2:18:00) – Heartbreak
(2:25:34) – Nature of time
(2:33:15) – Brain–computer interface (BCI)
(2:47:19) – AI and memory
(2:57:33) – ADHD
(3:04:30) – Music
(3:14:15) – Human mind