forgetting the content of books

I’d read Chandler’s Farewell, My Lovely enough times in the past that I thought I had a perfect memory of the plot, and figured that only specific descriptions would feel new to me as I reread it this time.

But in fact, there is one semi-important character whose existence I had completely forgotten. And I certainly misremembered the order in which certain things happened. Of course, if it’s really true that I haven’t reread this particular novel since 2003 (as my reading records suggest, though it feels wrong somehow) then I guess it’s no surprise that I would have forgotten some things.

This is why, as all historians know, contemporary written records are so important. I have a pretty good memory, yet I still forget many things about books and events. And in at least one dramatic incident of my youth, I have literally seen the emergence of myths about the incident that people have convinced themselves are not myths but the literal truth.

Of course, sometimes even contemporary impressions are unreliable! A few years ago came the death of a leading professor of Criminal Justice at Northwestern University. There was a fascinating anecdote in his obituary. Often, on the first day of class, he would have paid actors come in and rob him as he lectured to his students. He would immediately tell his students to write a quick description of the incident for the use of the police.

The results were shocking. Not only did his students disagree about the height or age of the culprits– they sometimes also disagreed about their race, and even their number. His lesson to the students was that eyewitness evidence in criminal cases is not very reliable even when immediate, and hence more reliance should be placed on physical evidence.