The Brain As A File Compression Software

Have you ever marveled at how the last 10 years seem to have passed in a flash or wondered why you still feel mentally anchored in a recent version of yourself, regardless of your age? This phenomenon isn’t just nostalgia or denial - it’s rooted in how our brains encode, store, and compress memory. Whether we are 20 or 70, our recollection of the “recent past” often holds a uniform texture, making it feel like time hasn’t truly changed us. The brain’s memory compression mechanisms allow us to perceive time fluidly, which paradoxically helps explain why people often “don’t feel their age.”