The Brain As A Temporal Editor

Rather than storing memories as a linear reel of experiences, the brain condenses events into abstract snapshots, a process that is often called memory compression. Instead of exact playback, our memories function more like a story we reconstruct with each recall. This is especially true for episodic memory—our timeline of lived experiences—which undergoes temporal smoothing and gist extraction. In this sense, the brain prioritizes the emotional weight, meaning, and continuity of experiences over fine-grained chronological accuracy.