Is there really such a thing as long term memory.?

Question

Is it not just the fact that as we get older our brain becomes jam packed with stuff over the years, and there is no room for new stuff, hence memory loss. What we really need in our brain today is a delete mechanism to get rid of the stuff that is cloging up our minds. It strikes me that evolution is at a standstill.

Answer 1

Yes there are a long term memory in our brains as well as short time memory. If you have had a delete bottom to you brain from which you should delete the memory traces, do you know what might happened?
You will NOT be you any more, your friends and family should not recognize you any more in behavior et cetera. I would like to tell you about it, but then I have to write donw hundred of pages.

Answer 2

Dogs (and cats and horses and other animals) will often retain particular memories for their entire lives. If they experience a startling or painful event in certain circumstances, they may react to those circumstances forever. If a dog eats something that makes him sick, he will often avoid that thing for the rest of his life. The difference (or one difference) between human and dog memory is not in how long their memories can last, but what can go into those memories. For a dog, forming new long-term memories often requires some association with some reward or punishment that speaks to their primal drives (food, sex, social acceptance, etc.) Humans can often learn things simply with practice, a little effort, or just interest. Humans also have a far greater symbolic memory. They can learn multiplication tables or poems, i.e., things that consist purely of abstract symbols, sounds or pictures. Dogs apparently do have some symbolic memory (they can "learn" a limited number of words) but nowhere near the same extent.