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Essay
Nature 445, 27 (4 January 2007) | doi:10.1038/445027a; Published online 3 January 2007
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Concept Constructive memory: The ghosts of past and future
Daniel L. Schacter1 & Donna Rose Addis1
- Daniel L. Schacter and Donna Rose Addis are in the Department of Psychology, Harvard University, 33 Kirkland St, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA.
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Abstract
A memory that works by piecing together bits of the past may be better suited to simulating future events than one that is a store of perfect records.
In the days after the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, the authorities began hunting for a suspect they named John Doe 2. A mechanic had vividly recalled seeing this man with the bomber, Timothy McVeigh, at a body shop where they rented the van used to carry out the crime.
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