False memories can form in the human brain in just seconds

“It is only when memory becomes less reliable through the passage of a tiny bit of time, or the addition of extra visual information, that internal expectations about the world start playing a role,” according to Otten.

Fallible memories aren’t just for childhood or long-ago events

While a single study isn’t enough on its own to cast all our memories into question (the vast majority of respondents remembered the highlighted letters correctly, after all, regardless of whether they were mirrored or not), it does have implications for how we engage with each other in society.

Criminal…