Science a GoGo's Home Page Forums General Discussion Not-Quite-Science Forum You can't take it with you

What is the purpose of Long term memory (say 10 years or longer).

If something is important enough to remember, then it would be performed more often, therefore making a memory of a previous previous use of that performance unnecessary.

So what purpose, in the Evolutionary scheme of things does a Long term memory ability have.

Also: if other mammals have this same ability then it would seem that this ability must have developed before primates were separated from other mammals. (otherwise it would be too much of a conincidence for two different orders of life to have developed the same [un-needed]ability).

y wrote:
"If something is important enough to remember, then it would be performed more often, therefore making a memory of a previous previous use of that performance unnecessary."

Are you serious?

Let us take a quick trip down memory lane to a time about 25,000 years ago.

I was attacked by a saber toothed kittycat 12 years ago when I was age 14. Now I am 24, ten years later for those who are math challenged, and I've no need to remember things that happened a full ten years ago I'll just say nice kitty ... nice kitty ... can I scratch you behind the ears?

I'd have lived a lot longer, I guess, had I been attacked by predators more often.