Part of the function of memory is to forget; the omni-retentive mind will break down and produce at best an idiot savant who can recite a telephone book, and at worst a person to whom every grudge and slight is as yesterday's.
Interpretation
Memory serves a dual purpose of retaining and forgetting information, which is essential for a healthy mind.
In this quote, Christopher Hitchens emphasizes the importance of forgetting as a critical aspect of memory. He argues that a mind that retains everything becomes burdensome, likening such an individual to an 'idiot savant' with an overwhelming capacity for recall yet devoid of deeper understanding or peace. Thus, he suggests that the ability to forget is vital for emotional well-being and interpersonal relationships.
In practice
In a discussion about the importance of mental health, one could say, 'As Christopher Hitchens noted, 'Part of the function of memory is to forget.' This highlights the need to let go of past grievances for a healthier mind.'
In a public dialogue with Salman in London he [Edward Said] had once described the Palestinian plight as one where his people, expelled and dispossessed by Jewish victors, were in the unique historical position of being 'the victims of the victims': there was something quasi-Christian, I thought, in the apparent humility of that statement.
What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.
Never ask while you are doing it if what you are doing is fun. Don't introduce even your most reliably witty acquaintance as someone who will set the table on a roar.
[E]xceptional claims demand exceptional evidence.
The worst days are when you feel foggy in the head - chemo-brain they call it. It's awful because you feel boring. As well as bored. And stupid. And resigned.
Let me tell you something: for hundreds of thousands of years, this kind of discussion would have been impossible to have, or those like us would have been having it at the risk of our lives. Religion now comes to us in this smiley-face, ingratiating way — because it’s had to give so much more ground and because we know so much more. But you’ve got no right to forget the way it behaved when it was strong, and when it really did believe that it had God on its side.
For nothing is more democratic than logic; it is no respecter of persons and makes no distinction between crooked and straight noses.
Don't you know that everybody's got a Fairyland of their own?
Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at.
[A]nother important difference between tourist and traveler is that the former accepts his own civilization without question; not so the traveler, who compares it with the others, and rejects those elements he finds not to his liking.
I often thought my gravestone would say, 'Here lies Gandalf. He came out,'
If you have no wounds, how can you know if you're alive?
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