Forgetting curve

The Ebbinghaus forgetting curve measures the decline of memory retention across time, showing how information is lost when there is no attempt to retain it. A related concept is the strength of memory that refers to the durability that memory traces in the brain. The stronger the memory, the longer period of time that a person is able to recall it. A typical graph of the forgetting curve purports to show that humans tend to halve their memory of newly learned knowledge in a matter of days or weeks unless they consciously review the learned material. The forgetting curve supports one of the seven kinds of memory failure discussed in The Seven Sins of Memory: transience, which is the process of forgetting that occurs with the passage of time.