This podcast was triggered by multiple reports of some recent research that proved dogs could remember events that occurred in the past. Admittedly this came as no surprise to anyone who ever lived with a dog. Nonetheless, the idea that dogs lived in the moment has permeated psychology for decades. And the belief spilled over into the forms of training that originated within psychology. Simultaneously—and I admit what intrigued me even more—was that while some researchers use this phrase to signal the limited mental capacity of canines, countless humans seek to achieve this same state because of all the physical and mental benefits it provides.
It will take more than my humble podcast to resolve this semantic mess, let along the academic in-fighting such research generates. In the meantime,take this opportunity to think about what the concept personally means to you and any animals in your lives. In the end, that’s what really matters.
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Myrna, you might be interested in listening to one of the TED talks about human memory (it was on VT public radio recently). I don’t remember the name of the speaker, but I’m sure if you Googled it, you’d come across it.