What was I doing again? Why your short-term memory can be unreliable after just a few seconds

It’s a bank holiday in the UK this week, so, if you have the day off, why not relax with our round-up of the best stories from New Scientist? Today, we’re looking at memory, conspiracy theories and the thorny question of childhood vaccinations.

Your short-term memory can be unreliable after just a few seconds

I enjoyed editing this story on the fallibility of short-term memory. We already know that long-term memory can’t always be trusted – think about how the police might get conflicting statements from witnesses of the same incident – but now it seems that your recollection of an event can be altered just a few seconds after it happens. It’s another fascinating example of how we often predict, rather than observe, the world around us and how our in-built biases can lead us astray.

We don't have any viable way of countering conspiracy theories

Sticking with that theme, researchers have reviewed the evidence for various ways of stopping conspiracy theories, and the news isn’t great. Obvious methods like offering counterarguments or even ridiculing people don’t work, and the best solution – a three-month university course about the differences between science and pseudoscience – isn’t really practical at scale. What’s needed is a kind of broad-spectrum approach that teaches people how to think, rather than what to think, say the researchers – and I’d like to think a subscription to New Scientist offers just that!

Should more countries vaccinate children against chickenpox?

As a parent of young children, I’ve often wondered why the UK doesn’t vaccinate against chickenpox. The argument for not doing so is that it helps protect adults from the more harmful shingles, which is caused by the same virus, but it feels a bit odd to force children to get ill to benefit their elders. Now, evidence from countries that do vaccinate against chickenpox suggests doing so shouldn’t be a cause for concern.

More from New Scientist

• The most surprising story for me this week was that only monkeys with opposable thumbs are fooled by a sleight-of-hand magic trick?
• Our magazine cover story is a guide to the brain-melting world of quantum physics, from quarks to string theory
• If you’re looking for ideas on how the latest developments in science could help your business, look no further than our new fortnightly Business Insights newsletter – you can sign-up here

Thanks for reading and do remember to share this newsletter with your network by hitting the repost button. I’ll be taking a break next week, so New Scientist’s weekly rundown will return on 21 April.

Jacob Aron ,?News Editor