The chapter begins with an attempt to dispel the myth that forgetting is bad. Langer discusses a few ways in which forgetting actually benefits learning and encourages mindfulness. This was rather interesting, and I can certainly see the points she makes.
And then, Langer talks about an experiment on which she worked regarding forgetfulness and aging. The results of the experiment suggested that perhaps the forgetfulness that we tend to associate with aging may actually be the result of a self-fulfilling prophecy that our culture perpetuates. She explains that, in our society, we hear from a young age that the old become forgetful. Not knowing what to do with this at the time, we store this juicy tidbit away in our subconscious, where it later manifests as doubts about our own memories as we age and thus our own forgetfulness in time.
I believe that Langer is hinting that it would be good if we could forget these detrimental nuggets (such as "old and forgetful")--that this is another way in which forgetfulness might actually be beneficial. And I don't think she's wrong; however, it seems unlikely that we will ever be able forget that which is remembered on such a subconscious level. So, while the chapter focused on the myth of forgetting being bad, my mind wandered on to the topic of self-fulfilling prophecies and learning.
If forgetting might sometimes be good, and in some cases we aren't able to forget... Are there ways that we could use this to our benefit? To counter the negativity of such self-fulfilling prophecies as "we forget as we age," how can we plant seeds of positivity? How can we encourage learning, happiness, and success in much the same way? Can we learn to recognize our own self-fulfilling prophecies? And, if so, can we somehow correct them if they're to our detriment?
I don’t have the answers. Just food for thought…