---
title: The Peak-End Rule: Memories Are Distorted
date: 2025-09-13T04:05:43.459665
author: Charlie M.
category: SIGNAL
---
So, I've been thinking a lot about, like, how I remember things. Like yesterday, I was sitting there drinking my coffee—cold again—and scrolling Instagram, you know, the usual. I paused on this one post, I can’t even remember what it was about now. But it reminded me of something I studied in this psych class ages ago. It’s something called the Peak-End Rule. I think Daniel Kahneman talked about it? Honestly, I'm not sure. Names are slippery.
Anyway, it’s like, our memories of events aren't about the whole thing, which is weird, right? Like, why don't we remember the average? But it's more about the peaks—good or bad—and how the thing ends. So I guess that's why I don't remember the whole movie I watched last week, just the crazy twist at the end and the bit where I almost cried. Is that how it works? I don’t know.
It's a lot like how I always think workouts are worse than they are, ‘cause I obsess over the hardest part and forget that sometimes it’s actually fun. Maybe that's why I have this love-hate thing with running. I remember that moment I thought I would die on the hill—does everyone remember their own hills?—and not the other 30 minutes where it was just me, the road, and some decent tunes. Do I really hate it or am I just fixating on that one moment? And then there’s the end where I'm a sweaty mess, but also kind of victorious. But the middle? A total blur.
It makes me wonder how much of what I remember is real. Like at all. Maybe our minds are just playing these weird tricks on us. They call it memory reconstruction, which sounds complicated, so I'm gonna stick with “tricks.” I mean, how can they be so unreliable when they’re mine? I think about past relationships, and, honestly, it's like a highlight reel. The highs, the lows, and the dramatic goodbyes, like that's all it was. I’m starting to think my memories are more like a badly edited movie than an actual reflection of my life.
Affective forecasting is another one. I think—I’m not sure, truthfully—it’s about predicting how we’ll feel in the future, but we usually get it wrong. Kind of like how I keep saying I’ll feel amazing after a digital detox but then just end up reinstalling the apps a week later. Is it all just part of the same bogus system? I don't get it.
My phone buzzes with another notification and, honestly, who has time to figure this all out? Maybe it’s all just noise and I’m drowning in it without realizing. Or maybe, just maybe, there’s some truth in recognizing that our minds are messier than we care to admit. And maybe I’ll never know if it’s all just distorted memories or the truth. But, hey, I should probably finish my cold coffee before it gets even colder.