On a global scale, the "Great Forgetting" refers to the thousands of years of human history—specifically the hunter-gatherer era—that were largely erased from collective memory as farming and urban civilizations took over.
: In some cases, forgetting is a survival mechanism. Experts like Tony Robbins suggest that letting go of past hurts is essential to living in the present. Tips include practicing mindfulness and creating physical distance from the source of painful memories.
Individually, we all grapple with a "forgotten past." This can be a natural biological process or a conscious psychological choice.
: When later generations encountered massive structures like Stonehenge or the burial mounds in Nordic countries, they often attributed them to giants or wizards because the actual techniques for moving such stones had been forgotten.