Psychology
People are dead certain about memories that are provably wrong
The day after the Challenger shuttle disaster, psychologist Ulric Neisser had students write down exactly where they were when they heard the news. Resurveyed two and a half years later, most gave detailed but now-inconsistent stories, some flatly contradicting their own next-day accounts, while insisting they remembered perfectly. Vivid 'flashbulb' memories feel far more accurate than they are.