Memory

So in a very important tense, um, memory is the cognitive function that stores knowledge that we've acquired through learning and perception, but also memory is important because memory frees our behavior from being controlled by the present stimulus environment. If you didn't have memory, all you'd be able to do was react to whatever is currently in the environment now, whatever it is that you're experiencing. But memory allows us to respond to past events as well as events in the current stimulus environment. And memory also gives us the means to reflect on our experiences so that we plan for, for future encounters.