The average person is exposed to an overwhelming amount of information daily—from news updates and social media feeds to work emails and personal texts. Research suggests we encounter roughly 34 gigabytes of data every day, far more than our brains can comfortably process. This constant influx can make it difficult to retain the information we want to remember while simultaneously struggling to forget what we’d rather not.

In the intellectual domain of stuff, Kirtly Jones, MD, talks about the impact of our information-rich environment on cognitive health and overall well-being. She explores how our brains filter and store knowledge, the psychological burden of information overload, and strategies for retaining what’s meaningful while letting go of the rest.