I have trouble remembering the names of people I don't like and have always considered it a good thing.  After all, I could be walking around thinking about them all the time. 

The Wall Street Journal reports on the benefits of forgetting:

"In fact, forgetting is a very active process, albeit subconscious, neuroscientists say. The mind is constantly evaluating, editing and sorting information, all at lightning speed. 'Your brain is only taking a small amount in, and it's already erasing vast amounts that won't be needed again,' Dr. Devi says.

Much that happens during the day doesn't make an impression at all because our attention is focused elsewhere. Take your daily commute, says Dr. Wagner: 'A heck of a lot of stuff is landing on our retinas as we're driving down the road. But if you were focusing on the presentation you have to give, you didn't perceive it and it didn't get stored.'"

Read the rest here.