The Forgetting Curve describes the exponential decline of memory retention over time. According to Hermann Ebbinghaus, the curve shows that people quickly forget newly acquired information shortly after learning it.
The most significant decline occurs within the first 20–60 minutes. After just one hour, you have typically forgotten about half of what you heard or learned. Memory loss then continues at a slower pace and stabilizes after roughly one day.
The Forgetting Curve clearly illustrates why we often rely on being able to look up information on platforms like Google — and why organisations need to provide similar systems in the workplace to support employees in the same way.
Source:
“Über das Gedächtnis” (In English: “Memory”), 1885, Hermann Ebbinghaus