During a formative camping trip, my friend Mordy and I woke up in the misty dawn to witness the frolicking of two river otters. Years later, a third friend told the story of that early morning sighting, only in his version, he was the one who saw the otters. These memory alternations and transferences are anything but rare. Did Brian Williams really misremember the events surrounding that helicopter ride in 2003? I don’t know. (And if I ever cared, I don’t remember doing so). But he certainly could have. Neuroscience is brimming with studies and examples of people’s memories recreating events or roles in ways much more dramatic than in the Williams case. (Update: After proofreading this blurb, Mordy tells me that as kids, we never camped outdoors and that the otters were actually a couple stuffed animals his mom gave me after I wet their bed.)