“All men complain of their memory, but no one complains of his judgment.”Jean de La Bruyère · Caracterele · 1688 · Despre om, 91
We blame memory for failures, but not judgment, because the latter is part of our identity.
The same observation as in the previous quote, but universally stated: it is a general human trait to attribute failures to memory, not judgment. The mechanism: memory is a tool we consider imperfect, while judgment is a central part of our identity. For example, a student who fails an exam will say 'I forgot the material,' not 'I misjudged what to study.'
Why it matters This self-protection prevents us from correcting faulty reasoning; acknowledging a judgment error is the first step toward better decision-making.