We don’t choose between experiences, we choose between memories of experiences. Even when we think about the future, we don’t think of our future normally as experiences. We think of our future as anticipated memories.

Source: "The Riddle of Experience vs. Memory." TED2010. Feb. 2010. Conference Presentation. Additional Information: This quote means that we make our decisions are largely based on memory; even when we anticipate the future, we are anticipating future memories it will bring us. In the TED Talk this quote is from, Nobel laureate and founder of behavioral economics Daniel Kahneman talks about how we have two different "selves": the remembering self and the experiencing self. According to Kahneman, our experiencing self, which lives in the moment, is often trumped by our "remembering" self, which makes choices and judgements based on memory. This has important implications when it comes to our perception of happiness. Watch the full TED Talk here: Daniel Kahneman - The Riddle of Experience vs. Memory

“The Riddle of Experience vs. Memory.” TED2010. Feb. 2010. Conference Presentation.