What causes the “click” when you try to remember something?

Question

It feels like it should either be; you know something, or you don’t.

But this clearly isn’t the case with memory.

One would think if you know something, you’d be able to recall it. And if you didn’t know something you couldn’t.

So what is happening when all of a sudden when you’re trying to remember something it just magically pops into your head?

In: 2

Answer 1

Same as what the sibling said, you’re navigating through various associations until you find it. Sometimes you hit a dead end so you try something else etc.
Once you find a pathway there that’s when you have the “click” moment.

People who learn memory techniques are essentially building associations from one thing to another so they can quickly recall something when needed.