student asking question

What does "unconscious" mean? How is it different from "subconscious" which was used in the previous sentence?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

Great question. These words here are being used in their technical psychological meaning. The "subconscious" is the part of your brain that holds data or information right below the surface. Think of it as things you know, but they may take a moment to remember. For instance, your childhood teacher's name is kept in your subconscious. It’s there, but depending on how old you are, it might be hard to recall quickly. Once you focus your attention on something in your subconscious mind, you can recall it pretty quickly. "Un” means not, as in "not conscious", not seen, not understood. Your "unconscious" is made up of the data which you do not know and have never, except maybe in some extreme event, been aware of. Ex: Your unconscious processes more information than a computer. Ex: Maybe subconsciously I miss him. But I try not to think about it.

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