Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon

Biological Parallel

A bee knows a flower patch exists but cannot recall the exact location—spatial memory activates the region while precise coordinates remain blocked. This is network navigation with partial success: memory is a web of associations, not a filing cabinet, so you can access concept meaning while losing the retrieval path to specific labels. In organizations, people remember 'that initiative Sarah mentioned' but not its name—evidence that human memory prioritizes concepts over labels.