At least one theory I've seen posits that memory is stored in something analogous to the interference patterns that define a hologram instead of a "computer memory" type model, in which case the potential storage space far outstrips our current needs. And it's not just filtering, it's also indexing and retrieval that're key limiters on human memory.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.
-- Bob
---------
Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.