Memory

[Miko]

So, how's your memory? Can you retain nearly anything given to you.. or are you one of those people who needs to write everything down? Are you constantly forgetting things? Do you retain useless knowledge instead of the important stuff?



I used to have really good memory. I'm not sure if it's age related or if I'm just more busy now, but I can't seem to retain things as well as I used to. I don't use planners at all (though that's probably the next step) but I do have to write nearly everything down on the dry-erase board on my refrigerator. It's mostly the little things I forget, like when my husband needs me to do something or I need to bring something to someone... but it's also dates and events I forget about. I've even burned stuff in the oven (on different occasions!) because I'll let things 'sit' for 'just a few more minutes'

I will say that I've got a decent long-term memory though. I moved a lot when I was younger so I think it's easier for me to figure out more specific details in relation to which house I was in at the time of any specific memory. However, I couldn't always seem to retain the school information given to me. But, to be fair, I don't think I had learned how to properly learn until after I got out of school.



Anyway, enough about me, what were we talking about again?

 

[charmy]

It really depends on what it is - I have good memory for certain things, and completely terrible at others.

I'm good at remembering facts that interest me or that stand out - I went to a lot of trivia nights when I was at uni so there are some really random facts that I can remember from those times

Names however! They get me all the time. Especially if I don't see them written down anywhere (I can't remember if you tell me verbally). I am terrible with names and I feel really bad about it sometimes because some people are really nice, but for the life of me I can't remember their names! But I know who they are (I hope that counts for something).

I'm also very forgetful - if I'm not careful or get distracted I sometimes leave things behind. I've left behind my phone at restaurants on the table, my umbrella, my wallet (which I thankfully got back!). I lost I don't know how many pairs of gloves when I was at uni because I used to take my gloves off to write notes in lectures and leave them on my lap, but when the lecture ended I would just get up, walk out and my gloves would fall and I wouldn't notice ^^;

 

[Setzer Gabbiani]

I agree on what charmy has just said. There are some things that can be forgetful and there are other things that aren't. For example, there are some stuff that I learned from school that I can't remember at all like algebra. I completely forgot how to solve algebra problems after been graduated in 2006. I didn't continue practicing on it, which has caused my brains to forget everything about it. While other stuff that I maintain my focus on, my brain remembers it very well.

If I memorize something that is extremely important to me, I would never forget about it as long I keep informing the brain about it. It also depends on how interest you are with the subject. If you don't put interest on something that you are reading, watching, or something that you are working on, there is a possibility that you might forget about it through the years. That is why it is important to memorize something that you are interested on, so that you won't forget when asked about it or need to utilize for future reference. Sometimes the brains needs to refresh itself by re-informing it with information that you have already read before or was informed about it.

I am a person that has forgot a lot of things do to not completely memorizing them. There are some things that I memorize faster than other things and that is probably one of the reason why I forget stuff. If you don't memorize something that doesn't interest you that much, then you will probably forget about it as time pass by because you didn't show interest to it, which causes the brain to not memorize it well.

I consider myself to have a good memory because I remember a few things that has happen during my childhood that other people can't remember. The are other things as I mention before that I have forgotten do to not memorizing them. It is something that happens naturally if you don't keep yourself informed.
The brain is like a computer, if you don't keep it updated with information you will be completely left out of the conversation because you don't have any knowledge about the topic, which causes your brain to automatically search for information that you don't have at that instant. It works similar to the navigation system (GPS), if it doesn't have the right location, it will start to recalculate itself until it finds the road it needs to take to arrive at the selected destination.

That is why you see me reading a lot of news and posting information about games, consoles, and other topics because I keep informing myself all the time. The brain is one of the most important organism a human has besides the heart and lungs. Without it we wouldn't be able to communicate or learn.

 

[Dionysos]

My short term memory is quite terrible. If I don't make a note of something (and a note to remind me to look at the note in some cases!) I can find myself forgetting things. If I get distracted by something (being trapped in my head, my mind does wander and gets a bit too deep) I can pretty much say goodbye to whatever I was thinking before.

My long term memory, however, has always been good.
I can remember some fairly precise details about things. Where I was, what I was thinking and what other people said and did. I can remember things about people which they themselves forget. I often hear the same story from the same person multiple times on different occasions simply because they keep repeating it to every person they meet. They must repeat it so often that they don't remember telling me that story already - yet I can remember years and years later. Sometimes.

I hope it remains that way for a long while.

 

[bandokanon]

I have ADD so naturally my memory is out the window on a lot of levels. People tend to make the quick assumption that ADD only has to do with your attention span and ability to focus on one thing for a long period of time, but it's not that. It messes with your memory, too. (As well as your motivation to finish projects, your social skills, your self-confidence, flare-ups of anxiety & feelings of worthlessness & lack of control over one's life, etc...)

I frequently, FREQUENTLY am misplacing things, forgetting to bring something with me, failing to charge my phone even though I kept trying to remind myself to do it, and more. I can't remember a person's name unless I've seen it in print attached to their chest or something. I can punch out of work and then stop myself milliseconds later and ask myself ".... did i punch myself out or no???"

It just gets worse from there in terms of long-term memory. I don't remember my childhood past a certain age. Apparently I lived in Florida when I was a toddler, but i don't remember a second of it. My sister remembers being a toddler, but not me. I vaguely recall Disneyland, but only bits and pieces. I think there are pieces of the original potc ride (centuries before the movie was even a glimmer in anyone's eye), and a... trippy one with a spaceman, or something. I forget peoples' faces. People who have died are jumbled and mixed up. Some unhappy incidents are confused with others. The only thing that I've been able to hold together perfectly are memories of my dad, (very, very vivid compared to my sister who has told me morosely she's forgotten what his voice sounded like), games/movies/books/etc that I REALLY liked (and still do.), the exact lyrics and compositions to some catchy songs (or even just quotes/monologues... I can recite the entire intro to MediEvil word for word, as well as Carl Sagan's "Star Stuff" lecture), and story ideas I had that got shelved.

I do seem to have a lot of technical stuff stored into my braincase, tho that can get jumbled too. I learned c (just c) way back when I was in high school and I still have like... at least 80% of it memorized. I can make super basic programs with it. I also remember tips I got from that one technical drawing class my mom made me do. Very useful for perspective and interior design. I can also remember a good deal of the names and functions of mmmost electrical component (as long as it's nothing new and alien to me), which probably is due in part to me still habitually ripping open retro devices to be cleaned and fixed to this very day. I also have a pretty good grasp of my History, but here's the thing: While I can remember all this stuff, I can never put into words the exact thing I'm trying to dredge up in, say, a passing conversation. And the names of historical figures always freaking escape me.

That's another thing. I forget words... a LOT. Like, one hell of a lot. I can spend an entire day feeling frustrated because I won't remember this one word that I'm trying to use. But then again everyone in my family has always had this problem. We call these incidents "brain farts". My brain is just exceptionally gassy, I guess.

So I guess my memory is extremely selective? It functions in very annoying ways, tbh. It's hard to work with sometimes.

 

[Miasma Dragon]

I'd say mine is chronologically-impaired.

No doubt there are things I forget, yet I remember a lot of stuff nobody else ever can. More importantly, however is that even the stuff I remember, sometimes I'll forget in what order something happened unless I can remember a clear reference or it was something big and meaningful in my life.