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"Mental" problem
sinclair
Ranger
in Zocalo v2.0
I'd like to open up a bit about this little problem, or feature I seem to carry. I have an exceptional long-term memory, and I can memorize things and details that are relevant, or irrelevant for a very long time. Or at least that's what I think I have... Which is where I want some insight from you.
As an example, for some reason I carry a memory about somewhat 8 year old girl and her dad closing a red-lighted pedestrian crossing. The little girl had one of these "walk scooter" things, she was wearing pink rubber boots and a shirt with white/red stripes on it, it wasn't raining but the evening was little cold and dark . Her dad said, come to this side as the girl was on the "wrong" side of the light pole. This happened around 4 months ago, and it is a very living memory for some reason.
This is just one example, there was nothing 'threatening' or 'interesting' about the situation mentioned above, yet I have a strong memory about it.
I could also tell pretty much everything that happened during one certain student cruise with disturbing amount of details, faces, situations... Which happened around 5 years ago.
I could draw the face of one lady who just happened to walk past me two days ago, while watching in eyes... I could draw a blueprint with details about buildings I've visited... But I've never wanted to learn how to draw properly or take a pencil in my hands, as it could have consequences.
If my former boss would call me and ask where in your office is the screwdriver? I'd say go into my office, on right side you see this two door closet, open the left door. You see now series of gray plastic shelfs in the middle, the screwdriver is in the second one from the top. I left this place 5 years ago.
I can also tell from all of the 'important' people I've met that what they said, what clothes they had on, what kind of a situation we were in when we first met from approximately past 10 years. Of course mind has its way to repair memories if attempted to go too much in details, but generally the information I can remember is correct.
Sometimes when people keep repeating the same story for me for the fifth time within years timeframe, I just go "okay, this is interesting, what happened next?" -line as I dont want to interrupt or be rude... Sometimes I cannot resist of saying "yeah, and then you did that and that, etc..." where my friends just reply, "wow, you have a good memory", and I just show a light smile.
Yet, if I put a series of playing cards infront of me, shuffle, and then try to reorganize it again to original formation, I can't do it. But if I need to memorize something that I could use for real purpose, I can do it. So its like my unconscious mind is selecting the things I should concentrate upon, and sometimes it makes confusing selections.
Interestingly enough I've noticed, that if I am interacting with people, for some reason watching directly in eyes somehow registers as 'important' moment which is then memorized in long-term memory. And the content is not about 'watching in eyes', but the whole situation itself. And sometimes I evade eye contact just because of this reason, but its rather easy for a Finn as we do it all the time.
Worst thing is the alcohol... Unlike people say it helps you to forget, it makes me to remember even better. And knowing how alcohol eventually poisons your self control, it causes sometimes very bad memories. Memories which I cannot get away... Reason for actually writing this is because of the last night, I was being a victim of King Alcohol.. It was a calculated risk, and luckily only good memories came out of it. Interestingly the "ipad" looking thing they had in the bar wasn't a touch screen, no matter how many times we attempted to order more beer with it...
I haven't really talked about this with anyone, anyone at all, as I imagine it would change the way how people interact with me, and I'm not completely certain either is there anything to talk... I knew my grandmother had an excellent memory till the day she died, thus it could be something about genes.. But I don't see the same gene in my dads behaviour.
But what I'd really want to know here 'anonymously', is that how do you prefer your own memory capacity? How clear are you memories in your mind, especially if we speak about long term memory? Do you consider the cases above I've mentioned 'normal', or something beyond your own memory capacity?
I suppose I'm just looking for some kind of confirmation here, but for what purpose I really dont know... It's just sometimes disturbing.
As an example, for some reason I carry a memory about somewhat 8 year old girl and her dad closing a red-lighted pedestrian crossing. The little girl had one of these "walk scooter" things, she was wearing pink rubber boots and a shirt with white/red stripes on it, it wasn't raining but the evening was little cold and dark . Her dad said, come to this side as the girl was on the "wrong" side of the light pole. This happened around 4 months ago, and it is a very living memory for some reason.
This is just one example, there was nothing 'threatening' or 'interesting' about the situation mentioned above, yet I have a strong memory about it.
I could also tell pretty much everything that happened during one certain student cruise with disturbing amount of details, faces, situations... Which happened around 5 years ago.
I could draw the face of one lady who just happened to walk past me two days ago, while watching in eyes... I could draw a blueprint with details about buildings I've visited... But I've never wanted to learn how to draw properly or take a pencil in my hands, as it could have consequences.
If my former boss would call me and ask where in your office is the screwdriver? I'd say go into my office, on right side you see this two door closet, open the left door. You see now series of gray plastic shelfs in the middle, the screwdriver is in the second one from the top. I left this place 5 years ago.
I can also tell from all of the 'important' people I've met that what they said, what clothes they had on, what kind of a situation we were in when we first met from approximately past 10 years. Of course mind has its way to repair memories if attempted to go too much in details, but generally the information I can remember is correct.
Sometimes when people keep repeating the same story for me for the fifth time within years timeframe, I just go "okay, this is interesting, what happened next?" -line as I dont want to interrupt or be rude... Sometimes I cannot resist of saying "yeah, and then you did that and that, etc..." where my friends just reply, "wow, you have a good memory", and I just show a light smile.
Yet, if I put a series of playing cards infront of me, shuffle, and then try to reorganize it again to original formation, I can't do it. But if I need to memorize something that I could use for real purpose, I can do it. So its like my unconscious mind is selecting the things I should concentrate upon, and sometimes it makes confusing selections.
Interestingly enough I've noticed, that if I am interacting with people, for some reason watching directly in eyes somehow registers as 'important' moment which is then memorized in long-term memory. And the content is not about 'watching in eyes', but the whole situation itself. And sometimes I evade eye contact just because of this reason, but its rather easy for a Finn as we do it all the time.
Worst thing is the alcohol... Unlike people say it helps you to forget, it makes me to remember even better. And knowing how alcohol eventually poisons your self control, it causes sometimes very bad memories. Memories which I cannot get away... Reason for actually writing this is because of the last night, I was being a victim of King Alcohol.. It was a calculated risk, and luckily only good memories came out of it. Interestingly the "ipad" looking thing they had in the bar wasn't a touch screen, no matter how many times we attempted to order more beer with it...
I haven't really talked about this with anyone, anyone at all, as I imagine it would change the way how people interact with me, and I'm not completely certain either is there anything to talk... I knew my grandmother had an excellent memory till the day she died, thus it could be something about genes.. But I don't see the same gene in my dads behaviour.
But what I'd really want to know here 'anonymously', is that how do you prefer your own memory capacity? How clear are you memories in your mind, especially if we speak about long term memory? Do you consider the cases above I've mentioned 'normal', or something beyond your own memory capacity?
I suppose I'm just looking for some kind of confirmation here, but for what purpose I really dont know... It's just sometimes disturbing.
Comments
Numbers are my weakness, especially telephone numbers. I can't even remember by own mobile number.
The downside is that remembering things so clearly makes moving on from bad things difficult because it's always there. But beside that, I'm glad I do have the ability to remeber things the way I do. It comes in very handy :)
After my "close-call" in 2007 with Disseminated Histoplasmosis shutting down my organs and such my short term memory has never been good since.
Numbers aren't as difficult for me as they used to be. I've picked up a technique in my mind that breaks them down into 3-5 character long syllables in a rhythmic notation.
I can visually guide someone to an object due to having a photographic type of image in my mind about the object and it's location. Not necessarily a photographic memory...
This comes in handy when driving in dark areas or what not. I basically memorize terrain landmarks etc, and can apply that visually to the situation as needed. Came in real handy once when the headlights failed on a curve in a mountainous road.
Alcohol can react differently in some people. I know I was blitzed a lot in Tech School in the Air Force. I got regular A's on all my assignments. I think that is more to do with how passionate you are for a subject though.
In closing I guess I am saying that I don't think you're abnormal... :)
That is true as I cannot see thru the walls, yet...
I suppose the long term memory is just a bit too 'good' for me, and I just haven't paid any special attention to it before, nor should I in future. I just found it odd that events and situations gets caught so easily, and can be "withdrawn" quite efficiently. One night in the bed I just concentrated and tried to remember the things I did last week, and I was actually a bit afraid of the level of details I was able to remember... Then I went more and more back in time noticing the same results.
Maybe the 'bad memories' are there to keep me safe, but the problem is that I am not able to risk so much, or "let it go" due there being a huge possibility for an memory which I will remember for a very long time. Yeah, it can be a good thing... But I just cannot overcome this "fear" without thinking thoroughly the possibilities and consequences. And it is a real pain if we start to talk about relationships, where the most valued feelings are involved.
I am good with certain details too, and sometimes also with "relationship-type details", which as Worf says can be a pain in the ass to deal with
But I cannot remember names. And I cannot remember what words someone said to me 10 seconds ago. I remember the content of the conversation, but not the words, and thus also not even the person's name that said it (for instance, if it was a phone message for someone else, I can tell them what it was about in great detail but not who called or any specific terms they used during the call).
And I cannot rote memorize anything.
But ask me a detail of some obscure event that I discussed with someone or had a lecture about or read in a news paper 10 years ago and I can relate all the details about it and further locate the original article(s) or video(s) about it for additional details, and cross connect it to 50 other topics over the past 10 years that I also discussed/read/saw and go off on 20,000 tangents with high detail of yet other events...
And yeah, my memory is images and 'video' not the stupid word stream like the horrible English teachers seemed to always believe. It's not photographic (as in I don't remember everything in that level of detail) but it is near-photographic with a strong spontaneous recall part that is not images, words, or anything else that I can describe. And that spontaneous recall portion can cross-connect related events, terms, situations, puns, etc. without me even realizing it until after I have launched into a discussion of that new area.
Enjoy! :)
It's depressing, but I think I might be a robot because I have some kind of Asimov laws of robotics stopping me from fixing it.
I'm similar to RC in how I function (with differences in how my mind bands together chains of memory). In fact, I think it's how we managed to maintain conversations where most others would have nodded off or wandered away confused-like.
Memory, in my case, trends toward the auditory and iconographic recall.
Like RC, I cannot push memories into being. Either I remember something or I do not. Where many people with forced memorization issues can at least tend to recall things they like or enjoy, I lack even that. Instead, it's purely random.
I seem to have a hard limit (or at least a severely limited growth rate) on vocabulary capacity. This exists regardless of language or syntax, crossing over regularly into my attempts at scripting and programming. While I may be able to form complex phrases on a whim, the pool from which I draw seems to have a firm cap on how much can reside within it. If I want to pick up a new word, phrase, operator, or other piece of language, it typically involves displacing something else.
I cannot remember faces, names or even a fairly large range of specific details. Like RC, key details will go missing seconds after closing a conversation. Similarly, when tasking and running errands, I often "forget" what I am doing at that moment and continue on as if the original course of action never existed. Some time later if I stumble upon a memory cue for that action or event, I can/will pick that course of action back up and resume as if I never stopped. The phrase "Out of sight, out of mind" is a nearly perfect descriptor. This results in a day-to-day lifestyle that appears to be a complete mess to anyone else. This also makes it difficult for me to work with other people, as they often cannot match the inconsistent pace I hold.
Another odd characteristic of my memory is the ability to recall the exact identity of any music I hear almost within the first measure. It happens without intention and may even derail other thought processes (often leading to the above).
Also remarkable is my pattern memory. While I often cannot recall how to perform a specific goal-oriented task with the intention of describing or explaining it to someone, I can very often perform this task to completion without any thoughts directing it...and yet still be unable to translate the action portion of the memory into words I can communicate to others. Attempting to break a process down into steps often results in "forgetting" how to do it.
When navigating, directions often confuse and confound me. Instead, I can easily locate myself using landmarks and visual aids. If I am lost in a town or city I have driven or walked through, all I need to do is wander to somewhere I have traveled even only once before and I can regain my bearings.
And like RC, my memory is extremely associative. If I recall one thing, I often will follow down a path of memories with similar base sounds, visual "textures," or just straight-up related topics.
I think the oddest part about operating with my variety of memory is that I can often be left idle for a few moments without being aware of any task or action to perform. Also, disrupting the flow of any single task can derail my entire process. As mentioned above, this can make working with others a test of patience.
Dates are really hard for me to remember. Even now I still have trouble remembering family birth dates or even a lot of holidays. Though I've been getting better at keeping notes for myself to remember certain things I have to do.
I also start remembering lots of things that are connected to things that people are talking about or what I see, but I figured that's just usual, though a lot of people seem to think it's weird that I start remembering all these things that barely have any connetion to what we're talking about.
I'm not sure if it's the same thing as what you are all talking about, and I guess that maybe it isn't really as strange as I thought. But I do recall all these weird little things in a lot of detail at times, and everyone always seems amazed when I recall these things.
My memory generally follows the same lines as mentioned before, but when it comes to peoples names I'm absolutely shocking! I have to make a real conscious effort to remember any new persons
I suspect you hit the nail on the head here... ;)
Names are a bitch for me. Face recognition is king, but put a name with it? oh shit... It takes weeks to implant the token text with the visual. I have to frequently restate a name while looking at the face. This puts some people off, and I have to explain that I am actually trying to pay some respect.
Navigation for me is like a 3D Google, visual, and once I've been somewhere I never really forget the terrain map. :) The funniest part of this was realizing once in a FPS game map that the location in that part of the game was VERY similar to a US Capital room used by the Congress. No need to get specific, just the idea that I can visually associate in 3D.
Short Term memory is awful for me, especially now days. This is an all encompassing problem from where I just placed my keys, to what someone just said 15 minutes ago.
I have adopted the list system heavily for tasks as well as their prioritization. I have a ToDo list that is over 15 years old bow because a lot of the items while I want to complete them, are VERY low on the list. :p
Frustration plays a big part in my success or lack of it, you get burnt out on trying sometimes.
If I have been there before, easy to find the way every time in the future (if I was paying attention).
My brain's workings bugged the shit out of me for a really long time, and one day...I just got sick of not really being able fully understand why I act the way I do on so many occasions. to fix this, I used an open-ended final project as an excuse to write a paper that dissected my personal productivity handicaps (memory, negative work habits, etc.) and laid out plans to address these in a slow, logically sound manner. I found a trend that seemed to isolate my short term memory as the largest of these handicaps, with it also being a significant root of several others. The great upside of this is that omnipresent cloud connectivity (in the form of smartphones or other actively synchronized data sharing services) allows me to significantly reduce occurrences of the "out of sight, out of mind problem," as well as a few others.
I might post it up at some point, but it was basically convenient (and A-Worthy!) self-therapy.
But I cannot remember names. And I cannot remember what words someone said to me 10 seconds ago. I remember the content of the conversation, but not the words, and thus also not even the person's name that said it (for instance, if it was a phone message for someone else, I can tell them what it was about in great detail but not who called or any specific terms they used during the call).
And I cannot rote memorize anything.
But ask me a detail of some obscure event that I discussed with someone or had a lecture about or read in a news paper 10 years ago and I can relate all the details about it and further locate the original article(s) or video(s) about it for additional details, and cross connect it to 50 other topics over the past 10 years that I also discussed/read/saw and go off on 20,000 tangents with high detail of yet other events...
And yeah, my memory is images and 'video' not the stupid word stream like the horrible English teachers seemed to always believe. It's not photographic (as in I don't remember everything in that level of detail) but it is near-photographic with a strong spontaneous recall part that is not images, words, or anything else that I can describe. And that spontaneous recall portion can cross-connect related events, terms, situations, puns, etc. without me even realizing it until after I have launched into a discussion of that new area.
Enjoy! :)[/QUOTE]
This is pretty much me too. I cannot quote an actual quote, but I can damn well paraphrase pretty much anything, and my friends and colleagues call me a walking dictionary sometimes.
I dont think youre wierd Sinclair, at least not in out little part of the internet. :)
What comes to "longest post I've ever made here", that is probably true. When looking at my join date and post count and compare it to other nutcases, I stay here out of respect. Like you need to pass the door to go outside, I need to pass Firstones forums to access rest of the Internet. :)
I've been trying to make most of my memory and succeeded unconsciously, still haven't found a way to use it to conquer world though.. Now that I'm more aware about its presence, who knows.. It is a great help, especially in IT as Imhotep mentioned... I'm also working on the side where I need to understand and link hundreds or thousands pieces of information and put them together... And such memory is a very good tool for that type of purpose. I suppose I couldn't do my job if I wouldn't like it.
In my aptitude tests and such I've always leaned toward Visual Mathematician style information processing. I can't process complex formulas in my head, but you get the idea.