Recollecting memories / How the brain works.

[100% masahiko]

I too repeat their names at least three times, but I sometimes find just a few minutes later it is gone. The worst are lines of people who each give you their names, like you have a hope of remembering them!!!

I used to know a group of people here in the UK quite well, (important customers) but I was abroad on a trip. Walking through this foreign exhibition hall one morning and there, right in front of me, were these three people. I was stunned, I knew their faces, I knew they were important to me but I could not access their names or even be certain which company they worked for! It was a tricky moment, I had to blag it! The worst thing about this encounter was that they had no memory block at all, they knew exactly who I was!
.

Flashbulb memory. We remember things for a limited time.
I like the idea our short term memory runs like RAM on the PC.
And long term stuff is what's kept in the HD.

Our brain cannot remember everything. You can train it though cos like you I blag alot.

I started at this work place recently.
And as usual, you go around meeting everyone, one by one.
This time to remember, I thought of what they look like in my personal directory of real friends.

One guy, who's tall and handsome. I related him to a friend from my college days who was also handsome, and it helped he had similar sounding names - Peter and Perry. And his surname I thought of Turkey - cos it was Matthews.

To remember his name, I thought of my old college friend eating turkey burgers. Perry Matthews.

I find techniques like this helps

 

[weltweit]

I have tried that, sort of word association to remember peoples names, you have to think fast though especially if you are meeting more than one person.

I did try a technique like that for remembering a shopping list, it involved recalling a list of items which all had word associations or something. I confidently went shopping without a list and it seemed to work for a while. For some reason I have forgotten the exact method now. Shame.

 

[weltweit]

It seems to work, this associating names with things...

Dr Who's assistant, Piper, bag piper ... Billie Piper ..

 

[fela fan]

I notice recently that I am a lot sharper at quizzes and I put this down to speed reading my internet spam, which is the only new activity I can put it down to. I basically scan incoming spam (that not already filtered out) for words that have a meaning to me. A side effect of this recent addition to my mental tasks seems to be an improvement to my quick wittedness.

Discuss ..

Maybe you have recently improved your diet, or reduced intoxicants ingestion? Or got off medication?

 

[Louloubelle]

Well it is happening again.

I think of something which I know I have seen or heard or read but it does not come immediately to mind.

I relax and forget that I asked for it and hey presto, still early enough to be of use, my brain recalls it.

It would be nicer to have instant recall but it is a good feeling that if it went in at some point it is possible to recall it, even if not at exactly the time you want it.

My method of recalling a word that does not come to mind, is to enter associated words into google. I notice that, very often, the word I want to find comes into my mind just before it turns up via google.

So now I can just enter the words into google in my mind and that way the word I'm looking for will often pop into my mind as a result.

It really does work, try it.

 

[weltweit]

... It really does work, try it.

I will try it, thanks



I did try something similar (a bit) when trying to recall names, I just started outputting names I knew similar in some way to the one I was looking for. It only worked for me some of the time.

 

[Jonti]

Good advice, laptop. But this bit interests me. You have text-only dreams? I find it hard to imagine what a text-only dream would be like.

For me, it's essentially like reading a book, although I don't have a dream presence as such; I don't have an avatar.

 

[weltweit]

I've never had a text only dream. What is more I think I dream in colour.


But recall and that .. The things I could not recall recently ..

1) The author of the Harry Potter books, think rolling, JK Rowling.

2) The recent assistant to Dr Who, think bag piper, Billie Piper.

3) The star of Saving Private Ryan, think hands.. Tom Hanks.


It is working for now... will try to add some more to get up to 10.

 

[weltweit]

1) The author of the Harry Potter books, think rolling, JK Rowling.

2) The recent assistant to Dr Who, think bag piper, Billie Piper.

3) The star of Saving Private Ryan, think hands.. Tom Hanks.

It failed, I forgot to remember for a few days and then forgot what to remember for Saving Private Ryan so I never got to Tom Hanks!!

Bang goes that theory!