Do You Ever Pretend Not To Remember People?

[Spock]

Reposting this here-instead of the Lounge-maybe people are interested in how the brain works.
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And I don't mean someone that you just want to go away. This falls into the "You Know What You Know" category.

Maybe other people here share (to some measure) my blessing (or curse?).

I am blessed (cursed?) with an almost photographic memory for interactions with people. I remember very specific things about people that I have interacted with on a very limited basis.

That is just the way my mind works. I remember where people are from and what we talked about and etc etc.

People just can't believe what I know about them considering we may not have interacted for 20 years or whatever and, NO, I haven't stalked them on the internet.

From my end, I can't fathom that they can't remember this stuff-but I am used to it by now.

When people comment on it-I just say something like 'that is just the way my mind works" BUT

Am I supposed to pretend I don't remember this stuff? Nobody else does, why should I? But that would kind of be lying in a way.

Li'L Spock shares this gift (curse) as well to some extent.

[Spock]

I was thinking about how it works.

It seems to work best with people that I didn't interact with a lot. Hey, even I can get overwhelmed.

For example, I can't remember every interaction with my 3-Yr college roommate.

Although, it would be fun to test myself some way on that. I think I might scare even myself on that.

But somebody that I talked to once 25 years ago-that baby is locked in there. I couldn't pull it up right now, but if I run into them or am prompted some other way, I can access that file.

[Ritterskoop]

Omission is not always a lie. If you don't comment on a thing, that's not a lie.

I've learned not to comment on everything at work; if they want to know what I think (or in your case, what you remember), they will ask. Otherwise, it's not that important.

[jarnon]

Publicizing that sort of ability can be hazardous at times.

[tlynn78]

I used to have a really good recall, especially for work-related things. My boss could say, "Do you remember that case where the dad wanted to move to Denver but the mom just got a new job here..." and I could say, "Sure, that was Cause Number DR XX-XXX and the attorneys were so and so.. " etc, with specifics, even if we'd last handled the matter six months earlier. It freaked people out, but I lost a big chunk of that ability following a head injury. My recall is still quite good, but no where near where it was pre-injury. The brain is a fascinating thing.

[Spock]

I thought of a fun way that it works regarding books.

I have thousands of books scattered all over the house (Yes, Mrs. Spock is the right woman for me) some on shelves or in boxes that I haven't looked at, maybe, in years. Adding to the complexity of the random scatter, most of my shelves are doubly shelved-ie a hidden row of books behind the ones you can see.

But if I decide I want a specific book, I can generally go to its location and find it very quickly, sometimes in seconds..

I can even send someone else to the general location and they can find it pretty quick as well.

Not bragging or anything-just stream of consciousness stuff on the brain and I am kind of enjoying it.

[Spock]

I used to have a really good recall, especially for work-related things. My boss could say, "Do you remember that case where the dad wanted to move to Denver but the mom just got a new job here..." and I could say, "Sure, that was Cause Number DR XX-XXX and the attorneys were so and so.. " etc, with specifics, even if we'd last handled the matter six months earlier. It freaked people out, but I lost a big chunk of that ability following a head injury. My recall is still quite good, but no where near where it was pre-injury. The brain is a fascinating thing.

I am really, really bad at binary choices. My worst fear re WWTBAM was that I would get a question that was essentially a binary choice. For example, I would be hard=press to tell you which part of the flower is male-the pistil or the stamen.

Did I mention that I am really, really bad at binary choices.

[Beebs52]

I think sometimes current visual, sound related, scent related bits tend to trigger back memories.
But, I'm a geezer, so there's that.
Well, and conversations. I remember my back yard when I was 11ish? My bff and I used to reenact Louisa May Alcott books. I can see the grass.

[Spock]

I think sometimes current visual, sound related, scent related bits tend to trigger back memories.
But, I'm a geezer, so there's that.
Well, and conversations. I remember my back yard when I was 11ish? My bff and I used to reenact Louisa May Alcott books. I can see the grass.

Given that you are a boomer was the "grass" the Devil's Lettuce? ducking and running.

I can date my absolute first memory to a time that I was under 18 months old. I sat on a long-term family hired man's lap and listened to his pocket watch. He died when I was a year and a half old and I am completely confident that my memory is not from being told about it. Although, the memory might have been refreshed by people telling me about it.

[Beebs52]

I think sometimes current visual, sound related, scent related bits tend to trigger back memories.
But, I'm a geezer, so there's that.
Well, and conversations. I remember my back yard when I was 11ish? My bff and I used to reenact Louisa May Alcott books. I can see the grass.

Given that you are a boomer was the "grass" the Devil's Lettuce? ducking and running.

I can date my absolute first memory to a time that I was under 18 months old. I sat on a long-term family hired man's lap and listened to his pocket watch. He died when I was a year and a half old and I am completely confident that my memory is not from being told about it. Although, the memory might have been refreshed by people telling me about it.

.
Devils grass? Um, no, asshole. I was like 11

My first memory is of a long white expanse with a dark surround. My crib.

[tlynn78]

I think sometimes current visual, sound related, scent related bits tend to trigger back memories.
But, I'm a geezer, so there's that.
Well, and conversations. I remember my back yard when I was 11ish? My bff and I used to reenact Louisa May Alcott books. I can see the grass.

Given that you are a boomer was the "grass" the Devil's Lettuce? ducking and running.

I can date my absolute first memory to a time that I was under 18 months old. I sat on a long-term family hired man's lap and listened to his pocket watch. He died when I was a year and a half old and I am completely confident that my memory is not from being told about it. Although, the memory might have been refreshed by people telling me about it.

.
Devils grass? Um, no, asshole. I was like 11

My first memory is of a long white expanse with a dark surround. My crib.

Lol..I was partaking second-hand at nine - 8 and 10-years older brothers...

[Spock]

Fun story from 1993.

A bunch of us from college met at a friend's lake cabin. The bulk had graduated college in 1989/90 with a few friends of the lake cabin person thrown in that I had never met and weren't part of the main group.

As we talked about the college years, Spock's Curse was on full display with the new couple basically in shock at what I remembered.

In the evening we went to the bar and my college room-mate asked me "What was that girl's name again?" I obviously knew who he was talking about, but that was a memory I did not want to open so I immediately said very curtly-"I Don't remember."

The wife in the new couple who had just met me but had seen Spock's curse in full display earlier in the day basically laughed in my face when I said that.