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As I get older the memories are indeed failing (ie losing detail) although if I try or if I have some object from the past, I can usually recall some part of the memory though I doubt I could remember much more detail like the day of the week or the weather unless I was outside or the memory was specifically dealing with the weather. I know that the memories are there, I just need some way of finding it... like if I think about my ex-girlfriend in college I'll remember that day I took the wrong way to class because I was following her and the friend I was walking with had to ask me where the hell I was going.
The earliest memory I have is as a very young child maybe 2 or 3 when I had a fever and laying on my gradmother's lap while she yelled at my mother for something.
I can still remember events like when my mother killed a frog, a turtle or made cow brain soup.. but only because they were so odd that they probably burned into my memory forever.
My wife's sister is one of those savants who can remember a surprising number of things like if a song plays on the radio she'll say that song went to number 1 on the charts on June 17 1963 and it was a monday.
Alzheimers typically affects short term memory first. My friends mother has alzheimers and she can remember the names of all of her children except the youngest of 7.
No disrespect, but was your Mom named Granny and is your name Jethro?
While I can remember some things from as far back as my childhood, the majority of my memories are now so vague that it almost seems like those experiences never even occurred. Seriously. Sometimes when I think back to a specific experience that I know for a fact happened, I actually wonder if it even happened at all. I think to myself: did I imagine it or did it really happen? And that's because with the passing of time, the memories of some experiences get more and more vague.
But maybe it's better that way. After all, why would one need to remember most of the things that happened in the past? The present is what matters.
For me, only certain memories, specifically memories about my own life are the ones that are vague, but much more trivial memories remain quite strong...I could probably recite everyone's part in every single Brady Bunch ever aired. We got a new channel called Decades, and the other day I saw "Love, American Style" for the first time in 40+ years....and when the theme showed came on, I started singing and surprised myself by remembering every word!
Why can I remember things like that so easily, but not remember things like taking day trips or certain games my brother and I played when we were little that he and my mother remember and laugh about, and I don't even remember being there? I know it's normal for babies and toddlers to forget, but I'm talking about events that came later than that. I wish I could remember some of the ones that sound like we had a lot of fun, but I can't remember them.
I think memory is somewhat over-rated. My mother is nearing 90 and she has a fabulous memory. And most of her stories are of interest only to her. The other day she was telling me who had the first stainless steel sink she ever saw. Amazing that she can remember that ... but WHO CARES? I guess it gives her pleasure to bring up these scenes from days of yore, but most of the people she relates them to are just looking at her like she's nuts. Do her grandchildren care that she can remember some of the dresses her first grade teacher wore? I don't think so.
I've noticed something interesting about my memory...
That is I have lived in several different major cities in my life. And when I have moved to a new city and learned all the new streets and directions... My memory of directions and street names from the previous city seems to go away!
So I think we have a limited memory and can only store "so much" up there. New memories replace old memories. (So consider that in addition to the other memory problems mentioned above.)
Apt point. Some things the brain logically will prioritize and then dispense to non importance sort of like a step function where the 'new' environmental input [constant value] now supersedes the old. But rest assured its likely still there. You've just euphemistically put it in the box in the corner.
To OP I like trying to understand how the brain works and have read (not recently) many articles. A couple variables I think come into play for someone like yourself.
Our brains have an extraordinary capacity to store information but retrieving it is influenced by a few things. I think some people have more of an 'active' defragging that seems to let them see these old bits while it is defragging while others do not. Thus some can more readily recall old memories (those with active defragging) while others do not. if you've ever been around an inquisitive person who whenever you tell a story seems to tell their related story it is quite often this phenomena. It's as if their synapses are looking for an external coupling and the verbal conversation triggers it in recall and more often than not 'spits it out'.
How focused were you on the 'here and now' when you experienced it? (i.e. were you preoccupied and absorbing multiple functioning areas like thinking of a project you were working on at work while attending a child's concert, level of actual interest / engagement 'in the moment' [It's as if you are experiencing whatever it is as if you are a blank slate or sponge]. Did the concert have any meaning to you other than your child was in it as an extracurricular activity?
I can remember some things readily and think I have better memory than most, but if I go a long time without associating a topic / experience it gets stored in cobwebs of the memory attic. Yet, when something, such as music, smell, another person conversation (tone) can trigger a whole wave of old memories simply because it accesses those particular attic spaces. How pertinent these are to share are likely miniscule depending on the audience level of reception.
Also, when I was at busiest in combined work and school in college years I have very difficult time remembering it because it literally was a blur in that a lot of different activities were compressed into small time frame (no drinking, smoking or drugs needed). Same when I had a job with lots of travel and doing repetitive trainings. It became rote and not as memorable. I purposely kept a journal those years to remember better.
A couple concepts to ponder: Some people have more of an 'active/cycling' defragging allowing them to recall old memory bits more readily, and then others gifted with parallel processing may not only remember the details of what they were doing, but seem to have an adept skill at remembering the context / environment (3rd person view) versus a solely individual view.
Trouble is - as Jukesgrll aptly mentions - many of these 'memories' are of interest to only the person who experienced them. My mom was like this in some ways, when I was young, I recall she'd point out all manner of these observational 'memories' from landmarks to personal experiences from school etc... that contextually meant something to her from her experience but not to me. However, it is interesting to people who enjoy history and I always was grateful she shared so much of what she recalled even if much of it didn't interest me because, in her words, we were 'building our own memories' along the way when she'd share much of these stories.
Where we store them and how much we access them is based on the busy-ness levels in our lives, levels and variety of external stimuli and our individual processing typology and how we 'wired' our synapses to some degree. Do we tend to as individuals focus on one disciplinary task / topic / activity at a time? Or do some have greater ability to parallel process and engage in purposeful cross disciplinary activities/ reading etc....
I think overall todays technology amplified 'white noise' dominated environment makes it more difficult all around for people to focus, and hence remember with clarity. But that's just MHO. And one could also argue it may be purposeful to keep masses distracted like nice animals being farmed or gerbils in a cage going round on their wheel.
A parallel thought to your topic on a deeper level comes to mind in a famous quote by George Santayana "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it".
My memory of events and experiences of the past is pretty sketchy. I seem to remember mostly certain things that I can pull up a visual on. Most of my childhood I don't remember. The same is true for a lot of my adult life as well. I'm 64. I used to be able to remember things like phone numbers and data quite well, but not so much anymore. Now I'm having senior moments more often. Sometimes if I go to another room for something when I get there I can't remember what I came in there for. Carrying a related item with me helps. I don't remember what I read very well anymore but reading was always somewhat tedious for me even though I love to read. I don't know how much of this is normal aging, but I do notice a difference even though my memory was never that good. My best friend from junior high school is the opposite. Her memory is excellent. Mine, not so much.
I can remember stuff - as far back as three. Not everything of course, far from it; but certain events. The whole day of my fifth birthday stands out. Some of the years are mixed up, but things I do remember accurately are things like all of my class schedules, teachers, rooms, grades I got, from 7th grade on. I also remember teachers, rooms, section numbers from first grade on. More spooky though, is that I can remember roll call (alphabetical) from an entire 10th grade class, and that part of the alphabet near my name to the end of the roll call in kindergarten. I can still remember where everybody except a few kids sat in my 1B and 2B classrooms. I even still remember telephone numbers of friends, neighbors, relatives from the 1950's - at least a dozen, and remember the entire exchange words. I sometimes use them as passwords with the house number (I remember those too) as the clue. I have a very good ability to name the month and year of pop music hit releases from the early 60's to around 1970.
Things really get blurry later on. My memory of the last 20 years is way more spotty. There are years where almost everything is a blur. I think its the booze (light drinker, but consistently so).. but then again, maybe I used up all my neurons on all that other stuff.
Last edited by TwinbrookNine; 07-02-2015 at 01:51 AM..
I went to a family reunion and astonished my cousins when I recited their phone numbers when they were kids. I was born before WWII and have white hair. I remember radio frequencies from Vietnam. I don't make any effort at all to do this. I remember what cars my uncles drove. I remember all my teachers' names. I can picture the street where an uncle lived, the driveway with two cement paths for the car tires and grass between the cement. I remember the interior of their house in great detail such as the number of panes of glass in the windows. Doesn't everybody?
I have my old logbooks from the Navy. I have become somewhat of a reference source about the helicopters we flew. I can picture the cockpit of a Huey right now. I could climb in and fly one. I have no need of street names and have a hard time giving directions to other people. They just look and seem to think, "Huh?"
a famous comedian once said: the great thing about alzheimer's disease is you get to sleep with a different woman every night.
Quote:
No disrespect, but was your Mom named Granny and is your name Jethro?
ha ha... those were memories from brooklyn ny and my mom wanting to try some kinds of crazy homeopathic medicine she heard about from "friends".
I acutally have plenty of those types of weird memories (hamburgers made of chopped up unborn chicks, stingray, weird birds from some live market etc etc). no my mom is not a witch.
I would bet that I remember a bit more than the average person. I'm not one of those autistic savants that remembers intricate details but what I do tend to remember most is the conversations that I have with people. But no, I don't remember every detail metalmancpa. For example, I remember that my freshman year of college my girlfriend and I went to UC Berkeley to visit my girlfriends' sister, but I can't remember whether we stayed for just one night or came back the same day. Some things we just remember more than others.
I remember a lot. I wish I didn't as most of my early life was bad, very bad. I had a miserable childhood. One would think with my past and present marijuana use bad memories would go away but they didn't.
I consider my memory to be excellent, vivid details from long ago. At 60 years old my mind is very sharp.
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