Bad memory?

[Jake]

Does anyone else have a pretty bad memory when it comes to strict memorization? For me, I can pretty easily retain mathematical/logical concepts in subjects like calculus, computer science, chemistry, physics, etc. but only because I understand the concepts behind what I'm learning. I am awful with dates, events, people, etc. when trying to learn history because it's about strict memorization, which I'm terrible at. I honestly forget EVERYTHING I learn in history classes only a few weeks after final exams, but scientific/mathematical concepts stick with me indefinitely, or at least I can relearn them very quickly if I do forget them.

I'm really frustrated by my poor memory because I want to embody the knowledgeable, walking-encyclopedia type of person, but I just don't retain information that I read if I don't understand the logic behind the information. I forget everything about books and movies, too. I've literally reread Ender's Game about five times and I can't seem to recall little details about the book. (I'm also very young so it's not like my mind is already failing because of old age.) I can easily memorize sets of information (like maps, lists of people, and chemical formulas) but only if I sit down and drill the information into my head, and then I forget everything after I've taken the test.

 

[Ex-User (9062)]

Memory is strongly connected to emotion.
People have very different ways of experiencing emotion, thus they also process memory "management" differently.
In order to not clog the brain with junk data, we tend to discard irrelevant information according to various biological and environmental factors.
You can definitely train your brain to absorb various kinds of information more efficiently, but i'm afraid that everything has its price.
I find it more important to remember the bigger picture than the specific details,
but to each his own.

 

[shoeless]

when i was younger, i was the same as you - awful at memorizing dates and such for history classes; awesome at memorizing concepts for math/science/english classes. i did also practice a lot of cram studying -- stuff as much information as possible into my brain immediately before the test; ace test; discard information.
and then there was all the drugs and now my memory is just shot to shit in general. so. there's that.

 

[Tholomyes]

Memory is a very broad concept, and there are many types of memory, so it's not something that can be uniformly defined. However, the type of memory that you're talking about, rote-memorization is very S-oriented. As someone with high N, I've never been very good with it. If I understand a concept, I'll get it. If I don't, all rote-memorization will do is further ingrain how much I don't understand a concept.

However, this isn't the same as other types of memory. I'd be interested to find what portion of personality, if any, is associated with memorizing stuff like obscure and rather unnecessary information. I recently went on an ~2 hour conversation on Les Miserables (the book), where I was able to go on very Hugoesque tangents (aka, I went on about 5 minutes of unnecessary set up, for a sentence or two of pay off) on things that came up only once in the 1500 page book, and mattered very little, if at all, to the narrative of the story.

 

[Ex-User (9062)]

I recently went on an ~2 hour conversation on Les Miserables (the book), where I was able to go on very Hugoesque tangents (aka, I went on about 5 minutes of unnecessary set up, for a sentence or two of pay off) on things that came up only once in the 1500 page book, and mattered very little, if at all, to the narrative of the story.

Hm, what could have been the significance then?
Some personal relation perhaps?

 

[BigApplePi]

I have a poor memory (generalization I know) because I don't want to have my mind raped. To remember something specific I need to connect it up with a lot of things. I suppose that is an excuse. I know there are memory techniques, but I hate the thought of memorizing them, lol. I have a good memory for numbers, but that could be because I know or like a lot of numbers already.

Maybe I'm not thinking correctly. If you have a good memory, do you connect the memorized up with a lot of things first?

 

[HDINTP]

Yes. I cane completely relate to you. I am horribly horrible at memorizing. I also retain mathematical/logical concepts easily because I understand logic behind them. In classes as history I also forget almost all after the test. It is that bad I remember writing a test, getting B I think and 10 minutes after I did not remember literally a sentence.

Try maybe some memorization techniques...

This reminds me of our teacher that we got for final year at my high school and today I had an oral exam and she wanted exact definitions. When I started arguing about things it was over. I think she is S anyway. I see trouble coming my way in this subject but I will have to deal with it somehow...

 

[crippli]

My memory is so bad that I can not remember what it is that I remember. Still, stuff comes up on occasion that I didn't knew I remembered.

My greatest sin in life is being way to sloppy with the notebook. I suppose this forum is handy in that regard.

 

[Jennywocky]

I find general principles and patterns far easier to retain than details. My mind tends to jettison detail I'm not using, to free up more working memory for computations and the general axioms. This can be frustrating, especially in the workplace, where all the detail wonks seem to be able to spit out specifics at a moment's notice, or in an argument when someone wants me to back up my broad arguments with specific facts (I just remember the conclusions, not all the detail that led me to them); but then again some detail pople seem to have trouble learning things quickly and need a load of time to load up their brains.

I think my short-term memory is a bit slower now as well. I remember when young I could jam a bunch of stuff into it right before a test and regurgitate it and get high marks, then promptly dump it all within the hour. But that's what short-term mem is.

 

[Frug Werner]

Hi Jake! In response to your thread i would like to say overall my memory is very good going so far to say excellent as i can remeber events, dates, places, concepts with startling accuracy. This to me is an established skill as I see it and one that is becoming ultimily misunderstood as most people will say things like ohh you have to be born with a great memory but i dissagree albeit a mute point since i've always had a good memory. Still i would like to point out how i learned to improve it further.
Connections are hugely important the way humans associate things is how we memorize. So to better memorize anything is to disscus it with other people telling them or teaching them is one of the best ways to remember something (it's why extraverts waste so much time talking to keep their heads in order). Also I'd reccommend reading the book "Moon walking with Einstien" as it explains a very old method to remeber everything using your spatial memory.
Honestly give it a read! I don't use it that much but it helps from time time to remember the really important stuff.

 

[nearfantastica]

Am I one of few INTPs with an almost uncanny memory? It ranges from concepts and patterns to facts and quotes and trivial events. For facts and quotes I have to have some level of interest in the material to actually retain it, but it's easily manageable, unlike the others which kind of just...happen on their own.

Just the other day in physics class everyone was complaining about the impossibility of remembering the list of equations (reasonably long, I'll admit) for our exam. I sat down with my notebook for a couple of minutes and found that I could write out damn near every equation we had worked with and what it was used for.

...and then on the other hand, I couldn't tell you what I ate for supper last night, or what I wore on Monday.

idk man

 

[nebnobla]

I had brilliant [general] memory even after 7 years of smoking about a gram of weed daily with no real breaks. All of a sudden, I forgot almost everything at once; it was like my memory was collecting like a drip of water and it broke off and fell; mind you, the only moisture left was the most structured and sure pieces of my understanding--It was probably for the best, now that all that bullshit noise--the misunderstood and wrong, is gone. Now as I feel as composed as Jet Li in those mov-ies.

 

[RobdoR]

The longer I'm married, the less day to day stuff I feel like I need to remember. Trivial things like "Which day of the week is it?" or "Have I eaten yet today?" Every time I forget something trivial I like to think I'm becoming more brilliant in things that really matter. It's soothing! Back off.

I once heard that Einstein stopped a student on the way to class and asked him where he was going. The student replied, "To your 2 o'clock lecture, sir." to which Einstein exclaimed, "Oh, good! Then I've eaten lunch."

 

[Dragonmagicgeek]

Heh, that's awesome. See, with me, it really depends on my interest levels. On one hand, I can read a book, enjoy it, and remember each and every minor character and how they tie into the plot. On the other, when it comes to history, I often find myself remembering a major event, along with what led up to it (which allows me to remember time relative to other events - handy for timeline projects in school), but no actual dates, which are, unfortunately, what I get graded on. This is somewhat counteracted by a tendency of mine to stay up at night reading textbooks out of sheer boredom, allowing short-term memory to take up the slack. Similarly, with math, I remember how to do a problem, but not the result, never mind how many times I've solved it. Does this make any sense?

 

[ZenRaiden]

I do not even have memory. Or at least that is the feeling when I study. For some unknown reason I can remeber some of the oddest details and yet when it comes to remembering some of the most important things I cannot get them into my head.

 

[The Void]

dont remember.

 

[Cyon]

I'll only have a good memory when I could connect and relate one thing to another, like if there's a pattern or something that interests me. Otherwise, I just rely on the test questions and wait for that vague spark, hoping I could remember what I tried to memorize But I've been trying to memorize... like rewriting all the info like a map on a piece of paper, works well if I complete it and in the mood of doing so XD usually, I'm too lazy to get my hands working on one.

 

[Anktark]

I am right there with you. I can't remember what my age is most of the time and have to subtract year of my birth from current date (which I look up). And there are only 3 dates branded into my memory, my birthdate being one of them.

I have very easy time when it comes to memorizing poems or songs that really reverberate with me. Also, 3D maps, algorithms, concepts and order of events. Then there are random facts that I have no use for.

 

[Happy]

Does anyone else have a pretty bad memory when it comes to strict memorization? For me, I can pretty easily retain mathematical/logical concepts in subjects like calculus, computer science, chemistry, physics, etc. but only because I understand the concepts behind what I'm learning. I am awful with dates, events, people, etc. when trying to learn history because it's about strict memorization, which I'm terrible at. I honestly forget EVERYTHING I learn in history classes only a few weeks after final exams, but scientific/mathematical concepts stick with me indefinitely, or at least I can relearn them very quickly if I do forget them.

I'm really frustrated by my poor memory because I want to embody the knowledgeable, walking-encyclopedia type of person, but I just don't retain information that I read if I don't understand the logic behind the information. I forget everything about books and movies, too. I've literally reread Ender's Game about five times and I can't seem to recall little details about the book. (I'm also very young so it's not like my mind is already failing because of old age.) I can easily memorize sets of information (like maps, lists of people, and chemical formulas) but only if I sit down and drill the information into my head, and then I forget everything after I've taken the test.

This is normal. Don't get stressed about it. You say you're awful with dates, events, people, etc. You can help this tremendously by keeping some organised form of recording this information. For example, keep a diary for dates and appointments, look up techniques to memorise people's names and associate them with faces, and carry with you a notebook where you record thoughts, so you may ponder them again later. As for fictional books, don't read huge chunks at once. Rather, read smaller chunks at regular intervals, contemplating what you've read in-between sittings. As for films, when you finish watching it, rerun the events of the film in your mind while it's fresh - I find it helps with recalling at least the general story later.

 

[Happy]

I am right there with you. I can't remember what my age is most of the time and have to subtract year of my birth from current date (which I look up). And there are only 3 dates branded into my memory, my birthdate being one of them.

Haha I do this too. I've started just saying 'twentysomething' and changing the topic.

 

[appetiteforwonder]

I have an extremely short term memory. This makes me a slow learner. However when I finally do get to understanding, I do to a degree higher than that of my peers.

 

[JimJambones]

When I was younger I had a great memory for facts and dates. I remember memorizing the U.S. presidents in chronological order for fun(can't believe it wasn't required for school), but at some point I found it very uninteresting to rote memorize. Upon this laziness I found my grades slipped a bit, but I was still able to do rather well just by paying attention during class and studying before the night of an exam. In college I was much more interested in the ideas being presented than the specific details, unless I wanted to learn details for a better understanding of the subject, like memorizing all of the steps involved in glycolysis in biology class, even though that wasn't expected until biochemistry. Now today, I couldn't name all of the U.S. presidents or the steps of glycolysis without at least reviewing the information. For me, it is use it or lose it. Over the details fade away, but the main concepts remain, much like only the skeleton remains years after the flesh has rotted away.

 

[Steven Gerrard]

Speaking of bad memory, recently there was a thread in which a chick who made role playing games' website was posted?

Does anyone remmember that?

 

[tvrgvryen]

I'm better at understanding than at memorizing too, but there are factors like diet, exercise, sleep, and age. I think sleep is the most important, and I lack it.

 

[Semantics]

Through skimming the posts, I realise my points have already been made in one way or another but I'd like to elaborate.

I have two main theories for why my (and many INTPs?) memory is poor when it comes to dates, names, events etc. The first pertains to attention, or lack thereof. Becasue I’m perpetually in my head, external events/happenings don’t have the same impact for me as they do for others. Since my attention is primarily focused on my thoughts, of course there will be huge gaps when trying to summon certain details of a setting such as the colors of objects in my surroundings or what clothes people are wearing. Such details simply don’t enter my awareness during the situation so they’re nigh impossible to recall at a later date. In fact, I don’t even know if they’re in there at all. If you don’t consciously process stimuli, is it still stored in your subconscious, as long as your eyes glazed over it at some point? I guess a neuroscientist would’ve come up with the answer to this question already but, as always, I’m too lazy to look.

The second involves the Ti framework. As I should have mentioned earlier, I, like many INTPs I presume, have stellar memory for concepts that I’ve understood completely. Also, my memories are dependent on other memories, rather than being independent entities, as the case seems to be for many sensors. What I mean by this is one memory can spark another, but they seem to be causally connected i.e I won’t be able to recall the second memory in the chain if I don’t remember the first one first. This, I believe, is due to Ti’s penchant for interconnectedness. It’s as if any piece of knowledge that doesn’t fit in to the seething, interrelated web of Ti will simply be discarded into the void, never to be seen again. However, if a piece of knowledge is compatible with the existing framework, there will be a bit of structural rearranging to accommodate for it, after which it can readily be drawn upon in times of need.

 

[Yellow]

^^ This is far more pleasant than just saying "we're scatterbrained".

Though, I agree, at least in my own experience. I cannot understand how other people remember things spontaneously, or intrinsically or however they do it. They just remember the errands they have to run without reminders. They remember the chores, and to ask so-and-so how their surgery went. They remember that tomorrow is the 12-year anniversary of the day that the first Dairy Queen opened in their home town. They somehow just remember that when they finish their current task, they need to call their mother. If I didn't witness these memory-athletes every day, I'd say that was all impossible.

I cannot rely on my memories to activate without a cue. I can leave my office for 3 minutes, and return to say, "oh yeah, that's what I was doing", because my previous task will have been driven from my mind entirely.

On the other hand, when summoned, my memories are full of useful information. I don't seem to forget much of anything. On the contrary, I've have very few apparent memory failures (i.e. someone swears I was present for some conversation or event that I absolutely cannot recall, but I trust that the person is telling the truth).

That said, my memorization skills are good, kind of. For example, let's say you give me a list of 30 foreign or new words along with their meanings. Let's assume I have a few minutes to look them over, with the expectation that I'll be tested on them tomorrow. If the test consists of the list of words, leaving me to recall their meanings, I'd easily get between 27-30 of them correct (depending on how familiar the words were to start with). If you asked me to simply write down all the words listed, not even bothering to ask me the definitions, I'd recall maybe 2.