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Two features fascinate me about those memory-glitches that occur now and again. The first situation is the temporary forgetting of a name or fact that I absolutely know that I know, which is irritating in the course of a conversation. Trying to recall it without success leads to simply abandoning the attempt, with a "mental shrug". Then hours later, or even the next day, the name or fact pops unsolicited into the mind, out of the blue. This odd function of the mind is analogous to inputting a problem into a computer, which then chunders on automatically until it outputs the solution. A bit spooky, to find that one's brain can operate just like the early Hewlett-Packard programmable desktop machines we used in our design office in the early 1970s, which you fed with magnetic strip cards and entered the data by keyboard. They would then very slowly and noisily go "chunkety-chunkety-chunk" for ages, until a strip of heat-printed silvery roll clanked out with an answer. A bit humbling to discover that the incredibly complex gooey grey human brainbox works at times in a very similar "Heath Robinson" manner!

The second situation is more mysterious. A question crops up in a conversation or quiz that I am certain I don't know the answer to, and can even state clear reasons why I couldn't possibly know. Yet either immediately or later on, the answer comes to me. Maybe there were subconscious memories which had almost completely faded over time, so that "I didn't know that I actually did know"? Perhaps. And commonsense says that the brain isn't capable of researching like a Google query in the total absence of prior knowledge, so I'm left with just a ?

Quite often find that if I can't remember something, thinking of something totally unrelated makes the previous conundrum pop into my mind!

I like old movies, which I can remember quite well. On the other hand, I now sometimes find that, while I know the face of the actor, I cannot remember the name! I was doing this, "That classic German film, 'M,' the one about the little fellow, a murderer, being hunted by both the gangsters and the police. The murderer was played by (gaping, blank hole). You know, he went on to have success in Hollywood as well, that, uh, guy .... Him." Hours later: "Peter Lorre!" but too late to be of much use.

I am not alone in this, fortunately. I know a guy who keeps forgetting who started the Korean War, so that he always has to ask, but then he forgets the answer by the very next time he posts! Galloping senility, obviously.

At your age, Chuks, I am not surprised. I am surprised that at 97 you can remember where you put your remote, to watch the movies. Now if we can find out what is in the secret room...

I went to the shops late yesterday, as I was getting closer saw Police flashing lights at what was probably an accident
and the traffic was a bit thick so took a side street and thought I'll go to the other shops, thinking Oh well, it's Coles
not Woolworths but I am sure I can get what I want.

Was wondering around the aisles and was wondering why the Beans were on special, the same price as Woolworths,
thinking Coles had matched them.

Then realised I was actually in a Woolworths store, one that I had been to a number of times !

Must be losing it !

Woolworths? Disappeared from here a long time ago.

Or ... I think they did. I seem to remember they did...

We had a situation where half the country was called Safeway and half Woolworths.
Eventually someone bit the bullet and changed it all to Woolworths.

We don't have Tesco, Sainsbury's and can't remember what the third one was in the UK.

Asda!

That's great, but where did I put that remote?

Here, we have an old Sony television upstairs that refuses to die. The remote conked out though, so that we replaced it with one of those generic programmable remotes, which then went missing, to be replaced with another one, which went missing, to be replaced in turn with yet another. So I was sat in the comfy chair facing that old TV when I stuck my hand down beside the chair's seat cushion, to find a remote. Fishing around on the other side brought forth another remote. If anyone needs a programmable remote, well, we now have three of them, and I think that was down to a teenager.

Actually, I think that my brain rot set in years ago, or else someone at the factory screwed up. I remember once when I was doing some work on a British sports car (Remember them?) and I couldn't find my 5/8 combination wrench that was right there just a minute ago .... Finally I stood up and put my hands on my hips in exasperation, when I felt something in a back pocket ... the missing wrench, of course. That was about 45 years ago.

Chucks

Re "which then went missing" - I think I have found a suitable cure for things that seem to dissapear out of sight !

Small things like Small USB cables, I use yellow Cable tie on them that is 90 degrees to the object,
just means it's unlikely to slip down unnoticed.

And anything like a Black remote (god knows why they make Black), I stick a yellow reflective strip in it.
I pick up Yellow far quicker than Black !

Our eccentric English nieghbour in Greece has 2 mobile phones; one to phone the one she's lost. On one occasion she lost her phone and I found it in her fruit bowl. On another occasion I phoned her and she found she was sitting on her lost phone

I once lost an entire goddam car like that! Jet black Volvo 245 Turbo, parked in haste at the Kennedy Center's multi-story car park, in a dark corner. I was in a hurry to make a ballet date with a pretty former dancer, when we were supposed to go out on the town afterwards. When I proved unable to find my car for about 20 minutes, having forgotten the floor I had parked it on, she wrote me off as "brain-damaged" and told me she had to get home to wash her hair or something.

Teenagers and lost things...
A few years ago our niece was visiting and we gave her a set of keys to be "hers" during her stay. A few days later they promptly dissipated. I asked her to make sure she looks everywhere in her room as surely they were not lost outsides since the last time she used them was to come into the house. No go. They were never to be seen again after her thorough search of the room. When I offered to look it was met by huge protestations of invasion of her privacy and such so I dropped it.

A few days after she left we were cleaning the room and, voila, the keys were under the bed, about 1 foot in. Kids...

OFSO wrote:A very attractive young lady rushed up to me last month and threw her arms around me.

Some years ago I was standing in the shoe department of a large multi floor store, while The Wife shopped for something (probably shoes). I had mentally dropped back into stand-by mode (any husband will know about this) when the same thing happened as above, except whilst hugging me the young lady kissed me passionately. I might add the passionate kissing is fairly common here in Catalunia, even when you have only met once before. However I was taken aback as I couldn't immediately remember who the young lady was.* I found it worrying.

Since then I have forgotten far more faces and so worrying about who is kissing me has become far less of a problem. I just accept it. So the motto is: don't worry about it.

*The lovely Yolanda, a fitness instructor from the gym I belonged to at the time. The fitness instructor from the gym I now belong to isn't quite so passionate.

Can not imagine why the "change" came about for one minute OFSO!

500N wrote:Chucks

Re "which then went missing" - I think I have found a suitable cure for things that seem to dissapear out of sight !

Small things like Small USB cables, I use yellow Cable tie on them that is 90 degrees to the object,
just means it's unlikely to slip down unnoticed.

And anything like a Black remote (god knows why they make Black), I stick a yellow reflective strip in it.
I pick up Yellow far quicker than Black !

indeed ever tried finding a dark wallet first thing in the morning and you are late and it ain't in "the place"?

Who are you guys anyway?

Anyone forgotten about 3 Jumbos they left at KL?



viewtopic.php?f=7&t=710

Maybe they are yours, Chuks. Parked them in a hurry also, maybe?

I don't have any problem remembering names.

All the blokes I know are either named mate, buddy, pal, or chum.

All the women are either darling, sweetheart, honey or kitten.

You guys need to eat more fish!

.........having forgotten to turn the kettle on !

or ... pouring the milk into the kettle and the water on the cornflakes - yes, it happened !

The required word to complete a sentence when writing, and names all the time. I have my computer address book listed in either, or sometimes both, Christian name or Surname - I know, I know, and when I come back as a Toad, or something, I'll stick to one system in my next Life, but for now .... I have to start coming (later - there you are, meant combing ) through the whole list until ... Ah ! Yes ! that's it.

It's bad enough not being able to introduce one friend to another, but when one can't remember the name of the person you are talking to ... beg your pardon, but what's your name ? .... not a good look.

My current cause for concern is that when I'm typing I've begun to sometimes scramble the letters up and put thme in teh wrong odre.
Then I have to go back and rearrange them

.

Except that .... the spellchecker often does it quietly, and unnoticed, thereby creating a totally different and unrelated meaning to the composition, and if one isn't careful - and I rarely am - then the totally incomprehensible word goes through uncorrected, and the recipient thinks one has totally lost it ! (which is probably true ?)

Example - I'm having e-mail connection difficulties with an old friend in France, and sent him a quick message with a spelling error- quote: Are you receivnig me ? This was sent as ..... Are you relieving me ?

I made a cup of coffee the other day, thought I had boiled the kettle but no,
cold water lol.

Reminds me of the two old dears having coffee together. One says to other "I know we've been friends for a very long time but I can't for the life of me remember your name". The other replies after a minute or so of deep thought "How soon do you need to know?"

Alison