Well, Wadda Ya Know?
My mind is
like a sieve. Information in…information
out. Do not pass go, do not collect $200, names and facts just disappear. When I am introduced to someone
I forget the name before I release my handshake grip. My mind is a sieve.
I remember
things about a person, but I am no good at names.
“You know, the black dude with the
African sounding name. Smart guy, good
speaker, from Hawaii, was a senator, he’s now President of the United States…”
“You mean Barack Obama?”
“Yeah him.”
“You’re an idiot.”
Peoples names, movie titles, dates, historical facts almost all information goes right through the sieve.
What is surprising
is the bits of information that occasionally get caught in the sieve.
I know that
Tom Hanks first starred in the TV show “Bosom Buddies.”
I even know
that his female interest in that show was named Donna Dixon and she is married
to Dan Aykroyd.
I know that
the name of the song that most people think is “Flower Girl” is really “The
Rain, The park, and Other Things.” I have no idea what group recorded the song.
Years ago
while watching “Jeopardy” the final jeopardy question was “He invented the helicopter.” As a joke, I just blurted out what I thought
was a funny name, “Who was Igor Sikorsky?”
The answer
was of course, Igor Sikorsky. Where did
that bit of information come from?
Weird.
I know that
the first time Goldie Hawn was on television she was the wacky neighbor in a
short lived show, “Good Morning World.”
I know that
the Ivy League is named not for the Ivy on the hallowed walls of the fine
universities in the league, but because the league was first comprised of four
teams, IV, Roman numeral for four.
I know that
Mickey Mantle won the Triple Crown in 1956 batting 353, with 130 RBI’s and 52
home runs.
My seventh
grade teacher was Miss Chiriella.
The chemical
symbol for salt is NaCl, gold is Au.
That is it,
everything else made it through the sieve.
Every once
and a while a question arises where the knowledge of these few facts makes it
seem like I am smart.
Most of the
time it is painfully obvious that I am an idiot.
I'm great at pub quizzes - I know nothing about music, films or sport but I do know obscure stuff like ... well, I can't actually think of anything right now but believe me, I know stuff!
ReplyDeleteSD never remembers peoples names, he knows so many people but can never introduce me because he only remembers them by the cars they drive.
Maybe that's why Jeorpardy is my favourite show. Got the same affliction.
ReplyDeleteThe slope of a line is y=mX+b...
ReplyDeletebut I can't remember my current address. :-\:-\
I really don't see this as a problem, being the same way. It's just your brain sorting and discarding info to prevent overload. You know the saying about keeping an open mind.....
ReplyDeleteWell there is my problem. I don't have a sieve. This explains why I know nothing. Thanks for clearing that up.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day. ☺
I have the answer!! From an old post: If you subscribe to the theory, as I do, that the brain is like a computer, then you know that it has a finite number of memory bytes. As we age, gravity pulls these memories down, filling first our feet, then our legs, our bellies & butts (which would also explain why many older people seem to have gained weight in these areas) & boobs (which is probably what causes sagging) & finally reach our brains, which eventually become full. Since humans don’t have a DELETE key, there is simply no room for new memories. This is why we people “of a certain age” can remember who sat next to us in the third grade but have no idea of what we ate for lunch yesterday. We are NOT forgetful—WE ARE SIMPLY FULL!!
ReplyDeleteI never was good with names, and after the stroke I lost faces, too. So much less to remember.
ReplyDeleteHey Joe, I can relate to this post so much, things I remember my wife mostly shakes her head at and does the same for all the things I should have remembered.
ReplyDeleteI have a new address for my blog drop by when you can. http://jimsop.blogspot.com/
useless minutia is sometimes good!
ReplyDeleteI can sympathize. I often forget my own phone number, and several times when I was an illustrator clients would call and ask for my Social Security number for their billing department and I'd tell them I had to answer the door and I'd call them back. Then I'd go look it up.
ReplyDeleteWhat you said is true...... When I am introduced to someone I forget the name before I release my handshake grip.
ReplyDeleteSame here......so I tell that person, "don't tell me your name, I am not going to remember it"
It happens to all of us, J - - - -, uh, J - - - -. Oh, whatever your name is.
ReplyDeleteSo, uh, who was my 3rd grade teach again?
ReplyDeleteI am convinced that we have just reached our memory limit .No more free space is available. We need to clear the brain of unnecessary crap we will never need or use, defragment and reboot. Hopefully someone who still has their wits about them will figure it out.
ReplyDeleteI'm terrible with names. My dad used to be terrible with movie titles. Example: the Goldie Hawn and Meryl Streep movie "Death Becomes Her." He called it "She Looks Good Dead."
ReplyDeleteI am an absolute idiot when it comes to names. I'll quote some arcane baseball statistic to MY WIFE and she will immediately shame me by saying, "OK, name your cousins." I leave the room grumbling with my tail tucked between my legs.
ReplyDeleteI will not forget the Simpsons. Other than them, my mind is also like a sieve. When it comes how much I paid for something I like , I tell my husband please don't aks me the price.LOL
ReplyDeleteWhere did you find that picture? I want to send it to my son.
ReplyDeleteI have the problem where things get in, but there's no exit! That makes for clutter! I KNOW I know it, I just can't find the answer among all the mess....song lyrics, Movies titles, current events, product jingles, cartoon theme songs from 40 years ago...really, sometimes I'd like a sieve! That way I'd never have to remember the pro wrestler Pampero Firpo was billed as the "Wild Bull of Pampus" and the 8th. wonder of the world!!!
ReplyDeleteThe Rain the Park and Other things was sung by The Cowsills.
ReplyDeleteI used to be so good at names, now I'm with you, I forget them before we're done shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries. That's why I was glad one church we went to had name tags, everyone wore one, easy to keep track of names then.
ReplyDeleteOlder I get, the more the memory goes.....that's all I got to say
betty
I so know where you are coming from... wherever that is -- I remembered it...
DeleteI like the sieve analogy. I'll have to use it.
ReplyDeleteAnd who knew, besides you, that the Ivy League stemmed from Roman numeral IV. :)
I'm the same way with names.. gone before the next sentence is uttered. But I have a pretty good mind for trivia. I vaguely remember Good Morning World but I think I confused it with another show from that time - My World, And Welcome To It. I do know that it was the Cowsills singing.. and now that song is running through my head.. less room for other things.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you just remember things that interest you? Or facts are more important to you than names? I'm weird about recognizing faces, especially if I see someone outside of the usual place(s) I see them, and numbers are my downfall. I can remember names, everyone's likes/dislikes, what day of the week any holiday will fall on in the next few years, but don't ask me to remember a phone number or address. It's not going to happen.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the mind is a funny thing. I can't remember my husband's social security number, even though we've been married 25 years. However, I still remember my ex-husband's. Go figure.
ReplyDelete