Because I find it difficult to imagine how such person could function in everyday life. Like, they go to a shop and they don’t remember what they wanted to buy? Or is it different if they decide in advance that it is important to remember the shopping list, and the “don’t know” only applies to things they did not consciously choose to remember? Or is keeping written notes a necessary coping mechanism?
I think it used to apply to me more – as a kid if people asked me something along the lines of “what did you do today?” I would automatically say “I don’t know,” and then if I thought they wanted a real answer, I would think for a bit. But I could almost always answer after thinking for a couple seconds.
I think part of your confusion comes from conflating experiential memory with verbal memory. In the essay, he also mentions that he’s really good at remembering arbitrary sequences of digits; I presume that extends to things such as grocery lists, and possibly also intentions that he’s formed. For me, I have very few memories of my childhood or even specific experiential memories of more recent years, but I have no trouble remembering what I need to do in a day.
(I do keep a LOT of lists and always have. But I have no idea if this is related.)
Being around people who value talking about abstract things makes me more attuned to the “word content” of the day. It’s like, I can remember going to work on a sunny day or I can remember someone asking her colleague “how do you see/define the depth of a surface in a painting”.
Normally I would say it happens and people forget details. But his case seems like he has a biological issue. I think something serious is happening to him.
Does this also apply to you?
Because I find it difficult to imagine how such person could function in everyday life. Like, they go to a shop and they don’t remember what they wanted to buy? Or is it different if they decide in advance that it is important to remember the shopping list, and the “don’t know” only applies to things they did not consciously choose to remember? Or is keeping written notes a necessary coping mechanism?
I think it used to apply to me more – as a kid if people asked me something along the lines of “what did you do today?” I would automatically say “I don’t know,” and then if I thought they wanted a real answer, I would think for a bit. But I could almost always answer after thinking for a couple seconds.
I think part of your confusion comes from conflating experiential memory with verbal memory. In the essay, he also mentions that he’s really good at remembering arbitrary sequences of digits; I presume that extends to things such as grocery lists, and possibly also intentions that he’s formed. For me, I have very few memories of my childhood or even specific experiential memories of more recent years, but I have no trouble remembering what I need to do in a day.
(I do keep a LOT of lists and always have. But I have no idea if this is related.)
Being around people who value talking about abstract things makes me more attuned to the “word content” of the day. It’s like, I can remember going to work on a sunny day or I can remember someone asking her colleague “how do you see/define the depth of a surface in a painting”.
Normally I would say it happens and people forget details. But his case seems like he has a biological issue. I think something serious is happening to him.