Sins and Super Power on Memory Lane

The Seven Sins of Memory

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Memory(2)
James Slater

3/6/2013 3:04:45 AM

 I grew up in an environment where accurately remembering facts was not particularly important. I had vivid dreams from a very early age, and what is now referred to as a 'superior autobiographical memory'. I could remember events in detail as early as six months, and they still are with me. I also still remember dreams from when I was 5 years old. I don't have a very good memory for names, unless I use repetition and mnemonics, and I have a lousy sense of direction. But I have a pretty good mental Rolodex for phone numbers. I have a close life-long friend with an even better memory for facts and figures, so I never thought I had anything special. Until I hit my 60's and realized many of my other friends and family members had relatively poor memories. This sounds like I'm inflating my own tires, and I probably am. But one thing I do habitually is to try and remember facts, figures, dates, names, and events. If I can't remember someone's name, like Lee Marvin for example, a name I've always had trouble retrieving, I go through the alphabet from A to Z until and certain letter jumps out at me. I remembered Lee Marvin's name when I got to the M's, and the "Mar's". Sometimes it takes a while.