Well, I'm sixty and just earlier today I was thinking how annoyed I was at my long dead aunt for calling me "You Why" when I was at the age kids ask a lot of "why" questions. I was quite offended when she did it and I'm still annoyed. I even remember the exact location: A streetcar stop which ceased to exist about fifty years ago.
I teach in Korea, and Korean names sound SO similar to one another (to non-Korean ears), but I really do try to learn my students' names! It's hard, but the learners beam when they hear their name from me, and that it makes it all worthwhile.
This is actually somewhat encouraging. If I see one of my old teachers and they don't give me the time of day, it may be entirely possible they just don't recognize me, rather than remember something which I may have said/done.
I couldn't be bothered to remember peoples names. It was always hey you or hey teacher. I felt bad about not remembering peoples names but I felt brain space was needed for other things. An occasional name of someone will pop into my head and i'll remember but for the most part there are very few people worth remembering. I'd forget my mother's name if she didn't insist on calling me occasionally. Don't tell my wife but I forgot her names years ago.
@jarjarbinks77 Yes, I know the feeling. Sadly, it's often the names of the truly appalling past pupils of mine that I can remember - the saints disappear into oblivion.
Memory seems more apparent in the animal kingdom when it comes to direction. Lions, penguins etc returning to the same places to breed. Amazing really that the same memory is implanted in all of the group. But whether it is just a couple that 'remember' and the rest follow, I have yet to find out.
Creating memory is associated with the temporal lobes of the brain, specifically the hippocampus. Research using PET scans of stroke victims has identified that the left lobe is responsible for retaining names of things. Patients that couldn't remember names had damage to the pole of the lobe. Only a small part of the brain retains names (about the size of a thumbnail). It's smaller for males than for females. From an evolutionary biology perspective, recognizing faces is far more important.
@snappingbear Thanks for this. That explains why I can remember faces quite well, but if I see people 'out of context' I can easily forget exactly who they are.
There are no cell that hold our memories. There might be groups of cells where from the smallest information of memory emerges. It's a question of reduction really. Is the pattern of the waves in the sea, when the wind blows from the east, stored in the sea, or is it an emergent pattern from the relationship(s) between the parts of the system. :0)
i feel i'm getting older and my brain is getting crowded...i used to remember things from childhood with vivid detail but today...after i shake your hand and say hello you are immediate erased from my memory....people places and things.
Try living abroad - speaking a foreign language with foreign names- people will tell me their names - "Sandrine," for example and I proceed immediately to forget. I think it may be because I'm concentrating on what they are actually saying and my brain is being selective - their name isn't important - the information they are conveying is!
No potential "pillar of the salt" laying about when you said that, Tenneral? Your description of the cell passing on memories was hilarious.
I forget at least 1/2 my students' names about 5 minutes after I put in the final grades for a course. It's always been the case. Invariably, of course, a couple of months later I'll run into one of the students whose name I've forgotten and, like you, I do the "Oh, hi there" bit. But it's a real kick in the jittles when they forget MY name. ;-)
Another quandary I have encountered is that through sport I have had occasions where people know me by name, when I have never met them. Well I think I haven't met them, either that or my memory is failing. Some strangers act like long lost friends and some acquaintances act like strangers to make things worse. How are YOU, is my common response. Then, once I get a name, I often overuse it in a display of apologetic paranoia. People should wear name tags ;)
My theory is that I'm terrible at remembering names when I'm introduced at a meeting, party, etc., because I don't really listen when I'm told. Alas, this insight hasn't helped much--I forget it when I need it. OTOH, I clearly recall being carried from a burning house one night when I was 3 years old, and being shredded by a rose bush at the same age when my tricycle tipped over in our driveway. And after 51 years I still wish I could forget a shocking event at summer camp when I was about 7.
Is there a chance that our memories are no worse in our later years than they were in our youth? Perhaps in our youth we didn't notice or care or dwell on a failure of memory as we may come to do later.
Last June, I saw an article about Alzheimer's in USATODAY and it did put a smile on my face how some folks work around the disease (terrible and dramatic illness):
@iom6666 I apologize for the cut URL but Youtube wouldn't let me post otherwise... use the notepad to reconstruct it, an article worth reading! cheers
I've always had a terrible memory (I think) I rely heavily on my wife who has a wonderful ability to recollect everything from dates to full names including middle names. On the other hand I am masterful with faces (even if i do say so), I never forget a face.
I felt a pang of worry listening to this story as I imagined my memory only getting worse as I age (I'm 35) but I quickly allayed the sorrow with the realisation that I wouldn't know any better anyway if and when it does happen :-)
@MrUnscientific Yes, women do have great memories. My own mother could meet someone once and recall their name, their spouse's name, where they lived, their job etc etc years and years later. For me, all that information vanishes three minutes after I'm introduced to strangers!
Interestingly, neuroscience has learned that the act of remembering things changes those memories ... details shift around and other such things. I've run into this a few times with my own memories (when I see a photograph that totally disproves my absolutely certain recollection).
My husband can never remember names of this colleagues at parties I have learned the trick of introducing myself then they have to tell me their name which triggers his memory... saves a lot of embarrassment but obviously has limited use LOL
I love it when you talk Latin to me!! I've had a hard time with names all my life. I've resorted to, "I'll let you two introduce yourselves," more times than I'd care to admit.
You are not alone. I have a terrible time remembering the names of past students! I am so glad to hear someone as intelligent as you has this problem too! I really enjoy your postings. Thanks.
I'm 28 and I've started going into rooms, then wondering why the hell I went in there. I'm sure by the time I'm 60 I won't have a fraction of your sharpness of mind.
My mother-in-law who was fluent in Polish, German, English, French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese and taught Romance Languages at university now she is 91 cannot remember what she did last week etc.
But if she uses her English (my partner is German) she can speak clear as a bell about 1945- 1946 in occupied Germany where she as a Polish citizen was the English translator for the British army of occupation. It is clear as a bell.
@tenneral I was hoping to do it for posterity - for the family but I might edit it down for here. She and her husband married on 8 May 1945 and the man who married them didn't know whether he was supposed to give them Mein Kampf anymore and just said they could have one if they wanted and they declined.
@johncrwarner Sounds like your MIL made better use of her brain, while it was fully functional, than most of us do! And now, she demonstrates how the brain can compensate for the waning of its power.
@juliuschas A formidable character - even if she has forgotten some things like the fact they have built a motorway near where she lives - so she always talks to us about travelling to Bielefeld by an old and very busy road as the best route - she also always insists on give my partner money for the train fare - which he pays back into her account when we get home.
During my eight years of nursing and medical school I frequently found myself unable to recall the names of ordinary objects. This nominal aphasia is common among those who do a great deal of studying. It's as though the brain just cannot handle one more tidbit of information. Fortunately this never happened during the years of my practice!
By the way, I'm a teacher as well. (10 yrs now) When I meet up with old students faces, skill level, personality are all easily remembered, but names are a different matter.
It seems to rude to forget someones name. It's like you have forgotten "them" completely or don't care. In reality you can list 100 things about them, it's just the name you've forgotten.
@Danmill23 I think we teachers all suffer in the same way. We see pupils & students for a few years; then they leave us, grow taller and fatter, dress differently and become complete strangers. I can usually recognise the faces but no much besides.
I've always been terrible at names, I can recognize someone I worked with for 2 weeks 5 years ago and more often than not remember the names of his wife and four children, but his name-not if you put a gun to my head. To make things worse, I'm a large, bearded, hairy man with an unusual name, so practically everyone I've met remembers my name. I spend a lot of time steering conversations away from having to mention the other person's name.
This is how I am only there is no pattern to my name memory and if I tried two days later a name that refused to come out would be there as easy as pie. I am also rather face-blind which makes matters worse. On the occasion I can remember the name I am not always sure I have the right person. OTOH I am very good with voices which is another reason I loved the two way radio hobbies as much as I did.
I suspect that we are losing the ability to learn and remember due to the changes in how we take in information. The oral tradition was once a great method for training memory; now if a clip is longer than five seconds...
I find such things fascinating. What is it that makes an individual ... er ... that individual? I forwarded on a vid series to a few YTers a while ago about Clive Wareing. Look him up for a fascinating insight into memory and what happens to a soul when they have almost none at all.
Well, I'm sixty and just earlier today I was thinking how annoyed I was at my long dead aunt for calling me "You Why" when I was at the age kids ask a lot of "why" questions. I was quite offended when she did it and I'm still annoyed. I even remember the exact location: A streetcar stop which ceased to exist about fifty years ago.
RustyTube 1 year ago
I was going to post a comment but i forgot what i was going to say.......
tubester4567 1 year ago
I teach in Korea, and Korean names sound SO similar to one another (to non-Korean ears), but I really do try to learn my students' names! It's hard, but the learners beam when they hear their name from me, and that it makes it all worthwhile.
MikeOfKorea 1 year ago
This is actually somewhat encouraging. If I see one of my old teachers and they don't give me the time of day, it may be entirely possible they just don't recognize me, rather than remember something which I may have said/done.
Hockeygod98 1 year ago
I can't remember 10 names in ANY class I've ever had.
Hereticbooks 1 year ago
I couldn't be bothered to remember peoples names. It was always hey you or hey teacher. I felt bad about not remembering peoples names but I felt brain space was needed for other things. An occasional name of someone will pop into my head and i'll remember but for the most part there are very few people worth remembering. I'd forget my mother's name if she didn't insist on calling me occasionally. Don't tell my wife but I forgot her names years ago.
jarjarbinks77 1 year ago
@jarjarbinks77 Yes, I know the feeling. Sadly, it's often the names of the truly appalling past pupils of mine that I can remember - the saints disappear into oblivion.
tenneral 1 year ago
I'm not even old and I can't remember anyone's name. :P
HAL9000unit 1 year ago
Memory seems more apparent in the animal kingdom when it comes to direction. Lions, penguins etc returning to the same places to breed. Amazing really that the same memory is implanted in all of the group. But whether it is just a couple that 'remember' and the rest follow, I have yet to find out.
Meiklelodians 1 year ago
Creating memory is associated with the temporal lobes of the brain, specifically the hippocampus. Research using PET scans of stroke victims has identified that the left lobe is responsible for retaining names of things. Patients that couldn't remember names had damage to the pole of the lobe. Only a small part of the brain retains names (about the size of a thumbnail). It's smaller for males than for females. From an evolutionary biology perspective, recognizing faces is far more important.
snappingbear 1 year ago
@snappingbear Thanks for this. That explains why I can remember faces quite well, but if I see people 'out of context' I can easily forget exactly who they are.
tenneral 1 year ago
There are no cell that hold our memories. There might be groups of cells where from the smallest information of memory emerges. It's a question of reduction really. Is the pattern of the waves in the sea, when the wind blows from the east, stored in the sea, or is it an emergent pattern from the relationship(s) between the parts of the system. :0)
Faergen 1 year ago
i feel i'm getting older and my brain is getting crowded...i used to remember things from childhood with vivid detail but today...after i shake your hand and say hello you are immediate erased from my memory....people places and things.
tshalik 1 year ago
Try living abroad - speaking a foreign language with foreign names- people will tell me their names - "Sandrine," for example and I proceed immediately to forget. I think it may be because I'm concentrating on what they are actually saying and my brain is being selective - their name isn't important - the information they are conveying is!
flyingfisbeefilms 1 year ago
Omg the Prof was right! This guy is fucking great. Subscribed.
metsfanal 1 year ago 3
@metsfanal Thanks very much indeed!
tenneral 1 year ago
No potential "pillar of the salt" laying about when you said that, Tenneral? Your description of the cell passing on memories was hilarious.
I forget at least 1/2 my students' names about 5 minutes after I put in the final grades for a course. It's always been the case. Invariably, of course, a couple of months later I'll run into one of the students whose name I've forgotten and, like you, I do the "Oh, hi there" bit. But it's a real kick in the jittles when they forget MY name. ;-)
ProfMTH 1 year ago 3
@ProfMTH Ah, how true, how very true. Sadly I can remember a few of the satanic, psychotic students' names: the saints are quickly forgotten.
tenneral 1 year ago
Another quandary I have encountered is that through sport I have had occasions where people know me by name, when I have never met them. Well I think I haven't met them, either that or my memory is failing. Some strangers act like long lost friends and some acquaintances act like strangers to make things worse. How are YOU, is my common response. Then, once I get a name, I often overuse it in a display of apologetic paranoia. People should wear name tags ;)
fantasy0coach 1 year ago
My theory is that I'm terrible at remembering names when I'm introduced at a meeting, party, etc., because I don't really listen when I'm told. Alas, this insight hasn't helped much--I forget it when I need it. OTOH, I clearly recall being carried from a burning house one night when I was 3 years old, and being shredded by a rose bush at the same age when my tricycle tipped over in our driveway. And after 51 years I still wish I could forget a shocking event at summer camp when I was about 7.
juliuschas 1 year ago
@juliuschas Come along now: you must find 'closure': make a video about that ghastly event and put it on YT!
tenneral 1 year ago
@tenneral Alas, the plot is drearily familiar. Just my luck it was a penniless camp counselor instead of a well-bankrolled priest!
juliuschas 1 year ago
Is there a chance that our memories are no worse in our later years than they were in our youth? Perhaps in our youth we didn't notice or care or dwell on a failure of memory as we may come to do later.
Stromatolite577 1 year ago
Last June, I saw an article about Alzheimer's in USATODAY and it did put a smile on my face how some folks work around the disease (terrible and dramatic illness):
iom6666 1 year ago
@iom6666
“Living with Alzheimer's doesn't mean you won't have fun at high school reunion!”
bit.ly
/
bZIefI
Lots of hope in this article.
iom6666 1 year ago
@iom6666 I apologize for the cut URL but Youtube wouldn't let me post otherwise... use the notepad to reconstruct it, an article worth reading! cheers
iom6666 1 year ago
I've always had a terrible memory (I think) I rely heavily on my wife who has a wonderful ability to recollect everything from dates to full names including middle names. On the other hand I am masterful with faces (even if i do say so), I never forget a face.
I felt a pang of worry listening to this story as I imagined my memory only getting worse as I age (I'm 35) but I quickly allayed the sorrow with the realisation that I wouldn't know any better anyway if and when it does happen :-)
MrUnscientific 1 year ago
@MrUnscientific Yes, women do have great memories. My own mother could meet someone once and recall their name, their spouse's name, where they lived, their job etc etc years and years later. For me, all that information vanishes three minutes after I'm introduced to strangers!
tenneral 1 year ago
Its almost as if you remember things better if they happen earlier in your life.
perditiontheelder 1 year ago
@perditiontheelder This is certainly true.
tenneral 1 year ago
I was going to say something here, but I forget.
Pushtrak 1 year ago 2
Interestingly, neuroscience has learned that the act of remembering things changes those memories ... details shift around and other such things. I've run into this a few times with my own memories (when I see a photograph that totally disproves my absolutely certain recollection).
amazingbollweevil 1 year ago
Haha. I'm 36, and I've done this pretty much as long as I can remember (hah!) - meaning since I was 5 or so.
Memory IS a strange thing, isn't it.
cmxcmx 1 year ago
I can remember teachers saying 'mens sana a in corpore sano' while clipping us around the ear when we 'forgot' our football kit.
mucalinda 1 year ago
'Memores estote uxoris Lot'. You were probably subconsciously reminding yourself to buy some salt for dinner.
mucalinda 1 year ago
"...he addressed us all as 'oh by the way'..."
yookayman 1 year ago
My husband can never remember names of this colleagues at parties I have learned the trick of introducing myself then they have to tell me their name which triggers his memory... saves a lot of embarrassment but obviously has limited use LOL
I call people love or hunny or doll a lot
nelliediddle 1 year ago
It´s the same for every teacher. You remember their faces, what they did, academic achievements and so on. But you rarely remember their names.
GeminiPrimeX 1 year ago
I love it when you talk Latin to me!! I've had a hard time with names all my life. I've resorted to, "I'll let you two introduce yourselves," more times than I'd care to admit.
ozmoroid 1 year ago
@ozmoroid
LOL! I have relied on that one many times!
prodigyat9 1 year ago
@ozmoroid That's a good way of avoiding the difficulty: I'll remember that (I hope) for future use!
tenneral 1 year ago
You are not alone. I have a terrible time remembering the names of past students! I am so glad to hear someone as intelligent as you has this problem too! I really enjoy your postings. Thanks.
nsouc 1 year ago
I'm 28 and I've started going into rooms, then wondering why the hell I went in there. I'm sure by the time I'm 60 I won't have a fraction of your sharpness of mind.
Arthuriod 1 year ago
My mother-in-law who was fluent in Polish, German, English, French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese and taught Romance Languages at university now she is 91 cannot remember what she did last week etc.
But if she uses her English (my partner is German) she can speak clear as a bell about 1945- 1946 in occupied Germany where she as a Polish citizen was the English translator for the British army of occupation. It is clear as a bell.
johncrwarner 1 year ago
@johncrwarner How great. Get her to make a video for YouTube recalling those early days. She - and we - would enjoy it very much.
tenneral 1 year ago
@tenneral I was hoping to do it for posterity - for the family but I might edit it down for here. She and her husband married on 8 May 1945 and the man who married them didn't know whether he was supposed to give them Mein Kampf anymore and just said they could have one if they wanted and they declined.
johncrwarner 1 year ago
@johncrwarner Sounds like your MIL made better use of her brain, while it was fully functional, than most of us do! And now, she demonstrates how the brain can compensate for the waning of its power.
juliuschas 1 year ago
@juliuschas A formidable character - even if she has forgotten some things like the fact they have built a motorway near where she lives - so she always talks to us about travelling to Bielefeld by an old and very busy road as the best route - she also always insists on give my partner money for the train fare - which he pays back into her account when we get home.
johncrwarner 1 year ago
During my eight years of nursing and medical school I frequently found myself unable to recall the names of ordinary objects. This nominal aphasia is common among those who do a great deal of studying. It's as though the brain just cannot handle one more tidbit of information. Fortunately this never happened during the years of my practice!
Christheatheist1 1 year ago
thanks, I don't feel I'm the only one who can't remember names now. I was starting to think it was something worse.
yellowlabrador 1 year ago
By the way, I'm a teacher as well. (10 yrs now) When I meet up with old students faces, skill level, personality are all easily remembered, but names are a different matter.
It seems to rude to forget someones name. It's like you have forgotten "them" completely or don't care. In reality you can list 100 things about them, it's just the name you've forgotten.
Anyway that my perspective.
Danmill23 1 year ago
@Danmill23 I think we teachers all suffer in the same way. We see pupils & students for a few years; then they leave us, grow taller and fatter, dress differently and become complete strangers. I can usually recognise the faces but no much besides.
tenneral 1 year ago
I've always been terrible at names, I can recognize someone I worked with for 2 weeks 5 years ago and more often than not remember the names of his wife and four children, but his name-not if you put a gun to my head. To make things worse, I'm a large, bearded, hairy man with an unusual name, so practically everyone I've met remembers my name. I spend a lot of time steering conversations away from having to mention the other person's name.
TheMudbrooker 1 year ago
@TheMudbrooker
This is how I am only there is no pattern to my name memory and if I tried two days later a name that refused to come out would be there as easy as pie. I am also rather face-blind which makes matters worse. On the occasion I can remember the name I am not always sure I have the right person. OTOH I am very good with voices which is another reason I loved the two way radio hobbies as much as I did.
prodigyat9 1 year ago
@prodigyat9: Re face-blind, no memory for names: I'm the same, I recognize people by the way they walk.
JCLeSinge 1 year ago
I suspect that we are losing the ability to learn and remember due to the changes in how we take in information. The oral tradition was once a great method for training memory; now if a clip is longer than five seconds...
See, I just forgot what I was saying!! :)
TheTruePooka 1 year ago
Quite the memory feat! I suspect that most teachers remember only the names of the best and worst students ;)
musekiteer 1 year ago
I find such things fascinating. What is it that makes an individual ... er ... that individual? I forwarded on a vid series to a few YTers a while ago about Clive Wareing. Look him up for a fascinating insight into memory and what happens to a soul when they have almost none at all.
ArtificialCleverenAI 1 year ago
I am so happy to hear this!
OK, That sounds sorta morbid - but you have lifted a load off my mind.
Elaina43 1 year ago