memory qwirks

[musicalman]

Hi everyone,
Throughout the past few years, I've done a lot of self-reflection about a lot of different things. One thing that's taken my interest lately is memory and how it works, and more specifically trying to figure out if I have a learning deficit or not.

A few years ago I was diagnosed with such a deficit, though it was never given a name and wasn't really talked about in depth. For reasons I won't discuss at the moment, I had to undergo a psychological evaluation where this was uncovered. One of the tests was, they would give me 16 random words to repeat. I only remembered 3-4 of the 16 things, compared to 7 which is what I was later told is normal. With repetition I improved, but not as fast as they expected. I still couldn't remember half the items on my fourth run. Maybe it was simply information overload, maybe I wasn't able to focus all of my attention on the task because of being tired/nervous or whatever, but in any case I think we discovered a feature of my memory I didn't really notice, but always sensed. I'm really bad at remembering sporadic information. I sometimes amaze people by how quickly I can forget a simple sequence of things. Chunking helps but after about 3-4 chunks, I've forgotten the first chunk and it turns into a big mess.

I am bad at memory games, particularly those that throw you into a puzzle. I'm horrible at logic puzzles that require memorizing a dozen twisty turny facts about something. Pretty much any mind game is something that's gonna make me grown with despair. Games like Simon (the game where you have to repeat an ever-growing sequence of numbers or colors) are easier and I normally do average on those. Possibly because it's more a tactile/auditory experience which I'll cover below.

The one area my memory redeems itself is with music and related things. If I can remember it long enough to play it, I can learn and retain far better. My tactile memory is only a quarter of the equation though. Really the credit goes to my auditory memory which remembers things longer, but it can only do that if my tactile memory is involved. Though it's not audiographic by any means and I need a lot of repetition to remember something, it is still very efficient. Chunking is super effective too since I can actually retain the chunks and make the chunks longer. When I have to, I can crunch and learn an amazing amount of stuff in a short time (not that I prefer this or will have mastered what I learned), but I can do it. If I don't keep it fresh, I do forget things, but they come back to me really fast when I review.

I can also extend my memory to numbers and language to a point. I just have to thoroughly memorize and use each component before moving onto the next. I still can't easily remember things that people say, or facts from a book (not even an audio book). I can remember specific things for one reason or another, or give you a global idea of what I read if I focus on the big picture, but unless something makes it stick out to me, I can't force myself to remember anything.

Often during class discussion I would be saying to myself "what the heck are you all talking about?" Then I'd realize later that, oh yeah we were supposed to have known this, it completely slipped by me even though I didn't skip any part of the text. While I am certain I wasn't alone in these struggles, I think I had them alarmingly often. They didn't happen once, or a half a dozen times, but almost every day from second grade to my senior year in college. The fact that everyone else's memory runs circles around mine in all but a few specific areas both angers and intrigues me greatly.

What intrigues me most is the difference between our minds, and why mine is the way it is. Sure I have an efficient musical memory and that's not something everyone can claim, and sure I am average at a few other things, but it is by no means well-rounded. In fact I'd venture to say that it is far less well-rounded than is typical. What really peaks my interest most are those people with almost photographic memories who can remember things with far less than average effort. I've heard of people memorizing decks of cards, or reciting pi to 100, 500 or more decimal places, among other things. A lot of people think those are useless party tricks but I can't get enough of watching people show off like that, because not only does it trigger envy in me, but it makes me wonder what precisely I'm missing. It's useless to think like that I know, but I often can't help myself. It's said that these tasks are far more manageable by coming up with a story, or using synesthesia (which I have, sort of, but it isn't strong enough for me to rely on if that makes any sense). But I've been hesitant to try any sort of memorization lately because of my bad experiences. Knowing me, I'll completely forget the landscape or the story I've come up with when it comes time to recall. Lol

So at the end of all this, I'm obviously curious. What makes each individual person's memory so seemingly different? Are the struggles I face, for example, just part of who I am, or can they be improved immeasurably? What sorts of things can being an aspie do to one's memory in your viewpoint?

 

[Nervous Rex]

First, the impressive memory tricks you've seen - like memorizing a deck of cards - anyone can do. it just takes practice. I heard an interview one time where a reporter asked a memory contest winner, "When did you realize you were a memory genius?" And the winner responded, "I'm not. A few years ago, I was a reporter like you covering this event. They showed me how they do it, and I started doing it, too."

As I understand it, it works by finding ways to make the thing you want to memorize stand out, so it becomes more memorable. E.g.: Worried about forgetting to take a small detour to run an errand on the way home? Imagine a giant chicken standing in the freeway, diverting traffic to that exit. When you get to that part of the freeway, you'll remember the giant (hopefully imaginary) chicken, and remember to take the exit.

If music works for you, try associating things you want to remember with music. Here's what works for me. Your results may vary.

1) I can remember anything I can see in print. When someone tells me their name, I mentally put it in print above their head. If I can do a few word tricks, like find an anagram of the word or other word play to associate it with something more interesting, it'll stick better ("Jones? Jonesing for a way to keep up with the Joneses!").

2) I like poetry, and breaking things into short lines like a poem helps me to memorize longer things.

3) Here's a weird reversal: I have no visual memory. I've found I can forget things that I don't want to remember by converting them in my mind from text to an image.

 

[onlything]

I found that the strings that others use - imaginings different activities or creating a wordplay for a string of information - are rather inefficient to me. I'm more of a visual-feeling thinker. I incorporate a word into a visual shape with a distinct feeling or colour. Like for example a name Susan can have a subtly orange color due to a character of a person it belongs to, just like the shape of that person can have a subtext color for me. Sometimes it can be sound-based - I like to say that I have a radio in my head - but it's much less pronounced. This way of thinking is not very efficient while for example trying to remember new names and faces but it enables me to quickly link a known person with simple facts about people. So I may have a problem to create a first few strings but it becomes kind of easier later and in the end I turn into that one person that knows all of the people's favourite drinks or foods, or colours etc. Makes it easier to work in customer service for sure, or to create designs for people since everyone has a preference, some are soft-edged, some sharper, more chaotic, more ordered... Anyway.

It's probably because I think highly visually. It does make my head hurt on an everyday basis, though, since it's a bit like having an additional string attached to everything around. It also makes the world feel like a dream, though that actually may be a part of dissociation. I can't really describe it in a different way.

Everyone has their own method of thinking, some are similar, some not so much. The thing is to understand your brain and play to its strengths. If typical ways of remembering information never worked for me, I just didn't use them, especially in educational systems.

You seem to be an auditory thinker, so do try to find ways of remembering by using music. It will make it easier. The rest is mostly practice depending on what you want to achieve.

 

[Progster]

I think that you need to experiment to see how you learn best - if you are more an auidtory thinker, you could try recording information that you want to remember and then playing it back. I think that memory can be improved with practice. Here is a link to a quiz which helps you to understand what kind of learning style you have:

The VARK Questionnaire | VARK

 

[Bella Pines]

My memory is quite stereotypically aspie.

I will surprise myself by finding things in my hand that I don't remember picking up. Yet I can remember patterns from decades back. Facts are always fragmented and I can't quite remember the word I'm looking for, but I can happily recite my credit card number. I remember patterns built from facts over time, but lose the actual facts. I remember trends and fashions, but lose the faces and names of the people involved. I would describe my memory as "macro".

 

[Fridgemagnetman]

My memory is quite stereotypically aspie.

I will surprise myself by finding things in my hand that I don't remember picking up. Yet I can remember patterns from decades back. Facts are always fragmented and I can't quite remember the word I'm looking for, but I can happily recite my credit card number. I remember patterns built from facts over time, but lose the actual facts. I remember trends and fashions, but lose the faces and names of the people involved. I would describe my memory as "macro".

80928983 was my Abbey national bank account no.
I also remember car number plates from where I used to live 25 years ago.
Useful information...

Oh and the word you are looking for is ''forgetful"

 

[apm101]

I have often wondered about my memory, and how bad it is, but since I discovered I might be an Aspie, it makes much more sense!

I have to take exhaustive notes in meetings, or I forget what was said, and who said it. Total contrast to some people who seem to be able to take no notes, and remember everything! I too can remember most of registration numbers of cars and motorcyles I have owned over the years, and alot of phone numbers, too.

 

[musicalman]

Wow, thanks for the awesome replies!

As I understand it, it works by finding ways to make the thing you want to memorize stand out, so it becomes more memorable. If music works for you, try associating things you want to remember with music.

Yeah, that's pretty much the train of thought I'm on.

It's weird though. All along, I've thought that most people are better than me at memorizing indiscriminately. In the earlier years of school especially, having indiscriminate memorization I think is generally in your favor, and that was something I never really had. So I'd excel at 1 or 2 subjects, was okay in one or two more, but for the rest I felt like I was in a desperate struggle to stay afloat.

I compare myself to other people too much though, I always have. So when I struggled, I knocked myself down as I compared myself to everyone else who seemed to find the work easier. It just got worse as I noticed my struggles were ongoing, from year to year, from teacher to teacher. I guess there's a flip side to everything though, and like people have been saying I just have to learn how my brain works, and wherever I can, I have to adapt tasks to it. I try, and I do generally succeed more than I fail, it just gets frustrating sometimes because of my low confidence.

I have no visual memory. I've found I can forget things that I don't want to remember by converting them in my mind from text to an image.

This messes with my head because I've never tried to forget something! Though it's an interesting thought.

Here is a link to a quiz which helps you to understand what kind of learning style you have:

The VARK Questionnaire | VARK

Thanks for that! I took the quiz, and my results were:
• Visual 2
• Aural 12
• Read/Write 8
• Kinesthetic 13
This actually makes sense. Some points on the read/write side sounded reasonable to me, but others sounded more difficult which would explain why I find some written things hard I think. The high auditory and Kinesthetic ratings seem to be very sensible though. I think having an experience that engages both really does help me learn something, or at least, I'll retain the auditory and kinesthetic aspects, even if I forget the other information.

Thanks for the insight!

 

[Mary Anne]

I have often wondered about my memory, and how bad it is, but since I discovered I might be an Aspie, it makes much more sense!

I have to take exhaustive notes in meetings, or I forget what was said, and who said it. Total contrast to some people who seem to be able to take no notes, and remember everything! I too can remember most of registration numbers of cars and motorcyles I have owned over the years, and alot of phone numbers, too.

I feel exactly the same way you describe in your posts except I can remember 3 things and not 7, and maybe for only 1/2 hour. I have to write everything down immediately. I am a visual learner, and have never been able to remember- especially numbers, patterns, strings of anything. Not my license plate, certainly not license or credit card numbers. Every job where I had to remember sequences of analytical information was a complete failure. Tests are difficult, so was school. You are not alone.