Just finished watching a program on how people see, feel and remember things. Like events in their lives or things they love.
How do you remember things?
How does you memory recoganise something?
I, for example, do it mainly in colours smells and millions of photographs that are like story boards that are no longer from my eyes perpective. there is minimal detail in these photos with the blanks filled with colours representing the feelings I experienced.
I sometimes wonder what it would be like to remember something in words and numbers. I just don't understand how it works really.
Wooooah that's a tough one D:
ReplyDeleteI often find it hard to remember something if someone asks me to remember it... But often memories will pop up at me out of nowhere and I remember the weirdest thing that I'm sure everyone else involved has forgotten.
I remember much like I dream - I can't see most people's faces but I know who they are. I have a lot of trouble picturing people's faces in my mind, even if I know them really well. Despite this, though, I have quite a visual memory; usually I remember in a movie-like way. Actually, maybe it would be better described as those old video games where you can only see a few meters in front of you and more is revealed as you walk forwards..? It's like I only have so much memory so it needs to be used on only the things immediately surrounding what I'm thinking about. Often I have to close my eyes to picture something in detail. It also helps if I make the same movements as the thing I'm trying to remember, like writing down a word if you can't remember how to spell it. It's usually pretty step-by-step, too.
Well that turned into a long answer.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAwww, cute! Colours :p
ReplyDeleteMy memory has a horrrrible sense of time; I just categorize them according to whether they happened before or after certain big events in my life, or where I was living at the time (which stopped being helpful after I stopped moving around the place haha). I can never immediately match year of school with calendar year with my age, so often have to count back :p
I don't think I remember in words so much? Except when studying - sometimes in tests I can sometimes remember things by trying to imagine where they were on the page, e.g. top right hand corner of the first paragraph. But that's still images of words I guess.
I appear to be good at recreating vague visual memories based on photos, or stories that people have told me (as you well know :p). Also I tend to remember stories that I've repeated a billion times - but then in the end I only remember the details I've said. So, I only have the memory of the telling of the story, rather than the memory of the original event itself. Which is weird I think.
I have a fairly good... body memory... what was that word you said the other day Han? Kinetic was it? Which is why (sometimes) I can remember old piano pieces if I just start my fingers off in the right place. I don't really visualise that so I don't know how that works.
My ears also remember things? Haha. Though I can't remember the name of a classical piece's composer or the number of a sonata or anything, I can probably hum the rest of the tune if you start me off. Songs I know well I can recognise within the first bar or two. But then there's the sea of boy band and Disney lyrics that float around my head... but I remember those more entwined with the tune as opposed to being in like, words.
Actually the body thing - when it comes to music anyway - probably is also an ear thing? Because sometimes when I am singing to myself I can hear the instruments that go in the background. I'm a bit worried about that sometimes (I hear music and noises a lot), but whatever.
OH when studying, I tend to remember things bette if I group them in 3 or 5. Or 6. Or any number, but those work better. Or make the first letter of the first word of each idea spell another word. IT TOTALLY WORKS. :D
People remembering in numbers though, woah. I guess it happens, but I'd love to talk to them about how that works haha.
Cool... so we don't really remember things in words?
ReplyDeleteKinda interesting that you are so visual Han but I guess it makes sense... Maybe you are like unconsciously culling down on all the excess information only keeping things you really need or can build off art wise...
But like Sarita you said you found it hard to not remember Japanese in hiragana while you can' in Roman letters... When I remember lyrics or words there is nothing there. like it is all colours? I guess I also to the page thing too. Especially when I am doing a project I know I need to go back to something I wrote that is on that page about this far through my book, but I don't know why until I get there. Sometimes it is a colour I have painted or a quick note to myself.
Yeah people who have crazy attachments to numbers are amazing. It is like to them each number has it's own personality. An English guy called Daniel Tammet has tried describing what it is like for him, but still it amazes me><
Thanks (>▽<)
Oh yeah, Japanese words/lyrics I don't understand are waaay easier to remember when I remember them in hiragana... But like, to me that's still pictures? Associated with sounds. But I guess that's what writing is... (except for like proper Chinese kanji anyway.)
ReplyDeleteOh coooool. I remember a thing on House being about that - like colours and music or something?
I think the 'colours and music' you're referring to is called synesthesia: it's when you perceive things through a different sense than normal, so you hear colours or smell sounds. Maybe the days of the week have specific colours, sounds or even emotions/personalities associated with them.
ReplyDeleteIf I'm trying to remember a certain words sometimes I'll think about the words I associate with it, like the words around it at the time I read/heard it... usually I think of the sound or the meaning of that words and not actually picture it in my head. Although that said, if it's a word that was written down I do picture it... maybe it's more the shape of the word rather than actual letters.
If guess I just remember things in the medium most relevant to whatever the thing is, then.