Yup, it's been improving again lately, had to take close to a year off due to burnout, also vitamins, sport, sleep, and more time with irl friends/coworkers.
Now back to a point that feels like 80% of preburnout.
Ask HN: Is your memory as bad as mine?
51–60 of 82 posts
Re: Ask HN: Is your memory as bad as mine?
#52Not enough context. Do you only watch football once every four years? Probably you don't care enough and have enough context of strategic moments to create memories. The more you care + context, the better the memory will be, see LeBron + Magnus. { https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HG6M2xQZvj0 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eC1BAcOzHyY }
Actually yes, only watch it every four years. More like a world cup kind of guy. But I thought I was interested enough while watching it and that my memory should have retained such a basic fact. Honestly I’ve considered the possibility you mentioned, that it could be related to interest. But I’m afraid it doesn’t explain it all.
> such a basic fact
As GP alluded to, memory in humans is not at all like memory in computers. Do you know a lot about Portugal or Uruguai as countries or cultures? Can you name any players on either of those teams? Could you draw the flags of either of them from memory?
All of those sound like a ton more information to remember than just which country played. And it is. But if you knew that, it would be easier to remember which country played, as human memory is more based on connections than facts.
I only watch soccer during the world cup and possibly half a match if it's on wherever I am. But I can tell you that Japan beat Spain yesterday, which knocked out Germany, because I've been to Japan and Germany in the past, and am actively considering a visit to Spain this coming spring or summer.
Though I don't remember the score of Japan-Spain, or the fourth country in their group. It was a 1 goal differential, so probably 2-1 or 1-0. I care enough about the game to know that it was tense at the end, but not enough to keep track of the individual goals.
Re: Ask HN: Is your memory as bad as mine?
#53OH yeah. Coming up on 40 and I forget so much shit now. I'll forget I watched some movie a year ago, start to re-watch it, and go "wait a minute..." I also make really dumb errors writing that I never, ever used to. Homophone mix-ups and such, even when I know which one's correct, the wrong one goes to my fingers. Omitting words, that kind of thing. Didn't do that ever before 30. I also barely have what they call an…
Really interesting! I'm 32 and I feel like this is the exact same thing that's happening to me. I have struggled with this for a long time, and I've been hyperaware of it, since it partially contributed to my marriage breaking down. I've gone to therapy after it was suggested that this might be childhood trauma, but the therapist seems to be focusing on different things. Can I ask what the disorder is (perhaps I'm mi…
Posted more info in a response to another poster. I don't think anyone's doing treatment work with it yet, if they ever will. Seems like psychologists just realized it's A Thing in the last couple decades. Given how (surprisingly) little it affects ordinary life I'm not sure it'll ever receive much attention, but it was nice to learn it's not just me (once I even realized it wasn't normal, which took quite a while).
I've had trouble falling asleep since I was a very young kid (mind racing with questions and thoughts, ruminating on times I've done things wrong which are the only events I've ever been able to form strong memories of—and as an adult, add anxiety to the mix) and wouldn't be surprised to find out it's a consequence of only getting enough sleep one or two nights a week for practically all of one's life. But, the cause could be something else entirely, I have no idea.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autobiographical_memory#Indivi...
Re: Ask HN: Is your memory as bad as mine?
#54Earlier quoted context omitted.
Woahhh cool that there is a word for it! I most definitely have a similar memory (autobiographical)...and am 30! I've been learning how to navigate it - for example "tell me about a time that..." is extremely difficult for me. But if I change the prompt to "think of a time when I was living at my grandparents house in the winter" or similar, I can begin to recall things, specificity is key. I also have difficulty whe…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autobiographical_memory#Memory... Severely Deficient Autobiographical Memory (SDAM) is that name for the condition. Interviews I've read with exemplars who've been the means for researchers discovering that it exists (I think some are in the article's references?) puts them about one notch worse than I am, but most of what they describe rings extremely true. In particular, remembering th…
This is exactly my case as well. Most of my family too, I'd venture, but to varying degrees.
Re: Ask HN: Is your memory as bad as mine?
#55"Bro, 39, it ain't 29,"
- Shaquille O'Neal
Re: Ask HN: Is your memory as bad as mine?
#56I, too, am 41. For the last five years, I've noticed that my mental performance has become more sensitive to physical changes. I had a particularly bad day with my memory one day when I woke up an hour earlier than I normally do. Another time, my wife had to point out that I hadn't eaten in 12 hours when I complained I was feeling worn out (I didn't think I was hungry). If I'm stressed, sleeping poorly, haven't exercised in a while, or haven't eaten well then I will at turns having trouble focusing, thinking, remembering, or even having energy. It's been a long time since looking good as been my primary motivator for going to the gym.
I suggest, if you get to a point where you're concerned about your mental performance, examine these physical factors to see how you're doing. Stress in particular can creep on you. If you're only going on vacations for family events and not taking time off for your own mental health you may be more stressed than you even realize.
Re: Ask HN: Is your memory as bad as mine?
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
Woahhh cool that there is a word for it! I most definitely have a similar memory (autobiographical)...and am 30! I've been learning how to navigate it - for example "tell me about a time that..." is extremely difficult for me. But if I change the prompt to "think of a time when I was living at my grandparents house in the winter" or similar, I can begin to recall things, specificity is key. I also have difficulty whe…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autobiographical_memory#Memory... Severely Deficient Autobiographical Memory (SDAM) is that name for the condition. Interviews I've read with exemplars who've been the means for researchers discovering that it exists (I think some are in the article's references?) puts them about one notch worse than I am, but most of what they describe rings extremely true. In particular, remembering th…
Found this BBC article on it https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20181112-severely-deficie...
Re: Ask HN: Is your memory as bad as mine?
#58Oh, man, yes. My memory is pretty bad. Especially, it turns out, with coding stuff. I recently started to record myself making coding projects. It’s been really enlightening about some of my bad habits. For example, I look EVERYTHING up with a search. I knew that I did this, but, watching myself, I’m learning it’s worse than I imagined. Also, boy do I ignore my editor and let it work against me instead of for me. I g…
Honestly in some ways, I think having a poor memory actually makes me a better engineer. For example, out of necessity I always thoroughly comment my code and write descriptive commit messages, even for solo projects. This is especially important for background context which isn't readily apparent just from the code itself, as that context is easily forgotten.
Regarding ignoring your editor: I do that on purpose! I avoid use of many IDE features, especially when learning a new large codebase. I find that after grep'ing for some method enough times, I'm more likely to memorize its location; eventually I develop the muscle memory for going to the right file, as well as a more complete understanding of the codebase's layout and design.
In contrast, if I lean on IDE jump-to-definition features, I find that memorizing the codebase layout is completely hopeless for me. The IDE then becomes a crutch which also impedes my ability to get an intuitive feel for the architecture.
Re: Ask HN: Is your memory as bad as mine?
#59Did you care about the match at all? The mind aggresively prunes information that have no utility for you.
Re: Ask HN: Is your memory as bad as mine?
#60There are studies looking at financial decisions by age. IIRC, one concluded that before age 25, investment outcomes are still ramping up. Between 25 and 65-70, investment outcomes are fairly flat. But they also concluded cognitive abilities peak in the early fourties. The explanation given in the study I read is that by that time, experience takes over to smooth things over. (One issue I had with this study was that I'm not sure they controlled for macroeconomic cycle; it was a very concentrated cohort in time.)
My own thoughts: If society indeed needs both analytical skills and quick decisions, it's clearly better to have old/experienced people be the ones to rely on gut feeling, than the younger population. It's possible that the ability to learn is designed to diminish with age, sacrificing accuracy for speed. And so I'm rationalizing my own cognitive decline with "I'm not alone" and "it's meant to be." ;)