select memory?

[Minxie]

Hi there, I was just wondering. Yesterday I was listening to a music track, about 20 years old! and found myself singing along, remembering all the lyrics. So I wondered how come I can remember the lyrics of a record so old, yet sometimes when in conversation, I often forget what I am talking about half way through! Anyone else find this strange?

[spacechimp]

Short term short term short term short term short term... yeah.

[Minxie]

Sorry, forgot what I was talking about!

[Loosehead]

the memorys are stored somewhere in the brain. You know thousands of things but you don't know you know until a hook is found. A familiar song just get's the brain to go and get the chain associated with that hook.

Now try and list all the songs you know, you can't because you don't know them until you get a starter.

There are memory training techniques that make use of the memory hook system.

[Aschenbach]

Yes, you could sing along but would you have been able to write down the lyrics on paper beforehand without the melody acting as a prompt/ trigger/ hook? If not then only part of the song was recognised.

Our ability to recognise what we know is far superior to our ability to recall it. Hence we know a person's face but their name eludes us. In an exam you will find it easier to answer the multiple-choice questions, because you will recognise the correct answer when you see it. However, asking you to write an answer from what you recall without any prompting poses a greater challenge.

If we didn't forget / put memories to the back of our minds then concentration would be impossible. With a 'perfect memory' one might look at a tree for example and instantly be reminded of the shape of a childhood toy and hundreds of other objects at the same time.