How good or bad is your memory?

[Jon]

Yesterday, I came back from the supermarket and forgot where I parked my car. This has happened more times than I like to admit lately and it is a worry! Must be my age!

What is your memory like and is it good/bad only for certain things?

 

[Bee]

I pride myself on having a good memory - but as time goes on, I am forgetting the specifics of things and just remembering events and information in a more general way. A good example is jokes. I have never understood people who can't tell a joke well, or remember the punchline, because it's something that I've always been pretty good at. However, recently, I've noticed I have to think about the punchline before launching into the joke, so that I don't muck it up.

 

[Jon]

I have a friend who used to always tell the punchline first. He got everything back to front. To watch him try to restart the joke after the horse had already bolted was a bit excruciating!

 

[Bee]

Why is it that some people just can't tell jokes? It's very common.

 

[Jon]

Jumbled mind, lack of comic timing. It is a bit like the physical skill of playing tennis. Some people can hit the ball easily while for others it looks like swatting flies.

 

[Bee]

So telling a joke is a physical skill? Yet it's all about language and communication. What makes some people better communicators than others?

 

[Jon]

Well, I was using the physical skill analogously, but when you think about it, there is physical skill involved. A computer telling a joke in monotone is not likely to elicit guffaws followed by applause. That is not 100% accurate. I have heard Stephen Hawking get applause for his jokes.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

My memory is really strange. I remember all sorts of things that have shapes or technical factors, but if I see a face I haven't seen in a while, I go flat out blank. I can remember lectures from various professors (now pushing 50 years ago in some cases) but when my wife tells me to get something, I might forget within twenty paces. And then remember two hours later. Probably a disconnect between short-term and long-term memory.

Like, for example, the disconnect of reminding myself to find a digital picture to upload, one that is newer than the one on the Access World forums. I'll get around to it, certainly. If I remember...