My memory is and always has been horrible. Never drank or smoked anything illegal, so it aint that. My brother, my dad, and especially my grandfather (died @ 1990) can / could remember dates, names, events, items that amazed me. Wife, kids, friends are always bringing up things I was involved in that I cannot recollect whatsoever, be it from twenty years back or six months ago. Kinda sucks.
I have photographic memory. Unfortunately I only have a 360 K disk to put things on. Everything is FIFO (first in first out). But it's okay, my camera has a great memory.
My cousin has a mind like a trap. He remembers stuff from 60 years ago or yesterday. Names, places, science stuff too; he was a marine biologist. I'm always amazed at the information he knows. Can't operate a smarty phone though...
I started my career in mechanical engineering at a large tooling design company in Michigan. I had just earned my associates degree and this was my first career related job. I worked with a guy named Steve Crause who was a PE. Our project was to make a gravity fed torque converter vein loader for the upcoming year corvette. We had a split case torque converter with all the pieces. The case had 4 slots where the 4 tabs of the torque converter veins needed to be precisely 'rolled' into. Each tab was on a specific radius and offset. We designed a chute to guide and gravity feed the veins into a fixture that held the half shell of the converter in place before the ring went on. We designed brass block fingers and calculated (trig) angle tips to cut on each one that would mechanically push/guide/roll the veins into the slots without binding. To me this was an amazing feat of engineering. It was all done with paper and pencil on a drafting board, no computer, and I remember it like it was yesterday. To this day, the only way I remember anything is to write it down, or draw it manually. About a year after working on the board, we all got computers and CAD programs. I've done literally thousands of engineering jobs since then and while I can remember the intent and process required to get to the end result, nothing sticks in my brain drawing on paper. My engine build is almost done now. I have bags of bolts and brackets and boxes of parts in my trunk. I hope to god I remember where everything came from
Actually, my memory is filled up with music. I can recall title artist and album from the first few notes on lots of 50's, 60's 70's and 80's country, rock, pop, new wave... I know the lyrics as well. Since my accident and concussion (5 years and still suffering), my wife keeps track of things for me. Amazingly, I didn't lose the music. Different part of the brain, so says my wife.
i have a photograpic mind! (what, is that really spelled with a second h?) hopefully i can remember how to post a reply on this board
That sounds like a hydraulic speed changer we used on 5000 H.P. boiler feed pumps and induced and forced draft fans at the generating station. A governor controlled bucket would enter the rotor cavity tangentially and catch and remove a given percentage of oil producing a given speed/load. Never drank or smoked anything illegal, so it aint that Overconsumption of booze and herbal stuff helped lead the way to my success. I guess I was lucky(?). ws
Hi, It all depends upon subject matter, I'm not sure photographic would be the right term, as I can recall alot of things from my past, also the last person you want to get drunk around as I usually can give a beer by beer next morning play back even if I am matching you beer forbeer, lol I am very mechanically inclined so taking things and apart comes easily even with time passing, although remembering the special place I put things seems to allude me, I know next to my keys, lol. But seriously visualizing how things work has always come easily. Recently I picked up a Rubik's cube, when I was 10-40 I could do one in my sleep, even did one with my feet at 1 time, now closer to 50 remembering the last few steps are drawing a blank, as with anything use it or loose it. Although one thing you might consider photographic is I can see every car magazine article about a given car or part that I have, not so much page number specific, but can recall cover and a overview of the article. Regards,
...not photographic but good. Old age has messed with short-term, but otherwise still pretty clear...
One of my daughters has photo memory....made it easy in school....she said she could see/recall the page that she studied......….mind boggling..... Then there is that memory....I forget what it is called where you remember EVERYTHING in exact detail like what you ate on a certain day or sports what happened at certain time in a game.
My stupid brother has one...why not me? He went to college at 16 to study Theoretical Nuclear Physics...I barely passed Physics 101...AAAAGH! Actually, now that I am old and think about it, there are LOTS of things I have no desire to remember, so frankly, while that would have been good in college--most of my med school friends had it, and, like Fred, I knew some people at work who did as well--I am kind of glad I do not. Harder in school and work, but now that I am almost retired, I kind of want to forget a BUNCH of stuff. As for the marriage, thing, I believe that there should be a statute of limitations on things I did 25 years ago. We all know THAT isn't true... Cheers, Richard
True story - My wife has a friend who has a mildly retarded younger brother. He has what is called a "splinter skill", if he hears a phone number and a name he will remember it forever. His parents and his sister used him for a phone book for years. In my case, I too have a photographic mind; unfortunately they forgot to take the lens cap off.