I naturally remember too much

Catullus

here's one I haven't heard raised. Whenever i meet anyone I recall everything about them afterwards. name, face, job, the whole deal. What's the problem?
I find myself having to pretend to forget things people say, details about them so as not to seem like someone too interested in them, you know?
I hope some of you might have some idea what I mean.
people seem to find it odd that, six months down the line, I can remember the occupation and name of someone i met on a night out, friend of a friend or whatever, as if i have nothing better to fill my mind with. I don't think it reflects well on me. And yet i don't see anything wrong with remembering people.
Do I sound like an utter nutjob in this post incidentally? I could well see why, am i the only one??

mayotom

I know what you mean..
Sometimes I'am like that. but then again I can be the complete opposite too.
I could meet one person and remember everything about them. then I could meet somebody else and forget who they are overnight

Bartronilic

Like me it's a very good thing. It's called a photographic memory, be glad you have it. People can be offended if ou forget them or stuff about them so it's definitely a good thing.

Zulu

I only wish I had it...

Lorri_L

How could it be a bad thing that you remember details about people??! Personally, if I met someone and they remembered who I was 3 months later, I'd be impressed, and I wouldn't think they were a nut case!

ARGINITE

I seem to have the same problem except for names. I can remember everything but peoples names.

Peaadina

I remember everyones birthday, I mean EVERYONE, if someone mentions to me when their birthday is its forever ingrained in my mind!
Im talking people i barely know, and it can seem odd, alot of the time guys have thought i fancied them cos I remembered their birthdays!
But I just seem to have a knack of remembering stuff like that, names, middle names etc.
I was recently out with an old friend who I hadnt seen for yrs and I totally middle named him, they were a little freaked out.

Its just one of those things! if only I could find a use for it!

Rockee

Peaadina wrote:

I remember everyones birthday, I mean EVERYONE, if someone mentions to me when their birthday is its forever ingrained in my mind!
Im talking people i barely know, and it can seem odd, alot of the time guys have thought i fancied them cos I remembered their birthdays!
But I just seem to have a knack of remembering stuff like that, names, middle names etc.
I was recently out with an old friend who I hadnt seen for yrs and I totally middle named him, they were a little freaked out.

Its just one of those things! if only I could find a use for it!

Snap, Im the same...I can remember everybodys birthdays from my national school class and can remember if not the dates but the months of people in my secondary school form class......

Bartronilic

If anone calls you a freak over it they actually are quite impressed. This topic has made me feel less special seeing that people remember birthdays! But anyway it's a very good thing!

Peaadina

Bartronilic wrote:

If anone calls you a freak over it they actually are quite impressed. This topic has made me feel less special seeing that people remember birthdays! But anyway it's a very good thing!

Ah we're all special really! Glad Im not the only one in the world tho!:)

Linoge

Bartronilic wrote:

It's called a photographic memory, be glad you have it.

Photographic memory is entirely different. What you mean is he has a GOOD memory.

Theres no problem remembering everything about someone, just don't repeat it all back to them. That is what is freaky.

MonkeyWrench

I can be a bit like that sometimes too. you should see it as a positive thing though. the best approach you can take to this is to ask them a general question about what they do in terms of career etc even if you know what it is and then follow that up by saying "oh ya, i remember you telling me that you are a --- and that you work in ----". just don't get too personal with stuff that you remember, especially if they were a bit drunk the time they spoke to you and they might have revealed stuff they did not want to.

iplogger1

You might be able to turn such a knack/talent to your advantage were you to be involved in a career in sales or God forbid, politics. Like the last poster suggested -- if you cultivate this "gift" then you can probably help win friends and influence more people within whatever line of work or social activities you pursue. When people you have fleetingly met meet you and you instantly recognize their name it often gives them a feelgood feeling so I'd say go with the flow and incorporate this into your personality and it is a positive trait if anything.

~ipl

Cake Fiend

Linoge wrote:

Photographic memory is entirely different. What you mean is he has a GOOD memory.

I don't see why you say that, this sounds exactly like 'photographic', or eidetic, memory.

Merrick

mayotom wrote:

I know what you mean..
Sometimes I'am like that. but then again I can be the complete opposite too.
I could meet one person and remember everything about them. then I could meet somebody else and forget who they are overnight

I'm the same. I either remember everything or nothing!

el scorcho

i don't think its a bad thing at all, i'm quite the same and remember alot of things about people most people wouldn't, it has its advantages at the end of the day, people like that you actually listen and pay attention to them!

it could be worse you could be like this woman who they call the "human calender" and remember every day since 1980!
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1142290255385

Blisterman

I wish I had that. I can't even remember people's names most of the time.

Blisterman

I wish I had that. I can't even remember people's names most of the time.

Sinister

if you were a man i'd say i'd be impressed, if a woman then i might think psycho.

LegacyUser

Bartronilic wrote:

It's called a photographic memory

No it's not, you don't have a photographic memory, trust me :rolleyes:

OP, I kinda know what you mean. I often find myself doing similar -- say if I pass someone on the street, I try and recall all the details about them that I can. I can't really help it! It's like a precautionary thing, like if they commit a crime, I'll be able to describe them to the Gardaí. That's not necessarily the reason I do it, but it's that sort of thing anyway. Wierd...

Calibos

iplogger1 wrote:

You might be able to turn such a knack/talent to your advantage were you to be involved in a career in sales or God forbid, politics. Like the last poster suggested -- if you cultivate this "gift" then you can probably help win friends and influence more people within whatever line of work or social activities you pursue. When people you have fleetingly met meet you and you instantly recognize their name it often gives them a feelgood feeling so I'd say go with the flow and incorporate this into your personality and it is a positive trait if anything.

~ipl

Apparently Bill Clinton was famous for this. On a meet and greet he'd recognise people he'd met on previous meet and greets and call them by their name and remember where he met them years before without any prompting. These would be ordinary joe soaps in the crowds btw not officials. People said it made them feel very special that the most powerful man in the world remembered their name x years later after only meeting them once for only a few seconds.

Crucifix

You could have synthesia (might be spelt wrong). Apparantly most super-memorys can be attributed to it.

Civilian_Target

Yeah - you're lucky. You don't have to address people by their names all the time though - think about it, how often do you call your best friends by their first names? Once a day tops I'd say.

Pigman II

It's a good skill. No ones going to think you're obsessing about about them just because you can remember personal details about them. In fact they'll just take it as a compliment.

Like Zulu "I wish I had it" too. I have to keep dossiers on people I know on a professional/casual basis just so I can keep the conversation going when I know I'm going to have to run into them on a given occasion.

"Hi X! I haven't seen you since Y. Hows the lovely Z and your kids D,E and F? Are you still working at A and doing B in your spare time?" :rolleyes:

marie_85

I've an excellent memory for the little details as well, especially names and anything involving numbers. I can still remember phone numbers from people I haven't spoken to in five years, and while I remember people's birthdays, it doesn't help me out that much cos I never know what day today is. I constantly find myself pretending I don't remember much so as not to freak people out when I've only met them once.

Linoge

Sico wrote:

I don't see why you say that, this sounds exactly like 'photographic', or eidetic, memory.

Eidetic memory is where you can remember an image vividly, so you can actually recall the image and pinpoint details, just like looking at a photograph. So it is possible to have an eidetric memory but not remember your own name. It is of course possible that the OP has both an excellent memory and photographic memory though, but we can't take that from just what he has stated.

Dave

I'm the same, unless I'm drinking, where I forget everything, can be a bit embarassing sometimes.

Catullus

well this has turned out remarkably well. But don't you guys get funny looks from people when you mention you remember their names and jobs ages down the line?
I've learned to just naturally shut the hell up and allow myself be reintroduced. Can be a little stifling sometimes and a little false tbh.
Cheers for the feedback though!

Victor

Hey, just get a job in the security industry.

I don't think there's a real problem in remembering, you just don't have to share it.

Claim you've been drinking negative alcohol all these years and it keeps your memory cells alive.

Blisterman

Get a job as a waiter or a bartender.

cupsoftea

I wish I was like that too, can't remember people's names, or even faces. It is very embarassing. It is worse though, when they seem to know everything about me. It makes me feel uneasy and at a disadvantage. So i can see why people look at you oddly. Can't you just say, "yes i think we've met before", instead of pretending you hadn't. But don't reel off info about their lives, I guess.

bandraoi

I forget peoples names and everything about them but I can recall details of nights out for years after everyone has forgotten them.

If people don't remember your name, appear hesitant about remembering theirs. It puts people off if your remember things that they don't. It makes people feel awkward and uncomfortable, so it's much easier to be a bit vague about things.

zuutroy

logged_out wrote:

No it's not, you don't have a photographic memory, trust me :rolleyes:

OP, I kinda know what you mean. I often find myself doing similar -- say if I pass someone on the street, I try and recall all the details about them that I can. I can't really help it! It's like a precautionary thing, like if they commit a crime, I'll be able to describe them to the Gardaí. That's not necessarily the reason I do it, but it's that sort of thing anyway. Wierd...

Photographic memory has been proven a myth....I can remember phone numbers for some reason. I know every one in my mobile, aswell as remembering numbers of friends I havent rang in 15 years, or people I may have only rang once or twic

fenris

Its probably not Synesthesia - although synesthesia sound cool :-)

http://www.mixsig.net/
http://web.mit.edu/synesthesia/www/

A method that is used byt some super memory type people to deliberately forget someting is to write it out repeatedly, as repeaedly writing stuff out convinces your brain that you don't need to store the information internally anymore (anyone see the irony in how we are taught in school)

You will probably find that you deliberatly run over the extra information in your head repeatedly in the few days after you first learn it, thereby flagging it as "important to keep" to your brain. The fact that you remember all of this stuff means to me that you pay full attention to the people that you are with - probably not a bad thing.

Check out the "Einstein Factor" for info on more memory related stuff

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/0517223201/ref=cm_cr_dp_2_1/104-6826581-2326361?%5Fencoding=UTF8&customer-reviews.sort%5Fby=-SubmissionDate&n=283155