the thread about memorizing states and teaching principles got me thinking about how that memorization of states and capitols was really more about building memory getting you ready to take on information and retain it long enough to at least get to the test they would like you to retain it all.

think about Zim memorizing the 72 counties of Wisconsin if 50 years later he remembers 50 of 72 he is recalling a little over 2/3 that is not bad retention at all.

some people hear a name and that is it they never forget it their mental filing cabinet is organized by name

some people see a face and lock on and they remember people by their face they need a face to put the name too


for me it is the story I need a story to put the name to. which is an odd way to remember people

I am horrible with names , I am probably about half face blind takes me several times seeing a person to remember them by face and if it is a woman and she changes her hair and dress it is even worse

procedures I also remember well

for some it is a song or tune they can hear it and remember every song. they can hum it back or given a few minutes and a guitar play it back

how is your brain organized ?

Worked at an auction house when I was young and can remember faces easily but can't put a name with it.

as trappers we think differently also , see sign other people don't see , cross overs , trails in the dew , tracks in a snow from hundreds of yards away

we condition ourselves over time to see these things by looking for them and our interest in seeing them.

kids learn in different ways but can be conditioned to learn many things also finding what method of learning works for them , then if a material intrests them they can lean much more about it.

someone thing was geography and they may have found it when they were learning states and capitols

bet at the time you could put their standing bid number with it if you had those. around here it seems many very regular auction attendees have a fixed number and the people who attend an auction occasionally get a paddle number

I just met a distant relative of the wife's. She claimed to be the same 7th grade home room with me back in 1960. I don't remember her, but she did run off the names of a couple classmates.

So, I figure I'm getting to the bottom of this.

I sat down and started listing all the names of people I remember from that time. My list came out to about 85. Considering there were 3 home rooms of about 30 each, I figured I did pretty good. I still cannot place that relative of the wife, though.

Dont know how old you are but I think you need to clean out the cabinet.
Some people do have an uncanny ability to recall trivia.

I'm so old, I can remember when Joe Biden could remember.

My oldest daughter is49 and has a memory like a "steel trap"! Things from when she was even 3 years old to whatever subject you would like.

Both her and the husband took the test for FBI when first married. She beat her husband by one point. And he is no dummy. But it all never came about.

my wife is a Name person , we do library trivia nights well we did pre covid she can recall the Tittle and artist of so many songs and hears them and knows what they are in a few bars.

she worked at a music store in college so if it was on the shelf during those years she remembers it she does fairly well with movies and actors also.


then she starts telling me about an actor and I have to ask questions like what character did they play in a movie I would remember

My mental filing cabinet looks a crime scene from a home invasion gone really really bad.

I tell folks I am at the point that I can hide my own Easter Eggs.

Actually, as I get older I still have very vivid, recallable memories of most of my life. In these later years I find that I clearly remember things that are truly important, but things that are merely trivial get pushed out to make room for the important stuff. I am extremely good with numbers but names sometimes take a little while. My wife and I collect and sell a lot of antiques and I remember exactly what they are, what I payed for them and where I got them. My brain is like a Rolodex, and while it may take a little spinning to come up with a bit of info, it's always there.

Moosetrot

Organized mess. So many things, so many random ones yet I know where most of it is and don't you dare move it.

At one point we had to memorize the To Be or Not to Be soliloquy for English class back as a junior in highschool. Can still remember the first 6lines in order then some of the random ones. Got a good head for rules as a multisport and ruleset sports official.

My mental filing cabinet has been misplaces out in one of the storage sheds.
I can remember 6 digit account #s from customers at a Co-op I worked at 30 years ago but can't remember what I had for lunch 3 hours ago.

After carefully reading all the replies thus far, I can't remember what the question was.

four score and seven years ago , our forefathers.... I could keep going , we had to memorize the Gettysburg address in grade school about 4th or 5th grade I can't remember it all the way to the end anymore but man I remember reading through that about a thousand times.

I can remember everything whether it really happened or not is another story

Huh? What?

I can recall some stuff with no problem. Other stuff goes in one ear and out the other at the speed of light.

Once I go somewhere I can always go back without even thinking much about it. Once I meet someone I can usually recall them later. But not their names. I can't recall names an hr. later at times.

Set locations are built in my head like a road map. I can almost tell ya what trees are there.

My oldest son has the best memory of anyone I have ever seen. He will recall things from when he was only 4-5 years old, and a lot of times tell what each person there was wearing. I use him as my back up a lot of times.

I'm pretty well organized upstairs....... Everything has it's place. Why just look at my organized and well kept desk !!!!

Chronologically. Anything older than seven years is discarded.