Recalling the events of one’s own life is known as “autobiographical memory.”* I have long noticed and wondered about the fact that I generally have very poor recollections of things about my life that other people seem to remember very well. I remember, and often can’t forget, the traumatic or embarrassing, and to a lesser extent the unusually happy things; otherwise, though, much of my past simply doesn’t exist for me.

I was reminded of that recently when my wife mentioned a couple we visited in Germany 30+ years ago. I had only the vaguest memory of the visit, and only after she mentioned it, but she specifically recalled that we stayed in their “maid’s quarters.” One time she mentioned that during a day trip years before we had eaten lunch at McDonald’s. I sometimes think that her vivid autobiographical recollections are part of the reason why she enjoys travel much more than I.

Coincidentally, a recent article in the science journal Nature also brought all this to mind and I realized that perhaps I’m not so strange after all:

“People with a condition known as highly superior autobiographical memory (HSAM) remember their lives in such incredible detail that they can describe the outfit that they were wearing on any particular day. But despite their exceptional ability to recall such information, these individuals tend not to be particularly accomplished and seem to have an increased tendency for obsessiveness, ‘which is exactly what you’d predict from someone who can’t extract themselves from specific instances’, says Brian Levine, a cognitive neuroscientist at the Rotman Research Institute at Baycrest Health Sciences in Toronto.

“Those with severely deficient autobiographical memory (SDAM), however, are unable to vividly recall specific events in their lives. As a result, they also have trouble imagining what might happen in the future. Yet in Levine’s experience, people with SDAM tend to do particularly well in jobs that require abstract thinking — probably because they are not weighed down by the nitty-gritty. ‘We think SDAM people, through a lifetime of practice of not having episodic memory, have an ability to cut across episodes,’ Levine says. ‘They’re good at solving problems.’”

(Link although it’s necessary to be a subscriber to read the entire article.)

I don’t consider my autobiographical memory to be “severely” deficient because there are many specific events I remember all too well, but it’s definitely not as strong as many people’s like my wife’s.

I am therefore curious about other people. Do you have strong or weak autobiographical memories of your life?


* “Autobiographical” memory is different from things we may learn through training or experience such as the first X digits of π (pi) or historical facts like the names of US presidents. I usually remember the latter sorts of things very well and have always been a good test-taker as a result. That’s not what this discussion is about, however.

if there are 19 other people in the room , I remember my version of 1/20th of my life.

there have been 2 or three tv shows about how memory works. they were very disconcerting .

you would think that the brain was near perfect , but it's not even close

My memory of my own life sucks. I have great difficulty recalling things from the past, and the more time passes, the less I remember. Certain, seemly random tidbits come back to me here and there, but it feels like there are major portions of my life that are blank. I see photos from younger days, big events, even, and I just have no real memory of those happenings.

More info: I remember my life pretty well, but I don’t have hyperthymesia. People with hyperthymesia sometimes find it difficult to separate memories from current reality.

“Hyperthymesia is a condition that leads people to be able to remember an abnormally large number of their life experiences in vivid detail.

American neurobiologists Elizabeth Parker, Larry Cahill, and James McGaugh (2006) identified two defining characteristics of hyperthymesia: spending an excessive amount of time thinking about one's past, and displaying an extraordinary ability to recall specific events from one's past.[1] The word "hyperthymesia" derives from Ancient Greek: hyper- ("excessive") and thymesis ("remembering")…”

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperthymesia

I'm in your boat Mr. Freud. Great portions of my past I just....don't remember at all. I go home & run into people I went to high school with, for example, and they remember me & things we did, while I have no idea either who they are or what they are talking about. I remember certain key events....the death of my father & grandfathers, the birth of my children, etc, but most of it is just hazy at best. It's disconcerting.

I am one of those people who can recall a lot of details from my life - as I perceived it.

Where I do recall saying or doing something I thought was funny, smart, intuitive, etc. doesn't mean I can recall if it was perceived by others in the same manner.

I don’t remember much about my childhood, or earlier life for that matter. It’s embarrassing sometimes when someone says, remember that time? I say nope.

I always thought the childhood part was because it was so traumatic. I do remember a few things but not too much. Guess it’s not that rare.

Interesting. I have a pretty solid long term memory and recall of my life's events, but certainly not down to the level of vivid detail, such as clothing items.

Now, contrast that with my short term memory, where I can sit down at the computer to look something up on the interwebs and forget what I wanted to look up before I have the browser open.

sigfreund, once again you post a topic that I find both incredibly interesting and pertinent to my own experiences.

I've given much thought to my own personal memories and, for as long as I can remember , I have had an above average memory. I am a middle-aged man and have one or two stray memories from when I was @ 4 years old and many many more memories from 5 years old and on. For instance, I remember several children crying on our first day of Kindergarten including 2 twin brothers, and while I didn't cry I remember thinking that I probably should because obviously some of the other children saw a reason for doing so. In 1st Grade I had been given an orange plastic dart gun that fired suction cup darts as a birthday gift and it became my prized toy for a short time, so much so that I brought it to school to show my classmates and my teacher, Mrs. Walters, took my gun and told me that a parent would have to come get it. A friend of mine, knowing what the gun meant to me, went up to her desk and took the gun when she wasn't looking and gave it back to me. Knowing that I would only get in more trouble, I returned the gun to her desk. When my father met with her over the incident she offered to give it back but he told her to throw it away.

I literally have THOUSANDS of such similar memories from 20, 30, 40, 50 years ago.

Many of the memories are from happy times, many are from sad and emotionally tramatic events, and some are simply mundane. I recall that when it was decided that I should have my own bedroom rather than sharing one with my sister I was about 6 or 7 years old. The curtains, bed sheets, and pillow case all had the same Colonial Soldier motiff.

In fact your post is timely for me because, after recalling and reflecting on these memories for decades, sometimes with my siblings and friends, I'm always somewhat surprised and maybe even a little disappointed that they don't recall these same memories...or more importantly, benefit from these memories. I finally decided that I should record these memories for my siblings in the hopes that they might jog their own memories, and if not then perhaps they will find my recollections interesting additions to their own family memories...maybe they will even find my memories instructional as to better understanding me and why I am what I am.

To be clear, I don't have a photographic memory...I've forgotten much more than I recall. I also have a somewhat poor Short Term memory...ie walking into a room and sometimes forgetting what I was going to do, or, after determining a sequence of actions I was going to take I quickly forget the sequence that made the most sense.

I also came to realize many years ago, that as good as my memory is, it was fading with age and time. So much so that I incorporated "memory devices" into my daily routines many years ago. For instance Ive had jobs that required ID badges and various job related code cards and being without them severely impacted my job schedule and ability to do my job well, and so I would leave the neck lanyard with the IDs on my door knob so that I couldn't possibly open my front door without seeing them. I've left various bills or paperwork and various sundry items in my shoes or piled up in front of my door so I wouldn't be able to open it without remembering to take the items with me. Sometimes I'll pack a daypack or plastic bag with the items needed. The good old-fashioned list is another memory tool I use. I've also used nemonics for many years and still remember using it when I was first learning to fly.

I should also point out that my memories, while mostly accurate, have at times, been inaccurate, and I've suffered from some memories that were different or corrected by others.

I wouldn't be surprised to learn that I have HSAM as I not only have an above average memory but some of the traits associated with it, especially a slight obsessesive tendency.

I find that having such a vivid memory is both a blessing and a curse. Sometimes I obsess over memories to the point of distraction.

When I compare notes with my brother, he has a far better recollection of our childhood than I do. Perhaps some of that is on purpose but I tend to remember the best experiences while he is very opposite in his recollections.

Well I guess I suffer from SDAM then. I can remember the names of people I knew in the past but mostly forget the context. For example I recognize the name of someone I served with but not the timeframe or unit.
Most of my family can recount past events from my childhood where I cannot recall any of the details.
I find now that the only way to "remember" a trip I took is to keep a photo album of it.
Strangely I have a very good short term memory, and can recall inventory numbers and locations for months.

I remember a lot... The thing that bothers me is the THINGS I remember, or can't remember. I seem to remember seemingly useless things compared to my wife.

For example My wife can remember most of her family members birthdays and ages... and death dates. But when asked the age of a grandkid I can't tell you. In my defense they keep changing...
I Can't remember but a couple of my teachers names and just a few of my class mates. My sister can not only remember her teachers, but her teachers mothers and kids names and who they married and where they work.

I can however remember stuff like where the clean-out is to many peoples sewer line, or what brand faucets or breaker box they have etc from ~40 years ago when I was doing that kind of work. I DO remember extremely well what a childish, selfish bitch my first wife was, 1973-79, and the hoops she put me through before I came to my senses and culled her.

When my previously unknown half sister suddenly appeared in my life a couple of years ago, I spent hours and hours trying to examine my personal past to see if I recalled anyone had ever mentioned her. And I reached the conclusion that a great portion of the years between birth and 16 are just gone. And since I have no contact with anyone who was close to me during that time who might recall my past, those memories are not recoverable.

Human memory is such an odd thing.

There are plenty of events and moments from my past that I can remember in detail. And of course there are events I have completely forgotten. What's strange is my memory from recent years is foggier than some of my past. For example, a work associate I have been acquainted with for years (I see him twice a year), I forgot his name last year. And he's not the only one. Yet I can still remember the names of my buddies in the 3rd grade, guys I haven't seen since then.

And sometimes I will walk into the garage, forgetting why I went there in the first place.

My memory of my life is horrible when it comes to details. I can remember movies and music with no effort. My wife is the exact opposite.

quote:

Originally posted by Modern Day Savage:
To be clear, I don't have a photographic memory....

That article is actually mostly about the need to forget things to avoid being overwhelmed by memories.

At one time I was very envious of the idea of having a photographic memory, and how useful it would be for so many activities. In time, though, I independently came to the conclusion that it would be a mixed ability at best. Years ago I saw a fictional TV show about people in law school and one of the student characters had a photographic memory. In the story, however, he was struggling with the course work and expressed extreme frustration at his progress. Although he had a perfect memory for facts, he was evidently very poor at learning the underlying principles they taught and demonstrated.

I’ve always considered myself fortunate for my ability to remember nonautobiographical facts; many things I read just seem to stick with me with little conscious effort. My memory is not photographic, though, and I believe I have above average ability to understand underlying principles and lessons when studying something. Ask me to describe a house I lived in for years, though, and, “Um ….” I’m particularly bad with names and faces, and again even about people I knew and worked with for years.

Thanks for all the other comments, BTW.
As I say, I’ve thought about this stuff for years and it’s good to get others’ perspectives.

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:

That article is actually mostly about the need to forget things to avoid being overwhelmed by memories.

This simple description you so artfully crafted is the crux of the matter, at least for me. Family, friends, and co-workers often turn to me, often rely on me to recall the details of an event or occurrence...and often times I can. They often express amazement at what I'm able to recall, and to be candid, I often take pride in the ability. But I've also found that I'm often hampered by my memories, often focusing on them when I should be concentrating on something else. They can be quite distracting, and in some instances lead to a sort of "Go-To Loop" effect, the emotionally tramatic memories especially. In fact, not only do I have these vivid memories, but in the instances in which they provoked an intense emotional response at the time they occurred I can still feel, or replicate, that intense emotional response at the time of recalling the memory...almost a "Ground Hog Day" emotional response to the memory, for those who have seen the movie.

I find that my memories are evenly split across both autobiographical and non-autobiographical memories, and that, like you, I can recall details in course work and work related information as well as abstract ideas and underlying principles reasonably well...unless distracted by memories and emotions.

My youngest memory is from about 3 years of age and memories of when very young are sketchy, if even accurate.

Now at soon to be 66, I've had a lifetime of memories but when I try to recall them, those 66 years would probably take less than 30 minutes in my mind.

When shared memories of childhood are discussed with siblings, it's not shocking to find that while we concur on events, our memory perceptions are often different.

I have, over time, attempted to chronicle my current memories, or at least “the big ones,” the most significant ones. It’s a daunting task (to me, anyway).

I like to think I have a fair recollection of many things in my life dating back to about age 3. Not details to the degree of clothing worn, etc., unless my garb was somehow pertinent to the event being recalled.

As a sidebar - will a person find a discussion like this, of this depth and quality, on another “gun forum?” I doubt it. Love this place.

I remember my life decently well. I think my memory is about average. However, when my dad was in the hospital for a year and then died back in 2001, it really made me take stock of my life. Like they teach in a lot of self-help books (I think), I started to be more aware and present in my everyday life and not take things and events and relationships for granted. I try to pay attention to more things around me. I started taking more photographs and selfies (before social media came along and made the kids go really nuts with it). The photos help significantly with memory recall - what a great invention!

As far as HSAM goes, it really clarified the TV show The Wonder Years for me. I always thought, "This guy's memory is insane! How does he remember what he wore and what people said and what his mom served him for dinner on that specific day when he was 13 back in the '60s?!" Then I later realized, "Oh, Kevin must have that condition that Marilu Henner from Taxi has, where they remember everything! Ah, it all makes sense now."