I have a lot of numbers memorized.
- Birthdays of over two dozen people
- Security codes (2) for my office
- How much everyone in my immediate family weighs
- Speeddials
- My social and Jim’s
- Anniversary dates
- The exact amounts Nicole slept and ate in any given day
- The time I was born
- Phone numbers
- Addresses (I can rattle off full contact information for lots of clients as well as personal numbers for family)
- General prices for common items (to compare if something is a good deal)
- Passwords for the ATM, Shutterfly, office database, voice mail, etc.
And the list goes on and on.
Sometimes it startles me how many different numbers are in my head. Realistically though, I can conceptualize that my brain could store SO much more if I trained it and that I'm probably using a very small portion of its capacity. Overall, I see this as a sign that my life is very crowded with information.
6 comments:
When I was reading this, I kept nodding my head. It is crazy how much we remember on a daily basis. I don't keep a datebook, I remember all of my appointments. That is actually a lot of wasted brain space when I could use a datebook. :)
You probably have more memorized than most people. I used to know all kinds of phone numbers by heart, but now that you can store your phone book in your phone I don't...I'm thinking about taking up crossword puzzles so my brain gets a little more exercise.
I'm with Viki on the crossword part. I like sudokus for that reason. I read (in "The Nun Study") that reading and doing crossword puzzle type things can help prevent the onset of symptoms of Alzheimers - it can actually make someone who, according to brain scans, is in advanced stages of alzheimers act like they have no or minimal symptoms just by maintaining active brain activity like that.
I memorize weird things. Old friends birthdays. Friend's phone numbers from grade school. But I couldn't tell you their current numbers due my dependency on my cell phone's contact list (don't have to dial anymore).
I consider myself a numbers person overall - I guess part of why I'm in a science field!
I remember a lot, but also forget stupid things. I misplace items to the point that it really annoys me. A datebook is horrible for me - I would lose the date book, but probably remember most appointments anyway thus defeating the point of it and wasting money.
I am always amazed by how much random information is stored in my brain. I often don't remember things that I did yesterday, but I can remember what I was wearing the first time I met someone 8 or 10 years ago. I know, crazy.
On the phone numbers topic, they had a little fun on Channel One the other day at school. They had an adult and a kid compete at text messaging. Obviously, the kid won. But then they sat down an adult and a kid and asked each one to rattle off the phone number of their best friend. The kid had NO IDEA what their best friend's number is. The adult on the other hand rattled off the number in like 5 seconds. The point was to prove that kids are too dependent on their cell phones. I have to admit I'm about 50/50. I know many of my friends home and cell numbers if they've had them for an extended period of time. But if they got a new one, I'd never memorize it. For example, I have no idea what my mom's cell phone number is. :) I just call it. It's "Mom" for all I know.
Good post.
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