What's interesting is that when you put down your keys without paying attention, thus not remembering where they are, you will still instantly remember the act of putting them there the moment you locate them.
You don't really know if that memory you have is true or not. Your brain may be just as well concocting a little pantomime based on where you found them to give you a consistent narrative. You will clearly remember putting them on the coffee table, only to later on have your roommate tell you that he found the keys on the floor by the kitchen door and put them on the coffee table.
That's usually an extra gift for me. I don't just remember putting them there. I remember the reasoning I had for not putting them in the regular spot, because I was trying to be more consciences about where I put them so I wouldn't forget them. I then get to spend the rest of the day trying to figure out if past me is dumb, future me is dumb, or if anybody noticed I was a couple of minutes late getting into work.
Things like this are the surest signs that we are in a simulation. That's just your idle animation kicking in. Like adjusting your watch when you're not wearing it, pushing up your glasses when you're not wearing them, thinking your phone vibrated and pulling it out to look at it in amazement, because you swear it vibrated, but there are no notifications, so then you're staring it at like it's the most profound text message you've ever read and your co-workers ask if everything's okay.
Uhh what? Simulation theorists are weird. Not everything odd, weird, dumb or otherwise inexplicable _to you_ implies that we're in a simulation. In fact nothing actually does, or even _could_ imply that we're in a simulation. Literally everything you see, no matter how odd, weird or dumb, is also within the simulation and therefore "natural" from the perspective of an agent in the simulation (ie: us.) Hell even if the sky opened up and a simulator reached in and pulled you out, the _best_ you can say is that the simulation is bigger than you thought and you would have to start questioning whether that's "reality" or just a simulation within a simulation or whatever other hokeyness. Basically, "the simulation did it" is just as meaningless (scientifically) as "God did it." You're welcome to believe whatever you want of course, but there's no _science_ to back you up because there's no way to ever prove or disprove the idea, even in theory.
altrag I'm sorry we're not on the same page about this. My Sim God is better than your Sim God and when the simulation ends, you'll be sent to garbage collection and I'll get to stay in the mainframe. Long live the Exee's!!!
Lazarus Gallagher uh huh, these are all real phenomena that science can explain. Adjust your watch or push up your glasses while not wearing them? Muscle memory. You've done the task so many times that its ingrained into your subconscious to do it, even when its not there. Thinking your phone vibrated when it didn't? Thats a relatively new condition called phantom vibrations. It comes from excessive cell phone use and is quickly becoming the norm. But no, lets just say these are glitches in the Matrix, much easier explanation that requires no thought lol.
Sometimes I’ll go to sign out to go to the bathroom in school and I’ll check the time (trying to quickly write so I don’t spend too much time signing out) and by the time I get to writing the time I forgot it.
I don't lose my keys but I have friends who do. They don't even notice putting them down, like *they'll never ever need them again.* It's hilarious, especially when I do notice and they're not even my keys. People are really different.
I had a friend who would tell whenever he locked his locker in high school because he'd otherwise be unable to remember if he locked it. Very odd from everyone else's perspective, but it worked for him.
As an adult with ADHD I've always struggled with my attention and my memory, if I don't pay attention to what I'm doing then how can I remember what I did. I'll be trying very hard to pay attention to something so I can make sure I remember, and all of a sudden all realize that I wasn't paying attention. Making important things into habits has really helped me at least bypass some of the trouble that this causes me. I always put my things in the same place as soon as I get home, and I need to make sure I take anything important out of my car and inside with me or else I'll forget that is out there. As far as keys go, I have a little seat belt style clip on my purse so they're always easily accessible and it's become automatic for me to put them in that place. The few times I've walked out without my keys it's been because my husband didn't put them back where they were supposed to go ( even though he definitely knows I put them there).
no, you just don't remember. Amnesia is caused by something like injury, illness, or mind-altering substances. Not remembering where you put your keys could either be because you never paid attention in the first place or because you didn't engrain it well enough into short-term memory.
Definition: Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage, disease, or psychological trauma. Amnesia can also be caused temporarily by the use of various sedatives and hypnotic drugs. The memory can be either wholly or partially lost due to the extent of damage that was caused. So, I guess technically, the data was stored, but like most of the peripheral data it would have been discarded.(?) Therefore, amnesia could be true. The hypothesis needs further refinement.
My wife loses her keys and phone all the time. So I bought her one of those "tracker" things (like a Tile.) She lost it. She lost the "find it tracker" WITHOUT losing the rest of the keychain. HOW?!?!?!
"simply don't have enough storage space to remember every..." so much for the idea that everything you sense gets stored in your subconscious, and that details from this can come to you when triggered, by for example a question while playing a "Trivial Pursuit" type of game, or by a need happening in the future for you to recall (with hours or days until the memory moves to your consciousness) or by hypnosis. My guess is that this is partially true -until you sleep, and while in sleep your brain discards unimportant recall of the day as well as older recall that gets reconsidered for its importance-status.
I have yet to find anything that "increased my memory", but studying up on mnemonic techniques was at least fun. I still forget what I was going to say when I get up from my desk and walk over to the person that I needed to speak to so urgently that I couldn't just IM or email them. At least twice a month I misplace my keys, my favorite shirt, my sandals (they've been missing for weeks now, actually.) My phone goes missing constantly. The most important thing that I learned though, was basically that all of the tricks were to help you relate to what you're trying to remember in a way that has more significant meaning to you than what it does. This looks/sounds/represents that, followed by this thing in this place, et cetera. Sadly, the best method I've found that actually works for most of what I need to remember, is spaced repetition and just taking notes. Ye olde skool, like with a single black pen and paper. Color coding would be too difficult to do mid-thought. So, basically I came up with my own visual queues that I can tack onto things. Then, later, I review the notes as I enter them into any number of utilities on my computer, depending what the notes were on. Then, I categorize the ideas and tack on more information where needed, or write myself research tasks. Spaced repetition is just part of writing them, typing them, organizing them, then reviewing later and/or researching something. I'm still going to walk down stairs, outside, then realize I forgot my keys on my dresser. I'll also never forget that time you embarrassed yourself and never have enough time to read all of the things I want to that would be worth memorizing anyway.
Well we all did it in school, repeating information over and over again makes it more likely you remember it. Remember it for a time anyway, you usually need to go back and repeat stuff so it doesn't fade away.
It's really interesting that the D2 receptor is the key one involved here, since antipsychotics tend to be antagonists (or partial agonists) at that receptor. Kind of makes me wonder about the connection between memory and mental disorders. (Which is a bit personal for me, too, since I suck at remembering things like names, dates, numbers, etc., and I also have a mood disorder.)
Yesterday I managed to lose a 1000-page book, because it's been on different places around my room (under my table, on my table, on the pile of random stuff next to my bed) since I read it often and then do quick fact-checking when talking about it online so I always leave it around. So this time I put it in my bookshelf after showing my mum one thing I'd just realized about it. And then I spent like 10 minutes looking for it because I didn't remember I had put it in its place in the bookshelf next to the author's other books... I guess this is the same phenomenon as forgetting where your keys or phone are?
Usually when you read the "the real reason X" in a video title it's click bait. Thank you Scishow for having high quality content, you allow me to click with confidence. :) :) :)
I have a set of those little trackers, one for my keys and one for my wallet. So handy! I don't really lose them in the house, but for things like keys falling out of my pocket in the park they are awesome. Also, you can use them to get your phone to ring even when it's on silent. Since I'm constantly on my phone like any good Millennial, I misplace that more often.
I have a job that involves doing similar but unique computer tasks, and lately I've been noticing about once a day that I go to save something to a file and I find it's already been done, with nobody but me accessing it, and done in the exact manner that I just did it a second ago. So the only natural explanation I can figure is that I'm doing it, I'm 100%, completely and utterly forgetting having done it, and then repeating everything I just did under the belief that it's all new.
What a coincidence. The exact same day SciShow uploads a video on losing your keys, I happen to forget my keys, locking myself out of the house. Goddammit.
My keys and wallet are on my shelf in my room. My keys and wallet are on my shelf in my room. My keys and wallet are on the shelf in my room. My keys and wallet are on the shelf in my room.. My keys and wallet are on the shield in my broom........wait what? Wait, what were we talking about again?
This is great! I do this all the time! I do have a key hook by the door for this very reason. It is the very best. It's also not just keys, but everything. I guess I'm really absentminded.
I am always forgetting things. I once lost something right after finding it. And its hard for me to remember peoples names upon first meeting them. I write a lot of lists and notes on my phone. But I almost always put my keys on a hook by the door so I almost never "lose" them. I'm a very habitual person, so it works out well.
I've a bit of both. ADHD means I'm never really paying attention to what I'm doing when I'm thinking about the big stuff, and I'm constantly buzzing around due to shiny things and spontaneous motivations, so I might never do something the same way repeatedly, and thus, my keys are a mystery. I'm also kinda deaf so the remote finder things never help quite as much as I want them to. Is there anything with visual sonar for my phone?
Okay, it seems that I'm very skilled at retrieval-induced forgetting. I go to swim three times a week, and usually use another locker every time. I have never forgotten which locker was mine. It also works with exams. My brains automatically get what is important, and two weeks later, I can recall everything without much problems. Only thing is that my brains don't think names as important. Why? They don't contain information, but are just only labels for the information. Honestly, not too big of a price to pay :D
I've had my designated key hook behind my bedroom door. And another thing I've made automatic for myself: right after I lock my car in a parking lot, I stuff the keys in my pocket. So, by the time I reach the building I need to go in, I know that I locked my car because my keys are in my pocket and not in my hand. This has saved me those round trips just to make sure I really locked my car.
Fanny Bett Say it outloud right after they introduce themselves. Not in a weird way, just instead of saying "nice to meet you" or whatever, say "nice to meet you [insert name]"
Make sure to never meet more than one person with the same name. lol. Or just find the most natural way you can to never actually address someone by name.
I try to find something unique about their name, like a weird spelling, and repeat it in my head every time I see them. That or think of something that I connect with the person in my head. Like "The Sam who bought my drink." or even a rhyme "The Tina who isn't a ballerina." for someone I saw trip etc.
Ha! I used to constantly forget whether or not I'd taken my medication already, so I would announce out loud to myself that I was doing it, when I was doing it, cause I figured that would end up making it a more memorable experience. Worked pretty well.
I just started using a day-of-the-week container. I guess it's easier for me to work backward from what I see in the present than to piece memory puzzles together.
I have ADHD and it is most certainly the reason I forget everything. I really appreciate that you mentioned the attributability for genetics was 50%, however mentioning ADHD would have been useful, when you spoke about the DRD2 receptor especially. It is one of the most common alleles associated with ADHD and I just feel like it would have been important to mention. I mean no disrespect to the writers or you Brit I just thought you should know.
I have a bit to contribute, although mine has some things about long term memory. I’ve always been a pretty forgetful person. I lose several things a day, if not more. I also have anxiety, which makes it hard to concentrate and I’m spacey. I find that the anxiety gives me symptoms of chronic stress like twitching. I also don’t usually get more than 8-8.5 hours of sleep. And while my short term memory has definitely decreased (forgetting things people said less than a minute after they said it, having to ask if I’ve already said something, not being able to remember lists, etc), the thing I’m concerned about is long term memory. I frequently just completely forget something. Sometimes someone saying something about it can trigger me to remember it. But last school year, if you asked me what we learned about in say, science I would be able to tell you this: genetics, a little earth science, human system, and microscopes. I could give you maybe 10 specific things we did. And I remember even less about non school specific things. If you ask me what I did between January and April 2018, I doubt I could give you more than 10 things. Anyway that’s just a little thing I thought was interesting.
I always put my keys in the same spot, so I never lose my keys. Admittedly, I am a bit neurotic-- most of my possessions have assigned spaces throughout my house so I always know where they are. The downside is I get upset and disoriented when someone moves my possessions without notifying me first.
I know a guy that's always losing his keys. He'd find them in his fridge, in the lock on the outside of the door, bathroom, all kinds of places. It was a new surprise every day lol.
Before watching, my understanding is that the memories of mundane things aren't novel enough for the brain to always want to catalog, so they bleed together and fill with more false details than usual if a memory is even formed at all. Edit: yup, essentially correct at least for my case.
I remember where I put my things and even where other people put their things when I'm around. Now it's a curse because I still remember months later for no reason.
I don’t loose things like keys much but I’m terrible at remembering names, it takes me FOREVER to remember someone after meeting them, I remember faces well tho
Forgetfulness can sometimes be a good sign. Forgetting about menial things such as the names of people you met once and never expect to meet again can actually be a sign of intelligence.
I only but always lose my water glass. It's not important enough to make a special mental note of where I set it, and I have enough memories of setting it down everywhere that they all compete to give me a garbage memory of where I left it.
I have a thing that I do whenever I turn the house upside down looking for something. Whenever I actually find the thing, I remember the first place I looked for it, then put the thing BACK in that spot. Clearly my brain thinks that's where the thing is supposed to live.
1:25 seems like correlation only without proof of causation. Possible that people who forget less will naturally believe they have control over their own memory. I’m sure if I started to think that, I wouldn’t start remembering more. Further studies needed?
What I don’t understand is that if you already had your keys in your pocket or you bags when you went out, then I don’t see how it would be a problem to just keep them there. There is literally no downside and you won’t lose them, because you’ve always got them with you. My rule is: never put your keys down. They’re either safely in your pocket or they’re in your hand (to open the door). You won’t have time to put them down by accident if you put them back in your pocket after you locked the door. BETTER EVEN! If you’ve got a self-locking door, you’ll never be locked out, because your keys ARE in your pocket to begin with. I can also say by experience that, if you have the rule, putting them down by accident will stop happening altogether. It’s simple and it’s perfect!
This is why when I lock my door I do it slowly, then check it a couple times and think 'yes the door is locked' because if I dont I'll be worrying all day whether I locked the door or not!
So that's why I picked up the habit of speaking my thoughts outloud when I am trying very hard to focus on something or when I want to retain information. I'm also wondering if similar-looking information may be relevant in separate contexts does retrieval-induced forgetting cause the one not selected in the first context to be wiped out entirely and therefore unavailable in the second context, or is it just forgotten in that particular moment and then available in the second context?
I'm surprised by how many people don't keep their keys on a chain attached to their trousers. Having them chained to the clothing I need every time I go out and thus never just putting them on a convenient surface means I tend not to lose them xD Chains aside, having dedicated places for things helps a lot too. And if I have absently put something down in my home, I know the three most likely places they might've ended up (desk, bedside table, dining table), and three less likely places after that (kitchen, bathroom, that chair I always dump stuff on for some reason).
Memory is a choice issue. We have only so much processing power and only so big of a hard drive. At somepoint in a person's early life they make decisions that set importance levels of different data entry (day to day, how to do X activity, what was that person's name again?) Once these priorities are set, it can be very difficult to change the pattern. Even though Forgetting your car keys might be annoying, at somepoint you decided there were more important things to remember, like Pop song lyrics and bad television.
I know i would lose stuff if i didn't have a dedicated place i put them. Keys, cell phone, wallet, all of those go to the same place. An empty tissue box next to my bed. That way, i can just look in there and be like "ah yes, thats where i put that". But that doesn't help if say, my brother uses my car. Then i have to hunt down the keys to get them into their proper spot
On the topic of forgetfulness, is there any mechanic as to why when typing, sometimes I would omit key words, despite clearly knowing that it's inteded to be in the sentence?
Discipline. Put small things always on specific areas or clean surface, regardless of situation since you will often forget that you did the action anyway. You just expect the thing to be there.
I feel like the best way to avoid this is to always put them in the same place. I don't think I've ever experienced "where did I put my keys?" unless someone else had moved them or used them for some reason.
My Dad told me he says he blew up wherever he put something done. Apparently that helps him remember. " *Boooom* I blew up my keys." So I guess that's his wacky style of encoding.
I find I lose things less if I look at what I'm going. I watch where I put my keys, where I take off my shoes or put my phone down....if I just 'do' things, without looking at paying attention things get totally lost
How do you explain when you lose something and you look in a place and the thing isn't there and then you look later and it's there. We've had that happen several times now.
I struggle with amnesia due to a dissociative disorder. If I don't find something, I just try to look at places where it would make sense for something to have been. (doesn't help if you find it in the fridge instead though lol)
I have the opposite problem. I always put things in the very same place in the very same orientation. I even just turn my phone 90° to remember to send a text in the morning.
I have a "helpful" roommate to help me lose things. like when I'm packing to go somewhere and she is putting things back where they belong because I'm messy and that packed lunch has been on the table for a full 2 minutes
I'm absolutely abysmal with names. I sat next to a kid in English class for months and I didn't remember their name. I also didn't properly know the name of one of my friends for several months.
How do some people’s faces look so familiar when you have never seen them before? Yesterday I was in the book store and I said to a lady “do I know you? You look familiar” she said “no I live far away so probably not. But a lot of people tell me this”
I am so very forgetfull. I can never remember a name. never. I still regularly forget names of the people I work with for close to 5 years now. tho I never misplace my keys. automation is my only chance.
Weird coincidence. I went into the kitchen today and I forgot why I went there. So i stood there for a few seconds and remembered I went to get something to eat. I wondered why I would forget it. Never did get that snack though.
It sucks when you have Adhd. I feel like that tendency happens more often than not. Some days I have to actively place small stuff like that in my working memory if I have any hopes of remembering at all. Yet, I have fair memory for long term stuff like what I studied for an exam for example. I guess I'll just have to tell people what I'm doing next time :p
To the guy with the skull icon debating whether ADHD is real: First, it's inappropriate in this context to essentially tell someone who's struggling with something that they have no problems in a youtube comment thread (AKA when you said "ADHD isn't real). Now to my main point: Overdiagnosis of something isn't the same as it being nonexistant. It's true that diagnosis of kids is "haphazard", but diagnosing kids isn't completely useless. (I'm not saying that' s your opinion, just making sure the point is made.) For me, having anxiety and depression between the ages of 9 and 13 was hellish. My childhood diagnosis of Asperger's has also helped me as an adult to understand how I function and get the support I need to do well in society. As far as ADHD, it likely is overdiagnosed. However I still believe a substantial number of people can be meaningfully said to either have it or have problems that appear similar albeit with different mechanics (probably a mix of the two). Maintaining attention, inhibiting actions, switching between tasks - pretty much anything that can be labelled as an ADHD symptom is actually pretty complicated. So it seems really unlikely that everyone's brain will develop with a similar ability to do those things, and not fall well outside the norm. And then there's also the large number of people who struggle with ADHD-like symptoms for reasons other than ADHD, like anxiety and depression. Not to mention, it isn't just a children's diagnosis, it can be diagnosed in a substantial number of adults. Though I am aware that many children diagnosed in childhood would not qualify for diagnosis in adulthood.
If you throw your keys on the table while thinking about what your about to do like eating, why wouldn't that information still be in your head? You had to throw your keys at a certain speed and trajectory so you don't miss what your throwing at (like a table) so you do technically have to process that information. Or is what I'm thinking about muscle memory? You don't think about it as much because you've done it so many times?
Lol so i do this thing every day that i go to work... i have to manually lock my old car (push down the lock-tab-thing on the door by the window), and i've gotten in such a habit before that i locked my only key in the door when getting gas (of course, i made more). I also forget whether i've locked it or not when i go to work, and have to double check even though i know i did it. And to solve the key problem, i have my keys on a lanyard that hangs out of my purse. 🖒😂😂
I have the keys... where the hell is my car?
New Message 🤣🤣🤣
What's interesting is that when you put down your keys without paying attention, thus not remembering where they are, you will still instantly remember the act of putting them there the moment you locate them.
whoooaaa dude. You're like... finding the memory too
You don't really know if that memory you have is true or not. Your brain may be just as well concocting a little pantomime based on where you found them to give you a consistent narrative. You will clearly remember putting them on the coffee table, only to later on have your roommate tell you that he found the keys on the floor by the kitchen door and put them on the coffee table.
Marcelo Glenadel That's very possible of course. I wonder what sort of experiment one could set up to test this.
That's usually an extra gift for me. I don't just remember putting them there. I remember the reasoning I had for not putting them in the regular spot, because I was trying to be more consciences about where I put them so I wouldn't forget them. I then get to spend the rest of the day trying to figure out if past me is dumb, future me is dumb, or if anybody noticed I was a couple of minutes late getting into work.
Francois Lacombe TOTAL REKALL
It's just like when you check what time it is, then seconds later some one asks you what time it is and you have no idea so you check again.
Things like this are the surest signs that we are in a simulation. That's just your idle animation kicking in. Like adjusting your watch when you're not wearing it, pushing up your glasses when you're not wearing them, thinking your phone vibrated and pulling it out to look at it in amazement, because you swear it vibrated, but there are no notifications, so then you're staring it at like it's the most profound text message you've ever read and your co-workers ask if everything's okay.
Uhh what? Simulation theorists are weird. Not everything odd, weird, dumb or otherwise inexplicable _to you_ implies that we're in a simulation. In fact nothing actually does, or even _could_ imply that we're in a simulation. Literally everything you see, no matter how odd, weird or dumb, is also within the simulation and therefore "natural" from the perspective of an agent in the simulation (ie: us.)
Hell even if the sky opened up and a simulator reached in and pulled you out, the _best_ you can say is that the simulation is bigger than you thought and you would have to start questioning whether that's "reality" or just a simulation within a simulation or whatever other hokeyness.
Basically, "the simulation did it" is just as meaningless (scientifically) as "God did it." You're welcome to believe whatever you want of course, but there's no _science_ to back you up because there's no way to ever prove or disprove the idea, even in theory.
altrag I'm sorry we're not on the same page about this. My Sim God is better than your Sim God and when the simulation ends, you'll be sent to garbage collection and I'll get to stay in the mainframe. Long live the Exee's!!!
Lazarus Gallagher uh huh, these are all real phenomena that science can explain. Adjust your watch or push up your glasses while not wearing them? Muscle memory. You've done the task so many times that its ingrained into your subconscious to do it, even when its not there. Thinking your phone vibrated when it didn't? Thats a relatively new condition called phantom vibrations. It comes from excessive cell phone use and is quickly becoming the norm.
But no, lets just say these are glitches in the Matrix, much easier explanation that requires no thought lol.
Sometimes I’ll go to sign out to go to the bathroom in school and I’ll check the time (trying to quickly write so I don’t spend too much time signing out) and by the time I get to writing the time I forgot it.
I don't lose my keys but I have friends who do. They don't even notice putting them down, like *they'll never ever need them again.* It's hilarious, especially when I do notice and they're not even my keys. People are really different.
I had a friend who would tell whenever he locked his locker in high school because he'd otherwise be unable to remember if he locked it. Very odd from everyone else's perspective, but it worked for him.
As an adult with ADHD I've always struggled with my attention and my memory, if I don't pay attention to what I'm doing then how can I remember what I did. I'll be trying very hard to pay attention to something so I can make sure I remember, and all of a sudden all realize that I wasn't paying attention. Making important things into habits has really helped me at least bypass some of the trouble that this causes me. I always put my things in the same place as soon as I get home, and I need to make sure I take anything important out of my car and inside with me or else I'll forget that is out there.
As far as keys go, I have a little seat belt style clip on my purse so they're always easily accessible and it's become automatic for me to put them in that place. The few times I've walked out without my keys it's been because my husband didn't put them back where they were supposed to go ( even though he definitely knows I put them there).
you won't lose your keys if you don't have any
@Brit you have become so comfortable in front of camera! You have changed so much from your first video. I enjoy watching you!
As someone who grew up thinking there's something wrong with me just because I can't remember things this has been a very helpful video!
So basically low-key amnesia?
no, you just don't remember. Amnesia is caused by something like injury, illness, or mind-altering substances. Not remembering where you put your keys could either be because you never paid attention in the first place or because you didn't engrain it well enough into short-term memory.
I think it was a joke
Definition:
Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage, disease, or psychological trauma. Amnesia can also be caused temporarily by the use of various sedatives and hypnotic drugs. The memory can be either wholly or partially lost due to the extent of damage that was caused.
So, I guess technically, the data was stored, but like most of the peripheral data it would have been discarded.(?) Therefore, amnesia could be true. The hypothesis needs further refinement.
Heeheehee! 😂
My wife loses her keys and phone all the time.
So I bought her one of those "tracker" things (like a Tile.) She lost it. She lost the "find it tracker" WITHOUT losing the rest of the keychain.
HOW?!?!?!
"simply don't have enough storage space to remember every..." so much for the idea that everything you sense gets stored in your subconscious, and that details from this can come to you when triggered, by for example a question while playing a "Trivial Pursuit" type of game, or by a need happening in the future for you to recall (with hours or days until the memory moves to your consciousness) or by hypnosis. My guess is that this is partially true -until you sleep, and while in sleep your brain discards unimportant recall of the day as well as older recall that gets reconsidered for its importance-status.
*Would love to hear if people have had success with memory training exercises/regimens in the past!* Anyone got a story about it? 🤔
Aspect Science maybe my post will help
I have yet to find anything that "increased my memory", but studying up on mnemonic techniques was at least fun. I still forget what I was going to say when I get up from my desk and walk over to the person that I needed to speak to so urgently that I couldn't just IM or email them. At least twice a month I misplace my keys, my favorite shirt, my sandals (they've been missing for weeks now, actually.) My phone goes missing constantly. The most important thing that I learned though, was basically that all of the tricks were to help you relate to what you're trying to remember in a way that has more significant meaning to you than what it does. This looks/sounds/represents that, followed by this thing in this place, et cetera. Sadly, the best method I've found that actually works for most of what I need to remember, is spaced repetition and just taking notes. Ye olde skool, like with a single black pen and paper. Color coding would be too difficult to do mid-thought. So, basically I came up with my own visual queues that I can tack onto things. Then, later, I review the notes as I enter them into any number of utilities on my computer, depending what the notes were on. Then, I categorize the ideas and tack on more information where needed, or write myself research tasks. Spaced repetition is just part of writing them, typing them, organizing them, then reviewing later and/or researching something. I'm still going to walk down stairs, outside, then realize I forgot my keys on my dresser. I'll also never forget that time you embarrassed yourself and never have enough time to read all of the things I want to that would be worth memorizing anyway.
Well we all did it in school, repeating information over and over again makes it more likely you remember it.
Remember it for a time anyway, you usually need to go back and repeat stuff so it doesn't fade away.
It's really interesting that the D2 receptor is the key one involved here, since antipsychotics tend to be antagonists (or partial agonists) at that receptor. Kind of makes me wonder about the connection between memory and mental disorders. (Which is a bit personal for me, too, since I suck at remembering things like names, dates, numbers, etc., and I also have a mood disorder.)
Yesterday I managed to lose a 1000-page book, because it's been on different places around my room (under my table, on my table, on the pile of random stuff next to my bed) since I read it often and then do quick fact-checking when talking about it online so I always leave it around. So this time I put it in my bookshelf after showing my mum one thing I'd just realized about it. And then I spent like 10 minutes looking for it because I didn't remember I had put it in its place in the bookshelf next to the author's other books... I guess this is the same phenomenon as forgetting where your keys or phone are?
Usually when you read the "the real reason X" in a video title it's click bait. Thank you Scishow for having high quality content, you allow me to click with confidence. :) :) :)
I've recently realized just how helpful those key hooks are after almost being late to work many times lol 😂😂
I have a set of those little trackers, one for my keys and one for my wallet. So handy! I don't really lose them in the house, but for things like keys falling out of my pocket in the park they are awesome. Also, you can use them to get your phone to ring even when it's on silent. Since I'm constantly on my phone like any good Millennial, I misplace that more often.
Brit, your delivery was done very well, and your voice is both nice and distinct. Have you ever done voiceovers and voice acting?
rhoharane I swear I thought she did a voice over for a video on schizophrenia or something else like that. Her voice is really pleasant.
I have a job that involves doing similar but unique computer tasks, and lately I've been noticing about once a day that I go to save something to a file and I find it's already been done, with nobody but me accessing it, and done in the exact manner that I just did it a second ago. So the only natural explanation I can figure is that I'm doing it, I'm 100%, completely and utterly forgetting having done it, and then repeating everything I just did under the belief that it's all new.
What a coincidence. The exact same day SciShow uploads a video on losing your keys, I happen to forget my keys, locking myself out of the house. Goddammit.
HEAR YE I AM HANGING MY KEYS ON THE HOOK
My keys and wallet are on my shelf in my room.
My keys and wallet are on my shelf in my room.
My keys and wallet are on the shelf in my room.
My keys and wallet are on the shelf in my room..
My keys and wallet are on the shield in my broom........wait what?
Wait, what were we talking about again?
This is great! I do this all the time! I do have a key hook by the door for this very reason. It is the very best. It's also not just keys, but everything. I guess I'm really absentminded.
I am always forgetting things. I once lost something right after finding it. And its hard for me to remember peoples names upon first meeting them. I write a lot of lists and notes on my phone. But I almost always put my keys on a hook by the door so I almost never "lose" them. I'm a very habitual person, so it works out well.
Keys, shoes, wallet...phone...you name it
I've a bit of both. ADHD means I'm never really paying attention to what I'm doing when I'm thinking about the big stuff, and I'm constantly buzzing around due to shiny things and spontaneous motivations, so I might never do something the same way repeatedly, and thus, my keys are a mystery. I'm also kinda deaf so the remote finder things never help quite as much as I want them to. Is there anything with visual sonar for my phone?
Okay, it seems that I'm very skilled at retrieval-induced forgetting. I go to swim three times a week, and usually use another locker every time. I have never forgotten which locker was mine. It also works with exams. My brains automatically get what is important, and two weeks later, I can recall everything without much problems. Only thing is that my brains don't think names as important. Why? They don't contain information, but are just only labels for the information. Honestly, not too big of a price to pay :D
Let's face it, R2D2 probably _could_ do that....if he really tried
I've had my designated key hook behind my bedroom door.
And another thing I've made automatic for myself: right after I lock my car in a parking lot, I stuff the keys in my pocket. So, by the time I reach the building I need to go in, I know that I locked my car because my keys are in my pocket and not in my hand. This has saved me those round trips just to make sure I really locked my car.
Everyone should talk like a Victorian era town crier
Does anyone know how to learn new names? I always forget them xd
Fanny Bett Say it outloud right after they introduce themselves. Not in a weird way, just instead of saying "nice to meet you" or whatever, say "nice to meet you [insert name]"
Rainbow In The Dark hahahaha not in a weird way
Ok I'll try that, thank you
You can also try to associate them with an event in which someone else used their name. Helpful when you've already forgotten their name.
Make sure to never meet more than one person with the same name. lol. Or just find the most natural way you can to never actually address someone by name.
I try to find something unique about their name, like a weird spelling, and repeat it in my head every time I see them. That or think of something that I connect with the person in my head. Like "The Sam who bought my drink." or even a rhyme "The Tina who isn't a ballerina." for someone I saw trip etc.
Ha! I used to constantly forget whether or not I'd taken my medication already, so I would announce out loud to myself that I was doing it, when I was doing it, cause I figured that would end up making it a more memorable experience. Worked pretty well.
I just started using a day-of-the-week container. I guess it's easier for me to work backward from what I see in the present than to piece memory puzzles together.
I have ADHD and it is most certainly the reason I forget everything. I really appreciate that you mentioned the attributability for genetics was 50%, however mentioning ADHD would have been useful, when you spoke about the DRD2 receptor especially. It is one of the most common alleles associated with ADHD and I just feel like it would have been important to mention. I mean no disrespect to the writers or you Brit I just thought you should know.
Yep. Absolutely true.
Yes, exactly what I thought. It's totally relevant and related to having ADHD.
"it's always in the last place you look!" they say. But why would I keep looking after it's found?
I have a bit to contribute, although mine has some things about long term memory.
I’ve always been a pretty forgetful person. I lose several things a day, if not more. I also have anxiety, which makes it hard to concentrate and I’m spacey. I find that the anxiety gives me symptoms of chronic stress like twitching. I also don’t usually get more than 8-8.5 hours of sleep. And while my short term memory has definitely decreased (forgetting things people said less than a minute after they said it, having to ask if I’ve already said something, not being able to remember lists, etc), the thing I’m concerned about is long term memory. I frequently just completely forget something. Sometimes someone saying something about it can trigger me to remember it. But last school year, if you asked me what we learned about in say, science I would be able to tell you this: genetics, a little earth science, human system, and microscopes. I could give you maybe 10 specific things we did. And I remember even less about non school specific things. If you ask me what I did between January and April 2018, I doubt I could give you more than 10 things.
Anyway that’s just a little thing I thought was interesting.
hEAR YE
I always put my keys in the same spot, so I never lose my keys. Admittedly, I am a bit neurotic-- most of my possessions have assigned spaces throughout my house so I always know where they are. The downside is I get upset and disoriented when someone moves my possessions without notifying me first.
Thanks for the encoding idea - will give it a shot!
I know a guy that's always losing his keys. He'd find them in his fridge, in the lock on the outside of the door, bathroom, all kinds of places. It was a new surprise every day lol.
Before watching, my understanding is that the memories of mundane things aren't novel enough for the brain to always want to catalog, so they bleed together and fill with more false details than usual if a memory is even formed at all. Edit: yup, essentially correct at least for my case.
I remember where I put my things and even where other people put their things when I'm around. Now it's a curse because I still remember months later for no reason.
I don’t loose things like keys much but I’m terrible at remembering names, it takes me FOREVER to remember someone after meeting them, I remember faces well tho
Forgetfulness can sometimes be a good sign. Forgetting about menial things such as the names of people you met once and never expect to meet again can actually be a sign of intelligence.
I only but always lose my water glass. It's not important enough to make a special mental note of where I set it, and I have enough memories of setting it down everywhere that they all compete to give me a garbage memory of where I left it.
My father once forgot my mother in a taxi. I've inherited his scatter-mindedness :)
I probably won't remember watching this video in a day or so. Then I'll be all "oh look, a scishow about being forgetful, this'll be interesting!"
I have a thing that I do whenever I turn the house upside down looking for something. Whenever I actually find the thing, I remember the first place I looked for it, then put the thing BACK in that spot. Clearly my brain thinks that's where the thing is supposed to live.
1:25 seems like correlation only without proof of causation. Possible that people who forget less will naturally believe they have control over their own memory. I’m sure if I started to think that, I wouldn’t start remembering more. Further studies needed?
What I don’t understand is that if you already had your keys in your pocket or you bags when you went out, then I don’t see how it would be a problem to just keep them there. There is literally no downside and you won’t lose them, because you’ve always got them with you.
My rule is: never put your keys down. They’re either safely in your pocket or they’re in your hand (to open the door). You won’t have time to put them down by accident if you put them back in your pocket after you locked the door.
BETTER EVEN! If you’ve got a self-locking door, you’ll never be locked out, because your keys ARE in your pocket to begin with.
I can also say by experience that, if you have the rule, putting them down by accident will stop happening altogether.
It’s simple and it’s perfect!
This is why when I lock my door I do it slowly, then check it a couple times and think 'yes the door is locked' because if I dont I'll be worrying all day whether I locked the door or not!
So that's why I picked up the habit of speaking my thoughts outloud when I am trying very hard to focus on something or when I want to retain information.
I'm also wondering if similar-looking information may be relevant in separate contexts does retrieval-induced forgetting cause the one not selected in the first context to be wiped out entirely and therefore unavailable in the second context, or is it just forgotten in that particular moment and then available in the second context?
What about the stress connection? I learned some relaxation exercises for my health - and found I was better at not losing my keys afterwards!
I'm surprised by how many people don't keep their keys on a chain attached to their trousers. Having them chained to the clothing I need every time I go out and thus never just putting them on a convenient surface means I tend not to lose them xD
Chains aside, having dedicated places for things helps a lot too. And if I have absently put something down in my home, I know the three most likely places they might've ended up (desk, bedside table, dining table), and three less likely places after that (kitchen, bathroom, that chair I always dump stuff on for some reason).
Memory is a choice issue. We have only so much processing power and only so big of a hard drive. At somepoint in a person's early life they make decisions that set importance levels of different data entry (day to day, how to do X activity, what was that person's name again?) Once these priorities are set, it can be very difficult to change the pattern. Even though Forgetting your car keys might be annoying, at somepoint you decided there were more important things to remember, like Pop song lyrics and bad television.
I know i would lose stuff if i didn't have a dedicated place i put them. Keys, cell phone, wallet, all of those go to the same place. An empty tissue box next to my bed. That way, i can just look in there and be like "ah yes, thats where i put that". But that doesn't help if say, my brother uses my car. Then i have to hunt down the keys to get them into their proper spot
On the topic of forgetfulness, is there any mechanic as to why when typing, sometimes I would omit key words, despite clearly knowing that it's inteded to be in the sentence?
Discipline. Put small things always on specific areas or clean surface, regardless of situation since you will often forget that you did the action anyway. You just expect the thing to be there.
Working memory shouldn't be confused with short-term memory. One is the mental workspace, the other is memories that are like slow zebras.
I feel like the best way to avoid this is to always put them in the same place. I don't think I've ever experienced "where did I put my keys?" unless someone else had moved them or used them for some reason.
My Dad told me he says he blew up wherever he put something done. Apparently that helps him remember.
" *Boooom* I blew up my keys."
So I guess that's his wacky style of encoding.
I find I lose things less if I look at what I'm going. I watch where I put my keys, where I take off my shoes or put my phone down....if I just 'do' things, without looking at paying attention things get totally lost
How do you explain when you lose something and you look in a place and the thing isn't there and then you look later and it's there. We've had that happen several times now.
You know how irritating it is parking in a parking garage and forgetting where you parked and what floor you’re on.
I struggle with amnesia due to a dissociative disorder. If I don't find something, I just try to look at places where it would make sense for something to have been. (doesn't help if you find it in the fridge instead though lol)
When I went to a psychologist, they tested my cognitive memory and I was placed in the 7th percental... pretty bad.
Your hair looks amazing!!!
I have the opposite problem. I always put things in the very same place in the very same orientation. I even just turn my phone 90° to remember to send a text in the morning.
I have a "helpful" roommate to help me lose things. like when I'm packing to go somewhere and she is putting things back where they belong because I'm messy and that packed lunch has been on the table for a full 2 minutes
My can opener up and buggered off. Had to get a new one.
fantastic video!
I'm absolutely abysmal with names.
I sat next to a kid in English class for months and I didn't remember their name. I also didn't properly know the name of one of my friends for several months.
Great advice
4:21 So where did I put the keychain? Guess I gotta buy another keychain... etc. _ad infinitum_
How do some people’s faces look so familiar when you have never seen them before? Yesterday I was in the book store and I said to a lady “do I know you? You look familiar” she said “no I live far away so probably not. But a lot of people tell me this”
"Absent mindedness"
Some people find their spirit animal, I just found my spirit descriptive word. This is me.
Thankyouthankyouthankyou!
I always put mine in the same place, I hang them up.
I forget a lot of other things though.
Thank you for your excellent American accent :D ❤
It's not me!
it's my brain!
See thats great and all, now i need a video on how to remember to make sure I remember where i put down my keys 💔
Haha, I definitely mostly do it for the latter reason, put the thing down, didn't think about putting it down, never stored the location XD
I tend to forget my keys every time I change my pants.
Because I keep them in my pocket and forget to move them when changing.
I am so very forgetfull. I can never remember a name. never.
I still regularly forget names of the people I work with for close to 5 years now.
tho I never misplace my keys. automation is my only chance.
Yes, it's not good when you start switching the names of your bosses.
I never forget where my keys are. However I forgot where I put my will to live.
I got an ad for brain training before this lmao.
If I think im going to lose my keys i put it in say a drawer and say out loud that Im putting them in a drawer it works everytime
What about forgetting if you took your meds or not? Its a daily struggle for me
Thank you for explaining a vital part of ADHD
Weird coincidence. I went into the kitchen today and I forgot why I went there. So i stood there for a few seconds and remembered I went to get something to eat. I wondered why I would forget it. Never did get that snack though.
Given I have short term memory loss problems due to head injory I recomend you try. " The memory book" by Harry Lorayne & Jerry Lucas.
It sucks when you have Adhd. I feel like that tendency happens more often than not. Some days I have to actively place small stuff like that in my working memory if I have any hopes of remembering at all. Yet, I have fair memory for long term stuff like what I studied for an exam for example. I guess I'll just have to tell people what I'm doing next time :p
полая Христос
Proof?
To the guy with the skull icon debating whether ADHD is real:
First, it's inappropriate in this context to essentially tell someone who's struggling with something that they have no problems in a youtube comment thread (AKA when you said "ADHD isn't real).
Now to my main point: Overdiagnosis of something isn't the same as it being nonexistant. It's true that diagnosis of kids is "haphazard", but diagnosing kids isn't completely useless. (I'm not saying that' s your opinion, just making sure the point is made.) For me, having anxiety and depression between the ages of 9 and 13 was hellish. My childhood diagnosis of Asperger's has also helped me as an adult to understand how I function and get the support I need to do well in society.
As far as ADHD, it likely is overdiagnosed. However I still believe a substantial number of people can be meaningfully said to either have it or have problems that appear similar albeit with different mechanics (probably a mix of the two). Maintaining attention, inhibiting actions, switching between tasks - pretty much anything that can be labelled as an ADHD symptom is actually pretty complicated. So it seems really unlikely that everyone's brain will develop with a similar ability to do those things, and not fall well outside the norm. And then there's also the large number of people who struggle with ADHD-like symptoms for reasons other than ADHD, like anxiety and depression.
Not to mention, it isn't just a children's diagnosis, it can be diagnosed in a substantial number of adults. Though I am aware that many children diagnosed in childhood would not qualify for diagnosis in adulthood.
It's not a sign that my memory is going....... It's a sign that it was never there....
I use this weird announcing technique to remember I locked the car. I definitelly look stupid, but it works.
If you can't find your keys, check your bag again. They are always there and I can never find them lol
I loose and misplace everything all the time even remember wrong memories 🤦♂️😔
If you throw your keys on the table while thinking about what your about to do like eating, why wouldn't that information still be in your head? You had to throw your keys at a certain speed and trajectory so you don't miss what your throwing at (like a table) so you do technically have to process that information. Or is what I'm thinking about muscle memory? You don't think about it as much because you've done it so many times?
Lol so i do this thing every day that i go to work... i have to manually lock my old car (push down the lock-tab-thing on the door by the window), and i've gotten in such a habit before that i locked my only key in the door when getting gas (of course, i made more). I also forget whether i've locked it or not when i go to work, and have to double check even though i know i did it. And to solve the key problem, i have my keys on a lanyard that hangs out of my purse. 🖒😂😂
If we have a finite memory does that mean that at some point when I'm studying my brain will just go "MEMORY FULL"
Mindfulness can solve this.