Anybody else get this memory problem?

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I get this memory problem.......I can study a subject in detail, and understand it, but afterwards I can have trouble recalling anything much about it. It's not total amnesia, I think I can always remember the stuff if I just keep calm and take my time, especially if I'm given a clue or two, or if somebody asks me specific questions, but if I were to watch a film, then go and think about something else, and then somebody asked me for a quick description of what the film had been about, I'd quite likely be stumped.

It's as if the memories are there but they've been sealed up too tightly in their compartment, so that it takes time and patience to get the box open again. Meanwhile I find it hard to believe I've retained anything, which often worries me, probably because of my school days when being able to remember stuff on demand was very important.

I suspect it's an Aspie thing - something to do with the single-track mind and the difficulty with resuming an activity after an interruption. What do you think?

I can see a move in a theater and then a short while later, I will have forgotten that I have just seen a movie.

(I like the "neither aspie nor neurotypical" option )

Yep, always takes a few minutes to come back.

I have that problem, especially with short-term memory. My ability to remember something depends on whether I'm interested in it. I have a photogrqaphic memory for information that I learned in college courses that such as art history or philosophy. But in subjects that I hated, like tax law, I couldn't remember much.

I think I've always lacked the ability to hold on to the memory of just about any recent event. Sometimes when someone asks me what I did during the weekend, for instance, or even what I was doing just a moment ago, I can't remember. It's as though my mind simply doesn't have any thoughts leftover from what I was doing at the time.

I must remember this topic

My memory is mainly visual, so if it is not stored in my right hemisphere it is not there.

But I stutter when speaking of said memory because I am trying to verbalize with my left hemisphere.

I am exactly like this! I hate it so much.

I used to use the term "Deep storage" for that type of thing, long before I even knew what Aspergers was. It's in long-term memory, which takes longer to access than short-term memory. Think of it like loading something from a computer hard drive into RAM. The computer has to load it into RAM before it can use it, and in the same way you have to bring it back to short-term memory before you can really process it. I haven't really noticed this in recent years, but I remember when I was younger it was an issue. I guess I just learned better processing techniques.

OK, THIS IS ME! I may live through a day and FORGET ABOUT IT! MONTHS may pass, and someone may give me a BASTERDIZED version of it(they always have an AGENDA, or are just too STUPID). I may not know about it AT ALL! Seconds or minutes later, I may remember it in great detail.

I'm in the opposite situation. I remember too much for most people's comfort. I recall people's birth dates, SSNs, other personal information, and a lot of what I read or hear with little difficulty. It's simply rote memorization though, with little affect or emotion.

So I mistakenly gave and still give people the illusion that I am interested in them, since I figured out in my 30s that people take my knowing so much about them as an indication that I have a personal interest in them. The same holds for various topics, from last year's presidential election to music. This has caused some complicated situations and confusion in my life, which I have yet to figure out.

"It's not what you remember, but what you understand." A famous physicist who used to have a weekly television show. He said this once when he had to open a little notebook which contained formulas. He forgot the formula he needed for the experiment he was doing. I wish I could remember his name, LOL, but I always remembered what he said because I understood what he meant by those words.

The poll to this forum is inherently biased (it is a forum for Auties and Aspies, yes?).

ruveyn

I'm so happy. I found the physicist whose name I could not remember on Youtube. His name is: Julius Sumner Miller

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2mhfRzwA0E&feature=related[/youtube]

I have this problem, and I've figured out how to overcome it, to a degree.

When I learn something, in detail, I loose it until I do something that brings it back to me: for example I can study biology in detail, and if you were to ask me verbally what, say, ketoacidosis is, I probably couldn't answer, but if I was presented with the same question on paper it would "click" and come back to me. My memory actually becomes vastly improved when I'm simply holding a pen, most of the stuff I learn in school can only be recalled if I am holding a pen.

Another way for me to memorize endless definitions is to understand how the word in question is formed. For example, I'm learning the human anatomy in my spare time now, and when I think of the zygomatic bone I think zygote, which means "yoke", a horse puts a yoke (part of it's harness) in it's mouth, and therefore the zygomatic bone is in the mouth area (the cheekbone).

If I can't draw parralels, it goes into my short-term memory, which is as bad as any aspies. I can learn any topic in maths, but learning them all at once is impossible for me

However, I can still read through a thousand page book and forget the whole plot in less than a week. On the plus side that means I get better value for money [/b]I have this problem, and I've figured out how to overcome it, to a degree.

When I learn something, in detail, I loose it until I do something that brings it back to me: for example I can study biology in detail, and if you were to ask me verbally what, say, ketoacidosis is, I probably couldn't answer, but if I was presented with the same question on paper it would "click" and come back to me. My memory actually becomes vastly improved when I'm simply holding a pen, most of the stuff I learn in school can only be recalled if I am holding a pen.

Another way for me to memorize endless definitions is to understand how the word in question is formed. For example, I'm learning the human anatomy in my spare time now, and when I think of the zygomatic bone I think zygote, which means "yoke", a horse puts a yoke (part of it's harness) in it's mouth, and therefore the zygomatic bone is in the mouth area (the cheekbone).

If I can't draw parralels, it goes into my short-term memory, which is as bad as any aspies. I can learn any topic in maths, but learning them all at once is impossible for me

However, I can still read through a thousand page book and forget the whole plot in less than a week. On the plus side that means I get better value for money

I don't know if my problem is the same as what you are describing, but it is at least similar. I can have a great wealth of knowledge on a topic, but, unless I am asked specific enough questions, or unless something reminds me of a part of my knowledge, it's very difficult for me to bring that knowledge to the front of my mind.

Example: music is my speciality. I know a lot about it. However, if someone were to ask me "What do you know about music?"; I'd draw a blank. If, though, they asked a specific question, such as "Name a composer who was alive during the transition between the Baroque and Classical periods?"; I could answer that easily.

Related: Someone may ask me what I want for dinner. I'll have difficulty thinking of what foods may be available, and my answers will be based on foods that I've recently seen and experienced. However, if they give me a choice, for example "Lasagne or steak", it will be easy to decide because I now have a smaller set of choices.

Another example: "Tell me about yourself" is impossible to answer. If asked, the questioner will get a really intelligent answer such as "Uh... I am... a person...". However, if they ask specific questions, they will get answers.

It seems that there are 3 aspects of memory involved here: encoding, storage and retrieval. Since the knowledge is there, the encoding and storage evidently work without problems. The retrieval is where the problem lies: it's as though my brain lacks its own retrieval mechanism, and thus has to rely on outside mechanisms to bring memories and knowledge to a state where I can use/articulate them.

I had this when I was younger. I could never tell people what was happening in a TV show or movie.
Now it takes a bit of time but I can remember and tell people what's happening in a TV show or movie.

Practice makes perfect. Try reading something then answering a few questions like 1) What's it about, 2) who's the main character - things like that. And if you've forgotten read over paragraphs until you remember. Just read over a bit at a time.

I think this is how I overcame my memory problem.