Memory

Post Reply New Topic

Do you ever feel like Aspie memory is very different from NT memory?

I sometimes wonder if NT memory is a thing where they remember accurately about something, but it's common to lie about it, or if they really believe that lie. Maybe it isn't the way they remember but the way they perceive.

Like if an NT and I were selling apples, and the NT guy sold 15 in the first hour, and I sold 15 in the first hour, when our boss comes around asking how many we sold, the NT would be like, "I sold a bunch, it was like 20 or 30," whereas as I would be like, "Let me think, first there was that guy, and then, oh yeah, ... until I've actually counted in my head to answer with, "like 14 or 15, something like that."

I don't know if this is an Aspie thing or not, but I just notice I almost have to exaggerate something for people to believe me, like they already expect my story to be exaggerated no matter how well they know me. I also notice that they have selective memories. Anybody else feel the same way?

NTs have great short term memories for names, dates and trivial things.

Aspies have experiential memories. Our short term memories for people's names etc are terrible but our memory of events is brilliant. Much better than NTs.

Unfortunately, in order for an aspie to really take advantage of their experiential memory, they often have to "replay" events in their heads. It therefore takes us much longer to answer. NTs can't do this so they simply answer with an approximation.

Yes yes! I can remember some short term things, I have to give my self around 8 seconds of uninterrupted time, for the memory to boot up. Otherwise, I have known this one guy for about 3 months, I still can't remember his name clearly. Wonder how long is long term memory.

I think yes. People are always freakishly amazed by the crap I can just recall.
Any time my family can't remember something, they call me and ask because I always know.
(Stuff like a movie we used to like.)

I have an excellent memory of my childhood and things like that. I can usually recall anything that I have intentionally 'flagged' for remembering. I tend to not flag people, though, so I will only remember them after I have known them for quite some time. Even then, I don't notice details about them.

my memory is too weired.it takes me time to remember anything.takes me about 10 sec to remember single piece of information.i really hate this

My memory is so selective that I can't even explain how it works. Some things I can immediately remember, forever, and other things I have to really push myself to remember. There is some kind of subconscious "order of importance" thing going on that I don't fully understand. I seem to easily retain things that might be of some use in the future, but can't really define it any further than that.

All brains actually remember and memorize literally everything that they take in from the enviormnet but it is our inability to access the data that is a problem. some people can do this better so they appear to be smarter.

yeah my short term memory is not very good. but my long term memory is quite good. the only problem with memory I have is that I have to read something a few times for it to "soak" in and even then when I'm asked about something I've read sometimes its hard for me to verbalize specific points. I think my brain is trying to force everything out at once I end up stopping and starting and not getting things out in the right order.

True. I seem to be able to access some things very easily, while others are locked away in some unaccessible(for now) region. Hopefully, I'll get struck by lightening someday, and be able to access everything.

I have a remarkable ability to remember events from my the age of 3 years and on. I can recall specific times and dates of certain events, which my parents can never understand how I can do that. I tend to remember specific things about an event, whereas NTs remember general things.

...I've often said " I'm bad at names " .

I remember everything including the texture and color of peoples clothing, signs on the walls, temperature, what's in trash cans and amazing stuff that clutters my mind going back to maybe a year old, even where torn pages appeared in my books and what I feed my pet rabbit on November 11th 58 years ago. I can't get rid of stuff no matter how hard I try but sometimes it's useful.

lots of bits of useles information. many patterns. i haven't ever met others inclined like this until i came to WP and started seeing other people post info about not being able to filter stuff out. i say i have no edit button or a poor edit button in my brain. i can get pretty wired from it sometimes. lke having just been in sydney (the city) and all the surfaces catching the train from my sister's house to the airport. it is like hell sometimes. the city is foul for me...can't even get to sleep there. too much stimulus and visual information and aural info flooding in.

I don't know how they are different, or if they are different, or if it varies.
What I do know is that compared to the people I see on a daily basis, my short-term memory is terrible (eg, I can walk around looking for a pen when I'm holding one in my hand) but also, my long-term memory seems a lot better (I can remember events from when I was 1-2 years old in some detail and colour).
I'm not going to stereotype NTs and say how they do and don't remember things because I simply don't know for sure and I'm not going to make any assumptions.

I go through the same thing on the short term memory, especially with names and such, even when I relate the name to something familiar like "I have an aunt with that name." My worst one, I'll lay something down and then five seconds later can't remember where I laid it, and will walk around for an hour trying to find it (like car keys).

But I'm more on the long term memory and not only our ability to recall it, but how we recall it. I swear I recall things from my childhood much more accurately than my sister. Nobody believes me because my sister remembers what she wants to (every piece of information manipulated to make her look better), and my mother has no memory of it at all. My family does think I make up my memories, and I even have one that since nobody (my mother being the only one who could, and she remembers nothing) confirmed it, I still am not sure if it were real (even though I swear it real) or if it were a dream.

Then I notice with my friends and husband, if I were to say I hydroplaned on the interstate and almost wrecked which could have killed me the way it did someone I knew recently, they think, "Oh, she just skidded a little and is overdramatizing the situation because it's an excuse to not go back on the interstate and go to some party," when in actuality, it was I was hydroplaning, for at least 100 feet, with no control of the car, and I called out (literally, for the first time in my life, the only time in my life, that I actually called out), screaming to God to not let me die and miraculously, I had control of the car again. I should have said, I hydroplaned on the interstate for a mile, started crying hysterically (which I didn't cry) for God to come save me, after doing three donuts, I ended up in the median where I regained control of the car, and then people would fathom a slight hint of what I actually went through because they expect it to be overdramatic and exaggerated because I assume it's normal to do that.

I'm very interested if anyone else has similar experiences like this.