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The guy who remembers too much, selectively

"Hi, how are you?", I asked a senior girl as she stepped into the class the other day. She looked surprised, although the regular smile of greeting was flashing across her face. "I'm good, thanks...", she replied. She had settled in the seat beside me. "I saw you at the Indian restaurant the other day", I continued, looking to kill the 2 minutes before the professor came in and also to clarify something about Gaussian kernel distributions which I hadn't got in the last class. But she looked unsure now. She said, "Yeah I think I saw you too... but, umm.... have we met?"

There I go again, I thought... darned! I said, "Yeah, you're ____, right? Working under Professor ___?? We met at the TGIF party last Fall, and then again in the free donut session around early next month?". Her expression of surprise had turned to one of apology by then. "I am really sorry", she said with a sheepish grin, "but I have forgot your name". "Oh, its ok... I'm Sudipta, hi" followed by loads of blah-blah-blah was how the rest of the conversation went. And it really set me thinking... one shouldn't really remember too much.

I seem to remember names, dates and details of some events in excruciating detail: not all of them, but just the ones that somehow are redundantly forgettable. Want to relive something that happened and I was present? No problem... I can recall every detail, perhaps even tell you the what exactly you were thinking as you went through it if I was present at that time. All that, if it appeared interesting enough to me. Besides, I tend to build my own theories about events and people, and sometimes my guesses about what happened inbetween turn out to be miraculously accurate. So when I tend to talk to people about the stuff in their lives which happened between the snippets of info I heard directly from them, they sort of fall off the chair.

It is a great thing to have when I'm reading palms or doing Google research, but otherwise it just sometimes lands me in these rather dubious situations. And the worst part: I really never remember the shade of nail-polish I gave to my sister or which dresses I gave to her. So while she would wear them and hop around expectantly around me hoping me to recognise that I gifted it to her, I wouldn't have the slightest clue about that. In fact, I remember having asked her once, "Hey, that looks good on you... when did you get that dress?". And I am sure you know the rest of the conversation :-\

Comments

  1. You know you need to learn better usage of your resources. :)

    Thats remarkable ability you have got. Remembering name is a good thing but rest all. You need to have one hell of memory for that. Moreover I think it's our interest that makes me remember things. One friend of mine always insists on remembering contact no instead of noting them down. Simple reason, he likes number theory.

    Vaise you can impress many by this capacity of yours. :)

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  2. Give yr sis some unusual colors like Black....for nail paint...you will remember that...!!

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  3. Hmmmm, selective memory hai sudipta jee ki, you forget the dress gifted to sis but remember what all occasions you met the senior ;) but seriously if you can remember names, its a good trait to have, i remember numbers but am soooo bad with names, have been in some really embarrasing situations because of this!

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  4. Prits, thanks... but as I told you, it is really selective. :)

    R, yeah right... and wake up next morning to see everything around me smudged in black.

    Life lover, yeah I remember some names.... others are a bit tricky. And embarassing situations because I forgot a name? Well, I'm all ears! :)

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  5. hehe! Yeah, that happens to me too.. I can remember minute details of things happened way back in time, but I cannot remember what I had for lunch!

    The problem with me is that I tend to forget wht I had said at some time.. and I often become repetitive! So that makes me a bad liar! :D

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  6. Ah.. can so relate to it.. ppl fall off flabbergasted when I tell them some stuff to excuciating details that they cant remember themselves. But yes, thankfully I have never been in that situation of askign someone I gifted something to, about where that person got it from!

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  7. Supremus, why do you want to rub the salt in? :)

    Basanti, hey! A sort of welcome onboard is in order I suppose: so w.o. :)

    Bad liar, eh? Simple solution: when you are giving the latest version, diswon everything you said earlier! That way... you never lie ;)

    Twilight Fairy, great! You must tell me the secret! :)

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  8. HIIIIIIIIII!!!! JUST got back home and so am on a running blogging greeting spree!! its great to be back in the blogsphere!!

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  9. Hehehe I can picture what the rest of the conversation was. After all, I also have a brother who has selective memory. :))

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  10. Grafxgurl, wokkay! Good good good ... blog lekho!! And definitely, welcome back!

    Syrals, oh well... there you go. You must be having a good idea :)

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  11. tell me abt it!! but the only diff with me is that there is no selective memory, its all perfectly erased without discrimination :O

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  12. Di, oh well... the average must be maintained! I'm sure you remember dresses and nailpolishes pretty well!

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