Depending on your take regarding the recall abilities of people, you can find beliefs range from “Nobody” has a photographic memory to various psychologist babblings and on and on. Anyone so presumptuous who wants to claim anything all inclusive such as all, everyone or nobody has a major uphill argument to prove. Just 1 example is enough to make the statement false. Also, have they tested all 6.6 billion living people on the planet in a neutral non-cultural biased manner? Have they tested all of those who have passed away? What about the millions and millions who do not want to subject themselves to tests?
So those grandiose statements can be discarded quickly. Most psychological babbling and therapist ‘expertise’ has long been found wanting by me. I am not impressed with the majority of it. A 6 month survival trip to the Philippines or a third world country of your choice without your money would be more than sufficient to teach people to suck it up. Shrinks and therapists would not be needed.
But back to the topic at hand, total recall. I’ll let the talking heads debate. But I know what I can do and have done. When I am paying attention, I mentally videotape (burn to mental Blue-Ray?) the activity I am in. I have used this skill in classes recreating the answer I needed on a test by calming down, focusing on what the teacher said and wrote on the board. I got a 100% on a test no one else did of the couple hundred who took it and the years of students before. I’ve also found out that I am much better at sitting in the front row of a college class all semester, not taking notes and just paying complete attention to the professor. At the end of the class, I duplicated all of his lectures word for word on the essay exam. It annoyed the hell out of my classmates and dorm buddies. I never studied once for that class.
If you are able to remember everything you learn, your test taking skills must be above par for most students. You may even be able to get an online education and retain what you read. Online college courses are a great way to learn in your spare time!
So is it a blessing? Yes, it is a blessing to remember all the way back to when I was 3 in detail. I draw upon those memories and lessons to project myself back into my own childhood to best answer issues of the day. I haven’t forgotten life as a child. I can see things from the viewpoint of a child because of this skill. It is very helpful on trivial answers and remembering all of those small lines that inspired me that people never knew were important and so on.
Is it a curse too? I can also remember in vivid detail coming home from college to see my grandfather’s corpse. I remember every detail of my dog slowly dying, of watching my father die, be brought back by the paramedics and his coma, every bit of torture my siblings put me through. So yes, it is a curse too.
So is it good or bad? I think it is good to have such recall. Memories are a reflection of events that have made us who we are today. What you do with them is based on your attitude. There is nothing more harmful than a negative attitude. Positive is always better. And no, there are no meds for a lousy attitude. Except maybe a survival trip to a third world country. Humility gained from the butt whooping of life there helps you cherish what you have here – provided you remember it.
0 comments
Post a Comment