Memory .. What makes us remember certain things?

Our mind is a complex thing. It's amazing how it works. We have short term memory which can store information for up to about 3 days, and hold about 7 things. So when your sitting there thinking about going to the store, what you neeed to buy, getting the kids ready, what all you have to do, after that 7th item you are thinking about, the first one slips out of the way, and is replaced by the 8th item you are thinking about... so that's why we tend to forget things so easily. Our long term memory works when things are repetitive and there is a theory that states the more we speak out loud the better we will remember things. Long term memory also has to do with how things effect us, how important they are to you, and how much things mean to you. Which means, how significant something is to you, will determine which part of your memory those things will go. As for saying you can't remember the presidents, long division and stuff, it's still in your mind, and once you start to look over those things again, it will all come back to you because it's stored in your long term memory, just as that song was. For instance, you win the lottery, you will remember everything about it, the date, the place, the amount, who was with you, where you found out, so on... but most likely if you was to win a raffle for a free ice cream cone, you would be like uhm... well i won it a few years back, sometime in July, and I bought my raffle ticket from oh gosh the neighbor boy, because the Ice cream cone wasn't as significant to you as the lottery was. After saying all that, that song must have been something special to you, or it was played so much, just the repetitiveness of it got stuck in your long term memory.

I remember things when little silly things trigger the response.. Like, I can remember a certain guy or something about him based upon a smell or a walk another person may have. I can remember music just because I have a feeling or an emotion that makes me remember the song that made me feel the exact same way. I don't know.... I think for every person it is different. I don't remember a lot of what I learned while in high school, but the minute I see something that is close to it, the flood gates open and I can recall it :)

Hey cortypants! I don't really know how to explain that but I also experience that sort of things. I guess it has something to do with the level of attention you're paying to certain things like maybe when you first heard the song 10 years ago, you paid so much attention to it that your brain remembers it till now, some sort of long-term memory thingy. Something with the neurons in the brain but I don't wanna bore us with scientific discussions

LoL... you are sooo right cortypants! I think our minds are all full with the songs from the 90's (and earlier when it comes to me - LoL)! I also can remember my telephone number from when I was in kindergarten but not the one I had at my last house! Weird! I think some of it has to do with what is really important to us and feelings we have about certain things, smells, sounds, events, etc. But, who really knows! I hate math so I pretty much blocked out all of those formulas I was "supposed" to have learned in grade school. I love music and can remember most of the words from the songs I really like but I can't remember the artist who sung those same songs. My sister is great in learning foreign languages and picking up accents but I'm horrible at that type of thing. And, I'm the one who is married to a wonderful husband who's first language is Arabic! LoL... go figure! :)

I read an artice about a week ago about memories and how to remember things. It made the point that a person's brain is designed to forget things because if we remembered everything that happened to us, then we'd insane. It also said that if we forget something that it may be just our brain's eliminating memory feature working a little too good. But your problem more than likely has to do primarily with attention. You probably never pay attention to what you're learning so you never absorb it. You have to be interest in something or someone to want to remember it. I'm pretty good with names, because I use word association. That works for me.

Yeah, the music is the most powerful colective memory I know, its amazing, it even makes us remember what we were feeling the day we heared a song

The mind directs the brain to remember the things which it likes.. Repeated reading (at least few times with concentration) will instruct the brain to remember what you have read.. Try reading the separate list of states and its capitals few times.. then read the list which has the state with its capitals.. this will help in creation of an association of the 2 things and you can have a better memory.. The more you read and recall (work/use), The more you remember.. Coming to scientific thing.. It is said that short term memory is due to neurotransmitter release among various neurons (nerve cells) in the brain.. Over a period of time, if it gets a suitable stimulus, it will be converted into long term memory. Long term memory is said to be due to formation of new synapses (connection/linking) between various neurons and also the release of neurotransmitters.. The suitable stimulus which converts the short term memory to long term ones may be the interest in topic, concentration, purpose, effort, understanding, pleasant/unpleasant, nature of the information etc etc.. So any information can be retained as long term memory if you put effort in a correct way..

I used to have a super good memory.I could repeat almost word for word , pages of things I learned, for school or for fun. Lately, probably because I have too many thing on my mind, I feel as my memory needs improvement. Things are sleping away from me, I forget why I went to a certain place, to do what. It does not take long before I remember, but it's scary.Very scary. I don't want to put my family in a position to keep me in a "home".And I'm still young. Maybe I should take some suplements...like Memory boost, or something.

I agree with you , sometimes certain memories linger and make a permanent impact. I too have certain very close memories especially about certain songs that i listened to, during my childhood.The memory is still fresh and i can recall the place where i heard and even feel the impact it made, so also certain people make an impact on us and leave a permanent impression on our mind both positive and negative ..

Well...for me, it's the sense of smell. Studies have shown that the sense of smell triggers more memories than any of the rest. I believe that because if you smell something, you'll associate it with something from your past. A perfect example is perfume/cologne. When someone is sending someone something...like a special intended they normally will spray some of their stuff on it. Whenever I send my boyfriend who is stationed in Iraq a letter, I always put my perfume on it so he remembers it. The night before he left, he sprayed his cologne on a shirt he left for me. Whenever I was lonely for him, I'd just close my eyes and take a deep sniff of his shirt, then all those happy memories comes flooding into me. Sometimes I end up smiling but more often than not, I end up crying because I miss him so much. *Pleiades

There was a time when my kids thought I knew everything. Then of course there came a time when they thought I didn't know anything. Fortunately they think I've gotten smarter again.... but I've maintained all along that I actually do know everything, I just can't always remember it when I want to!

I think we subconsciously choose what we will remember. Also, repetition has something to do with it. Maybe you heard that song 500 times over ten years ago, and it had a catchy jingle to it, this might help you remember it. That being said, I will try my best to remember Bush (the band) and try my hardest to forget Bush (the former President, both of them).

Isn't it curious the way memory works? A smell, a sound, a color, the most subtle and insignificant things can trigger something in our brains and suddenly we are transported through time and spcae to another time and place. Somtimes it's a good journey and sometimes it's not. Sometimes we revisit and find our perspective on an incident or person or experience has changed. And these bouts of nostalgia and remembrance often seem to occur at the oddest times.

Sometime,when I saw some scene,I think this thing has happend in my previous life.But I am not sure it is true or not.Memory is a strange~~

hey, you also like grunge music. that's nice to know. i read that we know and remember things because it hits something in us, the core of us. if it means something for us, it is stored in our memory that can easily be retrieved when we are reminded by music, scene, person or words. those experiences with strong emotions are also stored shallowly that in no time can easily surface to let us remember. probably, the song has deep meaning for you.