Automated thinking processes?!

I have experienced such phenomenon many times, when I could not remember anything at all then when I am doing something, the right answer pop up. I think it has something do with our memories; retention and recalling power.

Names or other details that I've been trying to remember quite often come to me in the early hours of the morning whilst I'm half awake. The subconscious has been rooting around whilst I've been asleep.

I have always had trouble remembering names but I am great with numbers. Yes, I have experienced what you are talking about with names in that I can't think of a name and then hours later I will. To a lesser extent I experienced the solving of a problem in the manner that you mention. My professional life was as a scientist and one of my strong points was creativity and to some extent this involved being able to get to a solution on something I was working on by jumping over several steps. So this in some ways is similar to what you are talking about.

i play chess, and i like chess puzzles. when i was a kid trying to solve one puzzle, i could not solve it right there and then. and then, i went on to my household chores like washing dishes, then the solution came. immediately, i tried it on the chessboard, and there i was right. my mind did not let go of the puzzle, while my body focused on another thing. i think our minds do not let go easily of things that which they exerted efforts.

I believe that such occurrences happen more than people think, simply because our brain processes more information than we know of at any given time. For example, the heart has the Sinoatrial (SA) node to initiate heartbeats, but the brain controls our breathing, and we don't have to "remember" to do that, as the autonomic nervous system takes care of that and other chores. I don't believe we are always consciously aware of what we are thinking about at a given time. People are capable of interpreting instruction without thinking of it. A simple example of that would be if you are seated at a table with another person and you are eating. You have a fork in your right hand and your left hand is holding a knife for cutting. Your mate opposite you asks you to pass the salt to them. In order to accomplish this, you must release your hold on one of the utensils, reach for and grasp the salt, raise it from the table and extend your arm to present it to the requester. You do not think about these steps, you simply take the audible clue, visually process where the salt is, and most likely use the hand that is closest to the salt to grasp it and complete the task. You don't need to think about it, yet all of these steps are necessary, but automatically accomplished. It would not be too hard to imagine that we process other information in the same way. Your brain is actively processing the information and searching for a suitable answer as the question is being asked. What delays this process from happening is other input that is being considered at the same time. The response using chess is a great example. Both players know the object of the game is to place the king in such a position that he cannot move; that's the end game. The problem is that since there are 2 people with the same goal, each player tries to predict the response of the other to their action. If the response is not as intended, then recalculation and re-evaluation must occur. These processes require active thought as prediction of another persons though process is not exact. Now if you only wish to demonstrate to someone what a "checkmate" looks like, you could simply place the King at B8 and the opposing Rook at A7 and Queen at B7, probably without even thinking.

I also have many instances like this but most call mine pregnancy brain . I tend to forget basic things like why i went upstairs and then realized I had to pee , also there have been recent studies that show leaving a room can trigger certain memory loss . Im not sure how much i beleive it but it tends to happen to me more often than id like.

I know exactly what you mean. That is kind of mysterious how that happens. I do that a lot, as I have been getting older my mind isn't as quick as it use to be. I can see your face but sometimes you name escapes me. I feel so out of it but then when I get my mind of it and start thinking about something else the name will pop in my head or if I see something that you did or reminds me of that I will remember. I think it has to do with our brain and how it stores things. I think we activate a certain memory gland where things come back to us. I enjoy watching that infomercial about adding big numbers in your head. That is amazing and there is a method that you memorize that will help you do that. This is very intriguing and definitely phenomenal.