You are hit with an amazing memory, what is your next move?

I’d begin to believe in miracles. However, soon after I think I’d see it as a bit of a curse. Imagine the information overload problems. I think I’d check out how I could use my amazing memory for good. Perhaps working to solve crimes. Reading all the files relating to major unsolved crimes perhaps. If I could remember everything, perhaps I could begin to see patterns too and find solutions that have thus far been missed.

People with such memories don’t forget, but they learn to weight what is important and what is not important; not all memories are of equal value.

Having immediate recall of accurate information is an advantage in business and in interpersonal relationships, but one does not use every slight or mistake or negative; one uses good helpful information.

Once again, it is not the attribute in and of itself that is valuable; it is how you use it.

I would legally change my name to Sherlock Holmes.

Alzheimer’s? #payback

I’d post a LOT of questions on Fluther.

While my memory isn’t that good, it’s fairly close…. and it sucks!

I never learned to control it, to be able to sort out the wheat from the chaff, to pull up useful stuff on demand while not having unpleasant memories pop out at random.

So, if my memory were improved, the first thing I would do is learn to control it far better than I currently do before I went literally insane.

I think it would be fabulous as a researcher too. Imagine if you were a scientist and all the information you’ve read on a topic was not in files or documents, but in your head and you could remember and process it all. I wonder what scientific breakthroughs might be possible if you could not only remember but hone in on the relevant data and how it works together. Sometimes there’s so much information, it can be hard to see relationships. Both of my responses have related to the same idea about being able to process vast amounts of information effectively.

I forget.

@Earthbound_Misfit Being able to process it all is another, entirely separate ability. In fact, the smartest people aren’t those that memorize all the fact/equations/minutiae, but merely those who remember where to look that stuff up.

Put another way, computers have great memory, but aren’t very intelligent at all. They can’t always process what they remember either.

@jerv I have to manage a huge amount of information in my job. One of the problems is even though it’s all on computer(s), I often can’t remember where I read that or where I filed it. Sometimes I don’t even remember I did file something until I come across it again by accident and go ‘oh wow! I’d forgotten this’. There are programs I can and do use. I use mind mapping software, quantitative and qualitative analysis software and databases. Even so, managing data is a challenge. So I do absolutely agree the processing issue is vitally important.

However I’m presuming, since my super memory works like a DVR, I can access the info I need and I can sort and code the information I might want to apply to a particular problem. If it’s all going to be just a jumbled mess of facts, figures, images, words, then it’s of no use to anyone. However, if I know the info is there and I can access it in an organised fashion, it might be better than a computer because my memory will know I have that info. I may have forgotten I scanned or saved a document that dealt with A but A holds the clue to solve a problem relating to B. If my memory doesn’t forget I have the info, then I wouldn’t miss potentially essential clues.

I do think if you could remember and then effectively filter all that information and pull it together to identify patterns and relationships, it would be great.

Sadly, it’s just a dream and really, who knows how it would work.

@Earthbound_Misfit However I’m presuming, since my super memory works like a DVR, I can access the info I need and I can sort and code the information I might want to apply to a particular problem.
Yeah….if it acts like a DVR it is not like a collection of old LPs in the garage where you know you have an album, but don’t know where it is. It IMO can’t be super memory if you can rewind through any day and pin point an hour and remember everything you seen in that hour to the minute detail and precise time you seen it. :-)