/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.16606396]

Who here /alzheimers/?

>mid 30s
>have been reading since my early teens
>last two books I tried reading I was looking forward to
>10 pages in I realise I actually did read them long ago
>had forgotten all about it until the familiar theme and names all come back to me

Its been happening a lot lately, kind of struggling for new books and when I find them theres good chances Ive read them.
Does it happen to you?

[Anonymous No.16606405]

I have a very poor memory, so I've decided to purchase all the books I plan on remembering and reread them enough to remember the contents. Still looking for strategies but it's better than nothing.

[Anonymous No.16606413]

>>16606396
I don't know what day it is at any given moment nor do I care. I've been telling people I'm 23 or 24 for at least 2 years but I'm pretty sure I'm 22 at the most.

[Anonymous No.16606535]

>>16606396
35yo here. Doesn't happen often but that's why I log every book and film. 10 years ago I could recite the full names of all my classmates in high school, middle names included. Now I don't remember a lot of their first names or if some of them were in my last year at school or had left earlier. Not that I have seen them in the last 17 years though.
It's perfectly natural. Parents forgetting appointments, things they promised their children, friends forgetting the particulars of some event, aunts and grandparents forgetting they've told you the same story dozens of times before.

As usual, when you're in your 20s you've hardly felt what time actually means for your body, so you overestimate your youth.

[Anonymous No.16606579]

>>16606535
>Parents forgetting
I was trying to reminisce with my dad the other day about this memory of us doing something together when I was a kid. Instead of telling me he didn't remember, he told me it didn't happen. When I insisted and started recounting details he got all pissed off about it and again insisted it hadn't happened. The whole thing hit me so hard I can't even remember what the memory even was. Don't understand how parents are like this.

[Anonymous No.16606643]

>>16606396
Not Alzheimer's you twat.

[Anonymous No.16606712]

>>16606396
MCT oil and exogenous ketones immensely help with alzheimer’s, anon

[Anonymous No.16606722]

>>16606396
>tfw god tier memory
It feels good wowing people by remember all kinds of the stupid shit. My brother gets impressed that I can recall every plot point from all the movies or shows we saw as a kid; I never lose anything even if I toss onto the floor; I can easily remember all the books I've read; recall every place I've been with great clarity; remember almost every conversation I've had (it's a little creepy to some people when I mention an obscure detail they told me in passing years ago); remember all the stupid facts and information you pick up from school, quiz shows, observations and infographics—great if you want people to think you're knowledgeable. It's no photographic or perfect mind you: I suck and names and dates often slip from my mind and my sense of direction used to be pretty bad—it seems more abstract stuff like numbers is hard for me to remember. My family members have shit memories though, my brother for example will forget the same piece of information over and over again, and my parents forget all kinds of things: even something simple like picking up whole milk instead of semiskimmed. Having a good memory also really helped in school. Honestly, just a very convenient disposition.

[Anonymous No.16606724]

>>16606396
Did you play football as a child?

[Anonymous No.16606737]

I will have Parkinson's and dementia by the time I am in my late 30s. Used to be a genius, still am to some extent just lack the faculties to make use of it now. Lost functions over inhibitory control due to injury and illness. I am a shell of the man I could have been.

[Anonymous No.16606742]

>>16606737
>Used to be a genius
aren't we all lol

[Anonymous No.16606744]

>>16606722
I'm confused why a person like you doesn't just spend all their time reading, you have a massive genetic advantage for it. If the true benefit of amassing knowledge is the potential to gain insight via synthesis, it is hard to understate how big of a benefit recollecting most of what you read is. Seriously don't waste that shit anon
https://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/2007/03/25/how-to-ace-your-finals-without-studying/
This article pokes at a method the average man could use to achieve similar results, but unfortunately I still haven't been able to replicate it.

[Anonymous No.16606753]

>>16606405
if you read non-fiction, underline and take notes in the margins. Will help you skim for key ideas when rereading.

[Anonymous No.16606765]

>>16606753
But I read hardcovers ;(

[Anonymous No.16606852]

>>16606744
I should've mentioned my good memory came at a price. I unironically have ADHD. So while I was good a school it was that memory that carried me because when it came to studying I was at a loss. This is just conjecture but one guess for my good memory can be linked to all the time I spent zoning out and recollecting and thinking about past events—perhaps I trained my mind, through a sort of meditation, to be better at recalling and storing events, which would make sense considering what I find easier to remember: conversations, plots, events, occurrences. I do love reading, even though I find it very hard to keep my attention, but I read quite slowly; and I only came to reading as my main hobby as a teenager—I spent most of my youth with video games and anime. If you were to ask me about any anime I'd watched I'd be able to tell you about every episode, if you asked me about any video I wasted my time with I'd be able to tell you all about it, it's plot, it's mechanics, locations and dialogue. I am trying to read a lot more because I do retain a lot and I'm not a complete brainlet that I'm just storing info without understanding it. One thing about a good memory is getting annoyed at people close to you who don't: they lose things and you have to tell them where they put it, you feel like they don't care about you because they don't remember things you tell them, they excuse things by saying they forget. I recommend, every day, to recall memories in the best clarity you can and meditate on them—tie it to what you were doing, When I recall something I also recall what was being said in the background, what I was eating and where I was (these are unintentional): I can't recall Raskolnikov's dream without recalling me sitting outside the sports hall at school and some peer(who's name I forget) trying to talk to me while I read. When I recall where I left my things I recall putting them down and what I was thinking about when I did. Memory is about tying things to each other mentally—that's just my experience. I can't recall learning about Tsar Alexander III's height without remembering the girl I sat next to in History class.

[Anonymous No.16606900]

>>16606742
I was a prospective MD PhD candidate and had an IQ of 160.

[Anonymous No.16606915]

>>16606852
That sounds about right. The common factor all people skilled at memory agree upon is that it doesn't work in isolation, but by association. This has been known for thousands of years and elaborated in techniques like the method of loci, yet it seems very few adults are interested in increasing their memory capacity, or would sooner do it by taking supplements than through using one of these methods we know actually work. Still, we all know it's humanly possible to do incredible feats with memory, but hardly anyone actually tries to use it for intellectual gain. It's a bit sad really. Once I figure out a way to incorporate these techniques to my benefit, I'll let you all know. If you have more suggestions, I'm all ears.

[Anonymous No.16606923]

>>16606900
>candidate
Okay bro. My IQ is 150 and I got accepted at Oxford but I didn't get grades in the end

[Anonymous No.16607089]

>>16606915
These are all personal conjecture, I'm not well researched in the field of memory improvement, nor am I a neurology student but I have contemplated it like I do with my aspects of my life so I do have some theories on why, or rather, how one can improve their memory. I should note that my short term memory is only good visually (I forget reasons I had entired a room btu I did some visual memory game in sixth form with my friends and I scored like 75,000 (most of them struggled to get over 5,000). Here it is if you're curious but they seem to have changed the score system to levels 75,000 took about 122 correct answers without mistake. https://humanbenchmark.com/tests/memory

Here are some introspections on memory (aside from association): I've noticed a way to lock down a memory. What I do is I think internally say what I'm trying to remember a few times and in a way I form a memory of a me thinking about—this seems to make it easier to recall something on command because I can think about me thinking a more mentally tangible occurrence. I do this for appointments and important names.
When trying to remember a pattern or layout, recall it both as a whole image and separate parts(that game for example is far easier if you take it as an entire image but also keep track of separate shapes).
And it's hard to tell whether this helped but I have hypersensitivity (a symptom of ADHD) which means I can't ignore or drown out noises: if someone says something I will hear it so my brain is constantly cataloging all sounds with the visuals—whenever I recall a conversation I can't what a saw and what I heard alone (without forming a new mental memory of course). So perhaps training your attention to be all encompassing might make forming those associations easier. Although I would not recommend it at the level I feel it since it makes reading and sleeping impossible with even quiet noises.
Memories of memories. I mentioned this earlier but it's kind of way to update your memories: by recalling a childhood memory or something really old you're sort of renewing its clarity since you can now recall that memory through the proxy of previously thinking about it. This will make your long term memory god tier if you make a habit out of it since it makes important events you reflect on impossible to forget.
For remembering books and stories, remembering what is said and what is meant together and apart really helps. When you read a chapter recall what EXACTLY was said (reflect on quotes) and what was meant (sum up what occurred as if you were a narrator). Also while reading, and many people do this naturally, also have a movie playing in your mind to give you visuals and sounds ( and maybe touch and smell (if you want to be autistic)), this just gives you a way to recall what happened with a visual and remember dialogue with a sound. When I remember a conversation in a book I don't just recalling reading a page 1/2

[Anonymous No.16607226]

>>16607089
I recall what the character's looked like to me and where they were. You don't have to make the backgrounds too detailed, you won't be able to remember them because they're not to important, you can detail them on recall. When you remember K meeting the painter Titorelli, you see a dark dusty room and the bed in front of a door, Titorelli is barefoot and there are 3 girls are banging on his door, K is wearing an overcoat, I there are rolled up painting underneath the bed that K sits on (I read it over 6 years ago now and I remember eating port salut cheese while reading that chapter). I think remember facial expressions is a good way to keep track of the emotions of the event—and they're described very often too.
I take about an hour or more to fall asleep. In that time I either think about scenarios (real or fantastical) or I continue a few of the narratives I normally think about while trying to sleep(or begin a new one). A lot of people do this and I think it helps with imagination, so if you don't do this, making a habit of it may help you form more vivid visuals to attach to thoughts.
Keeping track of things is easy by remember your thoughts and know how you think.
Here's an exercise I found interesting: trying looking at your memories in third person (sometimes you do automatically) but take a memory and shift the perspective. Actually know that I think about a lot of my memories are recalled in third person naturally—weird. I think that might be a way of recalling my own emotions and self perception at the time. It's not like I forget the first person memory, it's just when I explore the memory I see my own face. Although that might just be me replaying the memory in a more cinematic way

I don't know whether anything I've said was usual, I'm just procrastinating right now. I'm sure more conventional things can help like writing down your thoughts or meditating when you wake up but I don't do any of that so I'm just giving my personal experience.

[Anonymous No.16607239]

>>16607089
>>16607226
Apologies for the typos. I am very tired.

[Anonymous No.16607256]

>>16606396
My Grandfather had Alzheimer's. The thought of having it as well one day is honestly so terrifying to me. I remember him not even being able to remember that his wife was dead, and he had to be reminded of that fact every time when he constantly asked to see her. By the end, I'm fairly certain that he didn't even remember who my sister and I were, beyond just the fact the simple fact that he had grandchildren.

[Anonymous No.16607289]

>>16607239
Very interesting, thanks for all the details. It sounds like your skill is really a product of many habits done together over a long period of time. The author of the article I linked earlier also said he felt most of his strengths came from specific habits he practiced rather than an inherent gift, so there is some chance those who are "gifted at memory" really just chanced on the right methods at a young age and have achieved a very strong memory through constant practice. I find it interesting though how it seems you take the time to remember everything, even if it's something inconsequential like the details of that scene from The Trial. Was it something you always purposefully did?

This is some good info, anon. I'm going to ruminate on this.

[Anonymous No.16607356]

>>16606396
Just bring up memory on the lit board and the storage savants creep out of the woodwork. My memory is decent, not prolific. Alzheimer's is my greatest fear. Early-onset Alzheimer's is literally the worst thing imaginable. You've made me immensely sad OP!

[Anonymous No.16607426]

>>16607289
I hope it helped. I'll read that article you linked when I feel like my attentions returned (I should be reading my University prereq stuff) but yeah these were never habits done for any gain other than interest. When trying to sleep it was done without intention so much so I had to try to silence my thoughts so I could sleep. Plots are something I can remember with the most ease so a scene from a book is no big deal, especially if the book interested me. I don't go over plots because I never really forget them like I do with dates and names so I don't need to meditate on them more than I normally would (as in just thinking about what it meant and how I liked it). I can remember every scene but sometimes the order of scenes gets jumbled up—if I want to remember them I just make a memory of the plot as a whole. This is why my sense of direction was bad: I could remember every area I went to but I'd forget which order those place come so I forget which to make. But back to plots: even if I never thought about it before, I'd still be able to recall perfectly an episode of Ed Edd and Eddy or all the events of pulp fiction even if it's the first time I've thought about them since seeing them. I've noted this has a limit, after around 11-14 years those things lose clarity unless I "renewed" that memory. If I never thought about until that moment, recalling something in it's entirety becomes hard: for example I can only recall scenes from Zeke and luther, it would take me a quite of bit of effort to piece those scenes together and gather new scenes by association. This is how I would do it (I haven't thought about Zeke and Luthor in years, let alone tried to recall it in length) I'd recall a scene I remember, Zeke and Luther staying at a hotel and trashing the room. I'd recall the scene later where Luther's sister pays for the damages. I'd then remember the damages(this is all happening as I type this post): Luther sticking his toe in the faucet while taking a bath because he saw a sign that side "don't stick toe up tap" and after doing it he'd rip the sign off and behind it said "do not remove sign" I'd then recall both the scene of the sister paying and for the two signs and the scene where someone has to cut the faucet off with a saw to free Luther then I'd recall him skateboarding with the thing still on his toe. This goes on until I exhaust my memory or recall the entire episode. I recommend you try this long term recall: Find something you haven't thought about in years and see how much you can scrounge out of your brain. I can do this with books although it's less autistic. Although I never "intentionally" tried to remember Z&L, in fact I didn't even like that show, I can intentionally recall it although not as easily or completely as things I try to remember—when I started typing all I had was the thing about the hotel; even as I type now more memories of that episode and the show are flooding my mind.

[Anonymous No.16607546]

>>16607356
A lot of Alzheimer's results from people not giving their brains enough work. Also eat brain food. I'm more worried about become a schizophrenic or other neurological issues like that (I'm the guy writing the long ass rants about my memory). People with photographic memories are always riddled with issues; I don't think the human brain was meant to function with too great a memory—it's probably very taxing to be taking in and absorbing so much information while also being able to recall it at anytime—regardless of how useful it is. I worry that my brother's might get Alzheimer's early on. When we visited home we played table tennis and I beat him but less than an hour later he had forgotten who had won and thought he was the one who won (he wasn't messing around either); he'll forget conversations you just had with him a day ago; he even forgets the most basic information: I try to expand his knowledge by giving him little quizzes on basic stuff and to make sure he retains it I repeat questions he gets wrong a year later. Last year I asked him how gravity worked, he suggested it had to do with the core of the Earth, I corrected him. I asked him again this year he suggested something to do with magnets it pisses me off. One question he's gotten wrong 4 years in a row is naming a few amphibians: The first three years he had to ask what an amphibian even was and even this forth year, despite me giving him the answers for four years he can only name frog and that's after thinking about it for a while. Lucky for him he can study but damn, why is he like this? Another one he never remembers is Einstein's theory of relatively or it's equation or even remember what E=M2 means. These are easy questions that an adult has no place not knowing, and he thinks I'm the asshole for being shocked at his ignorance. Of course dogs came from wolves, I told you the answer last year

[Anonymous No.16607718]

>>16607546
I'm the anon you were talking with, I assumed you were trying to focus on something so I stopped responding. If this thread is still alive tomorrow I will bump it, but I'd like to let the information sink in a bit. In the meantime I'm looking up some more resources. Supposedly "Your Memory: How it Works and How to Improve it" is quite good. This is the table of contents: https://imgur.com/a/n8KPo

The topic of Alzheimer's is kind of a bummer because even today we know hardly anything about it.

[Anonymous No.16607770]

>>16607546
Yeah, seems like a lot of spinning wheels. The encyclopedic knowledge can be forgiven (even the more rudimentary portions - I guess), but the outcome of the table tennis match seems frightening. I am continuously exercising my brain with both trivial and, what I consider, advanced topics. I also consider it to be a vital component of living. I've had my share of run-ins with people who don't feel the same and have glaring holes in their knowledge of the world. E=MC2!, you can't leave out the light, my man! The derivation of the field equations, the metric tensors, its variables, and all that jazz is hardly a minimal standard of remembrance, of course, I don't know your brother! Live and let live I guess. You can bring a horse to water but you can't make it drink. I suppose adages have their uses, the old farts have gotten tired of explaining things and have condensed conversation down into its most salient, idiomatic aspect!

[Anonymous No.16608325]

>>16606413
How the actual fuck do you not know your age in your 20s? That’s retardation

[Anonymous No.16608360]

>>16608325
I don't care.

[Anonymous No.16608546]

>>16606396
I'm late thirties and my memory (as are my back and knees) constantly fails me. It's partly due to drugs and alcohol abuse.
I remember when I was young I found it odd that my dad couldn't think the name of an actor or football player and now it happens to me all the time. Hope I have ten good years left

[Anonymous No.16608549]

>>16608325
It really stops mattering when you're no longer in school

[Anonymous No.16608571]

>imagine an object in perpetual motion in my mind
>mfw i can't stop the motion

[Anonymous No.16609296]

>>16606724
I played rugby as a child, but not really that harsh.

[Anonymous No.16609900]

>>16606753
I absolutely despise writing, highlighting or altering books in any way, and anyone who does as well.

[Anonymous No.16609928]

>>16606900
>>16606923
>two IQ pseuds fighting over who has the highest 'intellect number'
Read Taleb

[Anonymous No.16609938]

>>16609928
>Arab
No.

[Anonymous No.16610208]

>>16606396
>be me
>late teen maybe 20 yo
>my memory is shit
>go search help in the library, my library only had a book (pic related)
> I read it, it was kind of interesting spoke about the human mind more than learning techniques, and it didn't help at all.
> fast forward a year later, I see the same book somewhere, I recognize it but can't remember where from and it bugged me, until days later I finally remembered that I read it.

TLDR: I forgot I read a book about how to remember just a year after I read it

[Anonymous No.16610337]

>>16607546
Have you considered writing an autobiography?

[Anonymous No.16610387]

>>16606579
I have an idea for a story from this, would you like it? It's a bit creepy

[Anonymous No.16610754]

>>16610387
not him but fuck you if it creepy

[Anonymous No.16610761]

>>16610754
I'll keep it to myself then.

[Anonymous No.16612139]

>>16608360
>>16608549
Not being able to track your age in your 20s is not something that occurs through a lack of interest

[Anonymous No.16613585]

>>16610337
On the off chance that you're not just making fun of my rampant blogposting, my life isn't fit for an autobiography: There is triumph or victory in my life; my life is one of compromises resulting from cosmic, societal and personal oppressions and self sabotage. I move forward because I refuse to cease, for continuing this life where a rational man would conflagrate themselves is my revolt against those powers and punishment against myself. My life is boring and painfully so

[Anonymous No.16613590]

>>16613585
>There is triumph or victory in my life
*There is no triumph or victory

[Anonymous No.16613946]

>>16612139
Yeah it is.

[Anonymous No.16613969]

>have an incredible memory, can remember every name of person I’ve ever met, ace test without studying, etc.
>late high school/early college smoke weed everyday and get multiple concussions from skating
>can barely remember my own address
Wtf did I do bros

[Anonymous No.16614348]

>>16613969
>turning yourself into a brainlet
That is such a frightening concept. RIP I hope you at least stopped with the kush. I had friends in highschool who became massive addicts that you can't even hold a conversation with them they're so brain dead

[Anonymous No.16614638]

>>16606396
>>16606405
sleep will and eat properly bros. Have been getting 3-4 hours of shit sleep for the last month and rarely eating or exercise and have been getting signs of early onset alzheimers

[Anonymous No.16614727]

>>16606396
Could be early onset dementia

[Anonymous No.16615994]

Woah, take the /fit/ pill you dipshits.

[Anonymous No.16616164]

>>16606722
ok niklas

[Anonymous No.16616190]

yeah this happens to me a lot too. good thing most books i read are ones i physically buy because otherwise i would have the same issues (even though i'm early 20s) very discouraging sometimes when you open a book and are aware of the fact that you're not gonna remember much. for example i read birth of tragedy about a year ago and remember nothing from it besides the basic apollonian / dionysian distinction which could be found in a 30sec google search.

[Anonymous No.16617099]

>>16615994
What does that have to do with anything?

[Anonymous No.16618127]

>all these memorylets

[Anonymous No.16618941]

>>16609928
I'm being satirical: my point is that everyone on this board claims to be at least 150.

[Anonymous No.16620050]

>>16618941
I'm 136. More than likely dropped points since I tested.

[Anonymous No.16620669]

>>16620050
Yeah but you can't deny that the users of this board love to think they're geniuses

[Anonymous No.16620676]

>>16609928
>Read x
>instead of explaining your point
sub 100 detected.

[Anonymous No.16620864]

>>16620669
Wish people were more humble. Lead by example.

[Anonymous No.16620914]

>>16609296
you probably had concussions and now have lifelong memory issues

[Anonymous No.16622227]

>>16620864
Okay. My IQ is only higher than yours.