Some aspects of memory get better as we age(nytimes.com)
nytimes.com
Some aspects of memory get better as we age
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/10/opinion/sunday/age-memory.html
6 comments
I strongly relate to the issue with homonyms getting mixed up. I don't think I made a single mistake of that nature between the ages of 15 and 30, but they started to creep in as more of the thought -> typing pathway get ever more embedded in muscle memory and other unconscious mechanisms.
The same has happened to me. I used to never make mistakes with homonyms but now do so quite frequently.
I had assumed it was somehow related to changing technology and how that ties into my mental pathways. Now you all have me curious if perhaps it’s an artifact of aging
I had assumed it was somehow related to changing technology and how that ties into my mental pathways. Now you all have me curious if perhaps it’s an artifact of aging
Same here. However I also notice that my writing has got better as my spelling has deteriorated. Perhaps the brain the moves up through higher abstraction levels as it ages.
whenever I was anxious and tense, I would forget names immediately. When I was younger, I was anxious and tense pretty much all the time.
As I age, I both get calmer (peace) as well as don't give a shit (cynic). I think these both help me remembering names.
As I age, I both get calmer (peace) as well as don't give a shit (cynic). I think these both help me remembering names.
I've never had anyone in my family with dementia, alzheimers, etc., but as I'm approach 50 I'm finding that there are times that I know that I know the word for something, but I can't recall what the word is without a lot of effort (and sometimes a google search). I haven't bothered to look up if that is common, mostly because I don't want to find out that it is common - but only for people that are experiencing early-onset something.
No, it's common and it will gradually increase. It has nothing to do with dementia. I've been working with several people in their 90s who are still mentally sharp enough that our work is based on my need for their expertise (nothing to do with their own health), and they universally complain about this "tip of the tongue" problem, which I began noticing in myself a few years back. It's frustrating but not a sign of dementia.
I have a variation of this problem, where I'd speak one language and the word I'm looking for would pop in another & the same in the language I'm actually using in the moment will remain frustratingly elusive (I speak 3 languages regularly - German with my wife & immediate environment, Hebrew with my mother & other relatives and English online/at work).
Only bilingual but have a similar problem living in an English speaking country but practicing my native language regularly enough.
I end up forgetting some pretty basic words in both languages quite regularly
I end up forgetting some pretty basic words in both languages quite regularly
"It has nothing to do with dementia"
It might not be/probably isn't. It can be dementia, or drugs you are taking, or drugs you are not taking, or serious illness, or metabolic problems, or nothing at all.
If it gets better, it wasn't dementia or terminal illness.
It might not be/probably isn't. It can be dementia, or drugs you are taking, or drugs you are not taking, or serious illness, or metabolic problems, or nothing at all.
If it gets better, it wasn't dementia or terminal illness.
It doesn't have to get better to not be dementia.
I agree that if there is a sudden increase, you should first ask yourself about recent lifestyle changes (sleep, alcohol/drugs, medicines, recent general anesthesia) and ask a doctor if you're still concerned.
But although a sudden increase can be a symptom of something else--especially in combination with other symptoms--a gradual increase beginning in mid-life is a symptom of the "terminal illness" of ordinary aging.
I agree that if there is a sudden increase, you should first ask yourself about recent lifestyle changes (sleep, alcohol/drugs, medicines, recent general anesthesia) and ask a doctor if you're still concerned.
But although a sudden increase can be a symptom of something else--especially in combination with other symptoms--a gradual increase beginning in mid-life is a symptom of the "terminal illness" of ordinary aging.
> It doesn't have to get better to not be dementia.
That may be true, but that's not what he said.
That may be true, but that's not what he said.
If I remember right... there was some research or an article I read about this awhile back. The issue is actually the older you get, the more 'stuff' is stored in your memory. And so the search process gets more inefficient - the data really is there, it is just harder or slower to find it. Otherwise, the stories I remember of very old people easily remembering little details of their childhood would not make sense.
I wonder if this explains why my grandfather would go on and on about the war (II) as if it happened yesterday.
Since we're doing opinion pieces:
I have seen first hand from family and relatives who are well in their 70s and 80s what good memory is like. Uncanny ability to recall dates, times and conversations at the drop of a hat that occurred anywhere from last week to decades ago.
Though I've never felt like I've had an above average memory, I've been told many times I do. One thing I have noticed is that as of the last few years, my memory over all has improved. I can better remember what things look like, sound like, smell like. The most vague and abstract of sounds can set off a reaction of memories that feels like reminiscing to some degree, and yet the trigger sound has very little, if anything in common with the actual memory. If I try hard enough, I can pull out a very long-term memory from seemingly nowhere.
I hope this stays, but hearing intelligent and active people developing Alzheimer's is something that always saddens.
I have seen first hand from family and relatives who are well in their 70s and 80s what good memory is like. Uncanny ability to recall dates, times and conversations at the drop of a hat that occurred anywhere from last week to decades ago.
Though I've never felt like I've had an above average memory, I've been told many times I do. One thing I have noticed is that as of the last few years, my memory over all has improved. I can better remember what things look like, sound like, smell like. The most vague and abstract of sounds can set off a reaction of memories that feels like reminiscing to some degree, and yet the trigger sound has very little, if anything in common with the actual memory. If I try hard enough, I can pull out a very long-term memory from seemingly nowhere.
I hope this stays, but hearing intelligent and active people developing Alzheimer's is something that always saddens.
I always felt it was more like there was more to search through, so now searches took longer kind of feeling. Not that the memory was worse but that there was often more of a pause before finding the words.
Agreed. Up until I was about 20 years old I could remember details about seeing movies such as which venue (theater, house) and which familiar people were present. Eventually that started to fade.
Nowadays, after another 20 years, some movies get re-watched and it's like I'm watching them for the first time. It just seems like the catalog is too large and the significance of seeing a movie is much lower.
I think we may all have slightly different "file systems" as well too. So one person's memory might fail in a different way. Similarly, I think we may all have different methods of facial recognition. Note how some people will say "oh, this person looks so much like that person" while you might really disagree.
Nowadays, after another 20 years, some movies get re-watched and it's like I'm watching them for the first time. It just seems like the catalog is too large and the significance of seeing a movie is much lower.
I think we may all have slightly different "file systems" as well too. So one person's memory might fail in a different way. Similarly, I think we may all have different methods of facial recognition. Note how some people will say "oh, this person looks so much like that person" while you might really disagree.
I'm obscenely young, but have you ever not remembered something, and then stopped thinking about it, and a day or two later the memory hit you like a train out of nowhere?
That's happened twice to me, and it's as if the brain spawned a search daemon that worked in the background and successfully returned (along with the context of the query) later. uwu Das cwazy...
Also there's no way computer analogies can't flawlessly capture neurology.
That's happened twice to me, and it's as if the brain spawned a search daemon that worked in the background and successfully returned (along with the context of the query) later. uwu Das cwazy...
Also there's no way computer analogies can't flawlessly capture neurology.
It's a good analogy and with a few variants.
As you said, there's the one where conscious and unconscious feel at odds with each other and can't seem to run the same search at the same time.
One workaround is being close to remembering a name and counting through the alphabet until you hesitate on a letter then it'll just pop to the surface. It works well i think because we're visualizing the person while discounting false leads. (left-brain/right-brain bridge)
As you said, there's the one where conscious and unconscious feel at odds with each other and can't seem to run the same search at the same time.
One workaround is being close to remembering a name and counting through the alphabet until you hesitate on a letter then it'll just pop to the surface. It works well i think because we're visualizing the person while discounting false leads. (left-brain/right-brain bridge)
I recently lost something I bought, thought I'd accidentally thrown it away, and a day or two later found it in the refrigerator (it wasn't edible).
Having read everything in this thread, I think every anecdote here is misattributed.
I think the whole population is experiencing an information overload and all the correlations with age have nothing to do with cause.
I think the whole population is experiencing an information overload and all the correlations with age have nothing to do with cause.
If I had to pick a reason why, I think it's because I see the world now more through other people's eyes. So certain behaviors become easier as empathy improves. Almost like, remembering someone's name is less important because I already care how their day went or whatever, so asking them to remind me again what their name is, is more of an afterthought than a crisis. With the pressure off, remembering it just happens.
On the other hand, I've acquired a small degree of something like dyslexia, so sentence structure doesn't just automatically fall into place like it used to. I also sometimes accidentally swap words like "their" and "they're", which literally never happened once in decades. I think my brain shifted gears from being pedantic to letting the small stuff slide. But I think my disposition is more at ease now, so I'm not sure that I'd go back.