Back about the time of living on the park at the mill village (1987-1996); the children would ask me a question about the past and I, being unable to recall and sure that I was losing my mind, would often respond that I was in memory overflow. I explained that I couldn't recall the answer to their question because i had learned so much in life that my memory was full to the brim. In that state, in order to learn something new, it was necessary to forget something to make room - and I had forgotten the answer to their question.
Being a nerd I knew that it happened with computers all the time. It made "perfect sense" to me at the time (while thinking I was in early onset dementia).
Well I was right. Who knew?
I found the following late breaking information in the front page comments of The Week, February 7, 2014, by William Falk, Editor in Chief:
"I can't remember when I've heard a more encouraging bit of news. All those times I couldn't recall someone's name, or a new PIN or password, or where I'd left my keys or my supermarket list, were not signs that my mind is sliding into senescence. This frequent forgetting of new information only demonstrates just how much I already know! So says a new study by German researchers, who have concluded that the otherwise healthy brains of people over 45 resemble computers that have been loaded with an enormous amount of data: They whir and click, with the "wait" signal flashing, as they upload new information or sift through the old.
It makes perfect sense. Consider the volume of data I'm storing between my ears. The name of the girl I had a wicked crush on in fourth grade (Janice). Cleon Jones's batting average in 1969 (.340). The life stories of old girlfriends, their siblings' and parents' names, how they liked their coffee. Mental maps of dozens of places I've lived or visited, from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, to Salt Lake City, to Florence, Italy. Dozens of old phone numbers. How to drive a stick shift. The plots of thousands of novels and the basic premise of thousands of books. Millions of articles. Tens of thousands of songs. The lyrics of the theme from The Beverly Hillbillies. And along with all this flotsam, the deep wisdom only long experience can bring. As cognitive specialist Denise Park said in response to the study's findings, "There's a reason we don't have 20-year-olds running the world." Damn right! And as soon as I can remember what it is, I'll tell you."
Well, there you go.
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If you would like to see my collection of Carolina Lowcountry memories—"Magnolia Elegy: Place In the Edisto Fork," you can view the book trailer here, and see the book page here on the publisher's website. The book is also available from Amazon, B&N, and your independent local bookseller.
