Testing Memory

Hyperthymesmestic Syndrome

That wonderfully described condition occurs when a person remembers too much. It could describe many of my friends, but, seriously, it is a fascinating and unusual problem for some rare individuals.

University of California researchers, Jim McGaugh, Larry Cahill and Elizabeth Parker, have just discovered such a person and published their findings in the journal Neurocase.

The woman in question, code named AJ, can remember fantastically well: she has “nonstop, uncontrollable and automatic” memory of everything in her personal history. Given any date over the last 20 years she can remember the weather and events that happened on that day. On the other hand, she can not memorize numbers particularly well.

I don’t know how seriously to take all this, I have not read the article, but it is a reminder that we have incredible memory capability. The tests we promote cannot ever plumb the depths of human memory. Maybe we can help track the surface changes and help understand long term trends. But there is a lot to learn and remember.

posted by Henry Bowles @ 10:46 PM