The Mnemonist

Some of the most successful people have short memories. Events happen and they forget them entirely.

A far cry from this is a mnemonist – someone whose memory is so incredible they can remember all the numbers of pi, for instance.

I forget things very easily in the short term. If you give me a list of five things to do, I’ll forget four of them immediately. I never remember anyone’s name upon first introduction. I’ve always wondered how I can remedy this.

My long term memory is much better. I remember obscure details of where I met somebody, exactly what someone said, what people wore, how they reacted to something. Only through practice have I learned to forget these things, or detach the (good or bad) meaning that caused it to be so memorable.

As the mnemonist must know from his experience of retaining incredible amounts of memories, I know that some things are better forgotten.