Discussion
Sometimes I forget a word, or a name, and I'm really worried, I'm worried about getting old, I'm worried about losing what makes me sharp and accurate, I'm worried about losing what makes me me. I worry about losing an accurate sense of the universe.
Earlier today I forgot Brendan Eich's name and had to look it up. And that one moment, during which I couldn't remember Brendan Eich's name, was kind of pleasant, like cool water when you've been baking in the sun
@mcc This is just how I ADHD, but I can remember useless trivia amazingly well. Weird min-maxing in my character sheet.
@mcc Having this same set of feelings today, but regarding not remembering Joe Manchin's name.
It's not entirely an age thing, since I can clearly remember times from the early 2010s when I forgot the names of well known people. I just worry now about the frequency of instances and whether it signals cognitive decline.
@mcc There's a reason why many good people say, "I'm shit with names." Because they're just that.
As for actual words - yesterday I could not remember "pina colada", embarrassingly. But I certainly remembered the taste. So I bought two cans today, yay. Details fade, but connections grow stronger.
@mcc Yesterday I temporarily forgot Richard Posner's name, but only because my brain accidentally collapsed him and Robert Bork into the same person. So I didn't get any real reprieve and, after some brief confusion, I had to remind myself that there's been a whole lot of these celebrated assholes.
@nick_evans *coughs quietly* I think the word you're looking for is "so many *dicks*"
@mcc eternal sunshine of the spotless mind (2026)
@mcc Fortunately my brain has been like this all my life. So not only is it not a sign of aging, but even if it does get worse as I age, I already have the coping mechanisms in place.
@mcc Decades ago now my gf was searching for something in her apartment. And when I asked her what she was looking for, she said, "I can't remember what it's called in English or in Japanese. But in German it's fingerhut."
I said, "That's thimble. And I don't know where it is."
Both of us English natives ...