Tuesday, May 13, 2025

Gooseberry Blossoms

Brother Brent and I were talking.  He worries that he's losing his memory because he can walk from one part of the house to another and forget what he was going to do.  I said I did it too but had heard something on National Public Radio (NPR) about Threshold Syndrome a/k/a Doorway Effect.  Your memory doesn't flow through the day interrupted only by sleep.  Turns out it's based on episodes which are stored temporarily in our brains along w/ a timestamp and location.  When we change location - even just going from one website to another - it can act as a boundary marker starting a new memory segment.  You can immunize yourself against forgetting why you walked into the kitchen (for example) if you remain single minded on your current task but that isn't always practical w/ multiple distractions along the way.  Fortunately, when I get to a new room and I can't remember what I came for,  I just look around and there will be something else that needs doing there.

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