Date: Fri, 20 Jul 2001
Alphabetical Memory
Thomas M. Miovas, Jr.
>><HB: Let me ask if you visualize words in your mind,
>>frequently? I do. I often "see" them printed out in
>>my mind. And I can't grasp a name fully without
>>learning how it is spelled so I can visualize it.
>>But I don't think this visual orientation is universal.>
My memory for names and words seems to be more focused on the sound of the
words, rather than how they are spelled; though certainly knowing how a
name or a word is spelled is helpful in the recall of that word. Once I
know how it is spelled I can then more easily remember how it is pronounced
and thus remember it better.
However, I have a very tough time remembering people's names unless I know
them well or have had some continuous correspondence with them. This is
rather embarrassing when dealing with customers at the frame shop I work
at, especially when they come in or call to ask if their work is completed.
Often, even if I see them I can't remember their name or what we talked
about during the sale or what items were picked out for framing; but if I
ask them what their picture was, I can recall everything about the
conversation and even what I was thinking about during the sale (which
often has to do with many things other than the sale, as I multiplex my
thinking during "down times" in the conversation). I don't even remember
the numbers or names of frames or mats that go with the order, but I recall
vividly what they look like and can pick them out again with ease, once I
remember the picture being framed.
In other words, I seem to index my observations according to images and
sounds, rather than by the way words look when written down. This carries
over into my dreaming as well -- I can't remember a dream where I was
reading words, but I have many that are full of images and sounds. And when
I'm writing a story, an essay, or a poem, it is the sounds of the words I
hear rather than seeing the words printed out in my mind.
