– how come we can remember lyrics of songs heard 10, maybe 20 years ago but we forget to remove the tea bag from the cup ?
In: 2868
Songs = emotions.
Teabag = not so much.
People remember emotions much better, also stimulating multiple senses helps (hearing a song when watching a movie or meeting someone, hugging someone during a song etc.)
I strongly believe that passing oral traditions through the generations with song was a critical survival factor for our hominid ancestors, such that we store songs separately and redundantly.
You do remember taking the bag out of the cup. You just don’t remember which day you did that.
Just a speculation and I would welcome others’ insight.
It’s a difference of long term and short term memory. We are often taught mnemonic devices to move things to our long term memory: Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally for order of operations (go America!) and singing the letters to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to learn the Alphabet.
It’s easier to remember lyrics to that song from 10 years ago because the instruments and rhythm are mnemonic devices. If I stomp my feet twice then clap ( boom boom clap ) that can trigger We Will Rock You.
Edit to add:
In theory, you could make mnemonic device to remove your tea bag. Maybe play We Will Rock You every time you brew tea.
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Well I dont think you remember everything at the same time in the moment you should remember your tea. If in that situation someone asked you If you remember that you have a teabag in your tea right now, you would remember it, wouldnt you? You cant compare those two kinds of remembering something in that way.
I once pupped into a parking space and started to get out of the car before realizing I left it in drive… but those Sum 41 songs are bangin’
It’s like RAM and ROM.
Stored things are easy to access and things that you work on can easily be deleted and not recovered
People remove the tea bag from the cup? I just hold it opposite to the side I drink on.
One tends to remember things well that have an emotional connection, and the emotion associated with an event is often the most vivid part of the memory.
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