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Monday, December 5, 2011

I've likely already forgotten this too.

Image from here.
There's new research that suggests forgetting is linked to doorways. Apparently, when we travel through a doorway, our brains use this "event-gateway" as a visual signal to file information away and then move on. This explains why we sometimes can't recall why we entered a room.

This makes sense to me. I compare it to sorta closing a window on my computer. In other words, "I'm done with that. Next."

And this is why I love wacky scientists. They explain my brain glitches. They make me less pathetic. It's not age, it's not stress, it's not lack of sleep, it's not watching Teen Mom 2, it's the doorway's fault.

However, despite my new-found excuse/dubious scientific principle, this information conjures in my brain a variety of other pea-brained theories and thoughts and questions:

1. Do you think this explains why open-concept homes evolved?
2. This doesn't explain that one time (ok, maybe three times) I phoned someone and then I was surprised who said hello because I forgot who I was calling.
3. Nor does this explain what I was looking for in the fridge a few minutes ago.
4. But it does explain Scooby Doo and the gang becoming so discombobulated in all those classic hall of doors scenes and maybe even why people became idiots on Let's Make a Deal.
5. I think it explains this too but it doesn't explain....

...Oops. I can't remember the conclusion to #5. I left my office for a moment, promptly forgot I was writing this, and returned several hours later. Damn doorways.

12 comments:

Sub Radar (Mike) said...

Yet more evidence as to why I should live in a treehouse with a hammock.

karensomethingorother said...

wait--what were we talking about? Ha ha, I kid, but oh man, I am brutal with those mental doorways.

Trooper Thorn said...

Why doesn't Darth Vader remember that he build C3-P0 back when he was Anakin?

Alistair said...

You don't need to remember - just believe whatever your wife tells you!

Rubye Jack said...

Damn doorways!
Number 1 was particularly funny to me. Don't know why though. Lately I've been practicing counting backwards by 7 from 100 so the next time they give me that test, I'll remember. :-) duh

Windsmoke. said...

If you remember too much you'll get headaches and then your head will explode from too much information :-).

Angela@BeggingTheAnswer said...

too funny - I love this theory!

Nicole Leigh Shaw said...

That ties it, I'm not leaving the house. Well, not by door, anyway.

Pickleope said...

What about those bead curtain doorway things? If I walk through that do I get a scattered memory? Or to have a bead curtain am I stoned in the first place and likely to forget everything anyway? Awww man, I took the wrong lessons from Scooby Doo.

Anonymous said...

So it isn't the wine then? This is such good news? I hope I don't forget it.

Symdaddy said...

A wise man ... or woman (I forget) ... once said 'If you can't remember something, then it never happened. I you do remember something, then the memory will undoubtedly be embellished beyond the realms of possibility'

Or something of that ilk anyway.

I like the idea of mental doorways.
I have one question though: Are they 'push' or 'pull' doors?

When I think of how often I push when a pull would suffice ...

Sultan said...

I was going to leave a clever comment but I have forgotten what I was going to say.

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