What types are best at remembering what types of things?

[The Exception]

People claim to have a good memory or a bad memory but memory is really a broad concept. There are many different kinds of memory and I suspect certain types of memory come easier to some types than others.

I've read from multiple sources that logical types tend to find it easier to remember facts and figures than names and faces. Reverse is true for ethical types. I know this is certainly true for myself. For some odd reason, I've always found it easy to remember numbers and people wonder how I can memorize things like my library card number or license plate number off the top of my head.

Names and faces for me take more effort. It's not uncommon for someone to tell me their name only to find I forget it right away. That gets kind of embarrasing. Faces are kind of a hit or miss thing for me. If the face is rather nondescript looking and not distinctive enough, I'll probably forget it unless its someone I see frequently.

There's also short-term memory and long-term memory. I've always been stronger in long-term memory than short-term.

There's also remembering that you have to do something at a later time. Again, this is something that's hit or miss for me. If its something I do on a regular basis, I'm not likely to forget it. If its a one-time event, I may forget it if I don't have some kind of reminder. Once in a while I've entered something in my daily planner, and completely forgot about it because I *forgot* to look at my planner. What I find works for me is to place the reminder where you know you're going to see it. The planner is normally in my purse hidden from view, but if I put the post-it note right in front of the computer, I know I'll see it because I'm on the computer several hours each day. Its a simple piece of advice that I think many people neglect.

[Trevor]

They say you're more likely to remember what you're interested in. There, find out what interests different types.

[The Exception]

Last week (Wed/Thurs) there was a dead amardillo about 30 feet from CR 1081, I took Exit 93B, and parked in Row 14, and left the store at 2:23. My student ID when I was in college over 10 years ago was 255883-1. I've lived in over 20 different houses, some for a very short time and I can draw the layout of every one of them. That's the kind of stuff that gets stored in my brain with almost no effort. Totally useless stuff, hah. I can remember names if I try to. I'll forget things on my grocery list though, or that I needed to get. I'm always doing that, and since I hate shopping, I have to keep a running list to take with me. I sometimes forget appointments or events, and have a planner that if I check it once in the morning saves me from embarrassment that way.

My dad has a photographic memory for some things. When framing subdivision houses (you know groups of identical houses, or where just part of the plan is flipped, but they're still basically the same) after completing just one house he had every single measurement and every cut and angle memorized. He told me that in college on tests he could go to the exact page in his head that the answers were on, and read it down to the page number. But he forgets or confuses names easily. Once went to the wrong town entirely to bid on a job because he mixed up the name.

Did you forget that you already posted this before?

[JWC3]

i'm an actor, memory is my shtick. i rock it in every possible way and in all areas.

[xerx]

You have a very high (possibly nearly-photographic) memory in your base function. Possibly in your other strong functions if you choose to develop them.

[silverchris9]

You have a very high (possibly nearly-photographic) memory in your base function.

Possibly true. I remember poems pretty well, although usually only snippets of lines. I guess what I'm saying is that I remember my Ni observations about myself (which tend to take a developmental character; that is, this is where I was, this is where I'm going; this is how the process unfolds in time). On the other hand, I often cannot remember formulations of what I was thinking (i.e., lines that I've written). I have to write it down or I lose it. Actually some of my "insights" are the same: I have to write them down, or I forget them. I have no memory, so I write lyric poems.

I have good short term memory, but I think that's not type related. I was always great at memorizing things for school the night (or the hour) before and then regurgitating them on the test (and then rapidly forgetting them all). But like I said, I don't think that's type related.

I can't remember names and faces at all. Like, at all. I have the world's worst memory for names. Actually, that first sentence was a lie. I always remember the person's face (although I have forgotten where I know people from before), but I never remember their name. It's really sad. I can memorize facts and figures fine, although I normally forget them. I can't remember phone numbers though. If I get a text message with a phone number in it, I will type the number in right after looking at the message and still get one or two numbers wrong, and then I'll have to look back at the text to get it right.

[Brilliand]

You have a very high (possibly nearly-photographic) memory in your base function. Possibly in your other strong functions if you choose to develop them.

Some of Labcoat's statements would suggest that the creative function is better at this.

One thing that I relate to that I've seen in LII descriptions is just remembering the conclusions of my reasoning, and creating new supporting reasoning whenever I want to explain them to someone. Low-memory or low-memory ?

[xerx]

Some of Labcoat's statements would suggest that the creative function is better at this.

One thing that I relate to that I've seen in LII descriptions is just remembering the conclusions of my reasoning, and creating new supporting reasoning whenever I want to explain them to someone. Low-memory or low-memory ?

Come to think of it, the ability to quickly forget unimportant details or previously-accepted ones is very important in learning.

[krieger]

Some of Labcoat's statements would suggest that the creative function is better at this.

Not sure what you're getting at here.

[DirectorAbbie]

I have an excellent memory, though my long-term memory is somewhat better than my short-term memory. My SLE brother won't admit it, but he has a poor long-term memory, especially where time is concerned. I remember time by remembering times of events and compating other events to those, like a fill-in-the-blank timeline.

I'm good at remembering both pictures and sounds. I sometimes remember what was meant, I often remember the context, and I usually remember word-for-word.

[cracka]

I can always remember a person's face, if I've ever met someone irl, you could line up with 100 other people who look similar and I'd easily be able to pick you out, even from one interaction of a few seconds.

Sometimes I'm ok with names, but it depends on how I meet the person and if it's really relevant to know their name later on down the road... in some cases, I may see that person again and it'll be one of those, "hey, I remember you from xxxxxx but I'm having trouble with your name, how's it going?" The usual response is typically I'm xxxx and I remember you too. I'm good, thanks." etc.

[Blaze]

i have a very clear memory for each year of my life, of specific colors, faces, my own line of reasoning/thought process, a compelling theory.

i have a terrible memory for details, people's names, some people's idiotic reasoning.

lol

[The Greeter]

I have a serious trouble remembering people's names. I'm very good at remembering what someone said. Up to the point of being rather creepy when I bring it up months or years later. Just FYI, I read the forum and I remember, more or less, anything anyone had said. Anything you say can and will be used against you.

Same here, although some people are actually flattered by this!

[jewels]

I'm best at remembering:

*faces, and facial expressions
*social situations, who said what, what happened, etc.
*dance routines -- I have a bunch of high school dance routines still memorized over 10 years later, and could still do several of them completely
*play dialogue -- also have probably a half hour of high school play lines memorized, also over 10 years later (long term memory is good I'm guessing)
*plans I've made (social plans more than work ones)
*feelings from the past (my own and others)
*Turning points in my own and other's lives

BAD at remembering:

*dates, times things happened, years things happened, months things happened
*names unless I hear them 5-7 times
*anything a waitress would have to remember, if you piled on a list of longer than say four items (probably bad short term memory)
*data, facts, numbers, specifics

I'm that person who says something happened, a month or maybe three months ago, in a store, or maybe in a mall? In either New York or New Jersey, and it was a certain amount of money that was stolen during some time of the day. (Is that missing Te?)

[Brilliand]

Come to think of it, the ability to quickly forget unimportant details or previously-accepted ones is very important in learning.

That's called lossy compression.

Not sure what you're getting at here.

I'm basing this on your view of the creative function as representing completed knowledge and the base function as representing knee-jerk reactions. This sort of makes the base function short-term memory and the creative function long-term memory.

[implied]

i remember most all of what i hear, at least melodic things.

[consentingadult]

My SEI GF is a sort of walking wiki when it comes to movies and 70/80 pop music, and some other areas of the entertainment industry. E.g. she knows practically every mainstream movie since the 60ties, andeven many before that, who played who in which movie, who got an Academy Award etc. And when she talks about it, it sounds pretty factual, and she's hardly ever wrong.

I think that must be Fe-related, because when it comes to other things (e.g. what happenend yesterday), her memories screw up completely.

[Creepy-Cyclops]

I've found gammas like to remember lot's of stuff, they're just not that good at putting the knowledge into practice imo, which could be a quadra difference observation or something b4 anyone maybe wants to get defensive, lol.

[crazedrat]

cyclops, do you remember no one listens to you?