A friend and I were chatting on whatsapp recently when this little bit was part of the exchange. The context was about transformation of personalities, which however is irrelevant for this post.
Young Friend: Sir, do you find good memory a blessing or a curse?
Yours Truly: A blessing for me. I don’t have many bad ones in my life to handle. I know some good friends who had many unpleasantnesses in their growing up who wish they had poorer memories.
I often wish that I had a poorer memory when some thoughts of the past, not necessarily negative, but of pain like the death of a loved one, or a couple of lost opportunities due to prior commitments come up. Overwhelmingly however, I have pleasant memories to cheer me up like the many good things that have happened in my life, and continue to happen.
Memory however is now not necessarily a great asset as just about everything can be stored away somewhere called the cloud and recalled at need. I wonder if people will therefore stop using their memories in the future like my generation did and do now. I see some examples like when I go shopping, when I do not need a calculator to total up a list of figures, whereas much younger assistants do.
I love it when the retail business loses power and can’t open their cash drawers/tils – or can’t seem to add up simple amounts of money – let alone work out how to give change!
i.e. you give them $5 for a $3.50 sale and they can’t work out the change required or count it back into your hand!
I enjoy showing off my mental arithmetic skills in shops too!
“I do not need a calculator to total up a list of figures, whereas much younger assistants do.” … My elderly wife purchased a few small items in a pharmacy and handed the assistant the correct amount of cash, only to be asked by an amazed young assistant … “How did you do that ?”
Yes, it is mystery to them when oldies like us do that!