INTP long-term memory - how does it work?

[AureliaSeverina]

I'm an INTJ and obsessed with learning stuff, but as soon as something has no practical relevance I forget it. I need to be able to use knowledge either at work or in an exam or give impromptu lectures to unsuspecting by-standers etc. So I end up being torn between learning something new and revising topics that I have forgotten.
Now, my INTP friend remembers things from decades back, albeit in a general, abstract way. E.g. he remembers that a particular newspaper slagged off different professions in the 90s (Ne-spotting a pattern?) and even the order in which they had a go at each group. He just reads the newspaper for fun, his job has nothing to do with politics.

How long can you guys remember things you learned? When you read books, do you use any reading/ learning strategy or do you just soak up the information automatically? Do you talk to yourself in your mind and say "Ah, I can spot this and that pattern, I must remember it so I can talk about it in 10 years." or does it just happen naturally? Do you consciously make lists or categorise things in your head or do you do it automatically?

 

[MissQuote]

I remember things I learned in the past in a 'general abstract' way (as you put it). Often this leads to me being able to understand subjects at hand far better than I can participate in the discussing of them if a conversation is being had by others. But also leads to others being surprised when I can put in my two cents intelligently, add a fact or point out an error or make a connection to something obscure but related, when I had appeared to not know anything about the subject or not be interested in it because of my silence.

I remember everything, but never really had much practical relevance for learning any of it in the first place. Often, when I need help jogging the specific facts up instead of the general ones, I find it easier to recall where I learned something, in which book for example and under what influence of interest (what was I looking into at the time I learned about such and such) and then it is just a simple matter of finding that particular book on the shelf and getting the specifics straight.

 

[Peripheral Visionary]

I've spent some time studying memory, so let me offer some observations.

It would be nice if memory were like a video camera that was constantly recording. Then you could just go and find the right date file and recall what you needed. But it just doesn't work like that. The exception is if you have Serial Autobiographic Memory (see the TV show Unforgettable). There are downsides to this though, as people with this ability often have trouble distinguishing between what is an important memory and what isn't. It's all just memory soup to them.

There are generally three qualities about something that allow you to recall it in long term memory. The first is relevance. I don't think you'll be able to deliver impromptu lectures on the mating habits of the Bolivian White-Tailed Snipe if that subject isn't relevant to you in an on-going way.

The second is emotion. Everyone remembers where they were on 9-11, or when they got their first kiss, or when they heard their grandmother died.

The third is intent. Is it something you WANT to remember? Are you willing to use repitition, memory strategies and mnemonic systems to do so?

The testing of people with so called "photographic memory" has shown that this ability is much more rare than first thought. It turns out that people with exceptionally good memory more often just have better memory strategies. In a nutshell, they intuitively develop mnemonic systems to help them remember.

Mnemonic systems can allow you to perform some outstanding mental feats, if you are willing to develop the habit of using them. In my early 20's, I was able to memorize the order of a deck of cards in about 2 minutes. This sounds incredible, but you could do the same if you first learn the mnemonic devices for it. (I couldn't do it now though, because--like many skills--you have to practice.)

In my opinion, INTP's don't have better or worse memories than any other type, even if it seems that way. What I think happens is that the N quality of seeing the big picture allows them recall a framework--which is easier to keep than lots of minor details. Then their T nature gives them an advantage in being able to deduce details about the framework that they may have forgotten. Add to this the P's ability to make disparate connections. One of the keys to good recall is making multiple associations, which might give them a slight advantage over J types who tend to consider and dismiss details more quickly. However, this is all just my speculation and could be hooey.

 

[snafupants]

Well, since most people can only hold around three to seven items in working memory at once, I suppose the challenge is unearthing and encoding the pith of an argument, whether in text or speech. Employing this strategy would at least make your job easier. There's some stuff on long-term potentiation, sleep, synaptic plasticity, learning and glutamate which you might find helpful as regards possibly improving your long-term memory. I seldom takes notes as I read, but I often hone in on salient points and think those through, during that time I suppose I'm helping etch that information into long-term memory. All pieces of information were not created equal: you have to know where to expend your efforts. My sister completely wastes her time in studying for exams; she dutifully reads all of the chapters thereby bypassing the areas which she should almost exclusively focus on. The strategy is simply inefficient but she does all right because her classmates forgo reading the chapters altogether, if they own the book at all.

 

[Peripheral Visionary]

By the way, I meant to write "Superior Autobiographic Memory," rather than Serial. That just goes to show the non superior memory of an INTP.

Though perhaps Serial Autobiographic Memory means having a good memory for serial killings.

 

[MissQuote]

By the way, I meant to write "Superior Autobiographic Memory," rather than Serial. That just goes to show the non superior memory of an INTP.

Though perhaps Serial Autobiographic Memory means having a good memory for serial killings.

It all made perfect sense to me.

 

[AureliaSeverina]

There are generally three qualities about something that allow you to recall it in long term memory. The first is relevance. I don't think you'll be able to deliver impromptu lectures on the mating habits of the Bolivian White-Tailed Snipe if that subject isn't relevant to you in an on-going way.

The second is emotion. Everyone remembers where they were on 9-11, or when they got their first kiss, or when they heard their grandmother died.

The third is intent. Is it something you WANT to remember? Are you willing to use repitition, memory strategies and mnemonic systems to do so?

Thanks That reminds me of what I learned as part of my degree and have forgotten LOL, just proves my point. Strangely enough, I'm better able to remember random things that I don't need or want to remember than things that I have to study. It's probably because the pressure of having to learn something creates negative emotions. ---> I don't remember it. ????

 

[AureliaSeverina]

I seldom takes notes as I read, but I often hone in on salient points and think those through, during that time I suppose I'm helping etch that information into long-term memory.

Could it be that INTPs don't care about the present context of the information too much? When they read some 'salient' point they see it in isolation from the rest of the article/book etc and link it to a similar point from a different context/ to the (conceptual) world outside this particular article???? I for one am obsessed with following the argument/structure of an article and not only learn new concepts from an article but also why and how the author arrived at them. Maybe that's an INTJ-thing ('Cite your sources!' )?