I suspect that forgetfulness is the single largest hindrance to me improving my rationality. This isn't something I've seen others report on LessWrong, so I'm suspicious that I'm in some kind of self-serving spiral, or that I'm doing something obvious wrong. So, I'm seeking feedback on (a) whether the above statement is true -- whether forgetfulness is likely to really be a dominant hindrance; (b) what I can do about it; and (c) why others haven't reported this.
Ways that I suspect forgetfulness harms me:
I forget past experiences that would otherwise allow me to observe correlations and extrapolate time-series style. Did my mood improve last time I called this friend? Was I more productive during that period where I got less sleep?
I fail to recall evidence that would be salient when evaluating probabilities. This includes evidence relevant not only to coffee-time discussions on abstract topics, but also questions that occur to me about akrasia and the like.
I can't remember names of authors and papers that could be relevant to ideas that arise during my research. Searching online for papers is fine for major literature reviews, but enormously expensive to evaluate hour-by-hour conjectures that occur to me.
When I encounter the same problem multiple times, I forget how I solved the problem last time.
When a new productivity/social/rationality strategy *does* work, I forget to keep using it. This isn't only about laziness: sometimes I actually wonder explicitly whether strategy X worked, and I can't remember.
I forget names, faces, places, facts and figures. But I understand this one is quite common.
I forget all the ways that forgetfulness frustrates me.
Steps I've taken:
I keep an elaborate diary with appointments like "bring USB drive home from work" and "purchase bread en route to Sam's house".
I keep an elaborate e-notebook where I try to record my "brain state" so that I can more quickly pick up where I left off with my work.
Every time I solve a technical problem, I write it down.
I use a memory app called mnemosyne to memorize foreign language words, names of jitsu techniques, etc.
The write-everything-down strategy has helped some, but it's *orders of magnitude less effective* than recalling stuff right from my brain. It's like replacing a CPU's L1 cache with a magnetic hard drive and expecting performance not to drop.
Totally agree. Even if you disagree, or are scared of using nootropes, just trying it out short term may give you great insight to how your memory works and what your specific problem may be. For me, I realized that it was not my recall that was the problem, it was putting thoughts/ideas to memory in the first place = the encoding and storing of memory. The problem best described as brainfog. This became clear after trying Piracetam/Choline. This may however not work for everyone. There are many nootropes to try, but piracetam is well tested with few comments on any side effects.
Along with exercise as Jayson mentions, diet is also key. I recently moved to a paleo diet and it made a huge difference in my digestive health and thus my brain clarity as well.
Focus/concentration exercises in the form of meditation can do wonders for many people. Especially if you are a scatterbrain.
In any case, don't let the BS idea often repeated by specialists that "memory is hard for everyone and that everyone has the same potential for an excellent memory if you just concentrate and use memory techniques" discourage you. Individuals have different problems with their memory and different causes. Keep on trying different methods. The above are excellent. I believe a strong memory should come naturally, or there is something wrong that you or your doctor should work towards improving.
I suspect that forgetfulness is the single largest hindrance to me improving my rationality. This isn't something I've seen others report on LessWrong, so I'm suspicious that I'm in some kind of self-serving spiral, or that I'm doing something obvious wrong. So, I'm seeking feedback on (a) whether the above statement is true -- whether forgetfulness is likely to really be a dominant hindrance; (b) what I can do about it; and (c) why others haven't reported this.
Ways that I suspect forgetfulness harms me:
Steps I've taken: