Out of Memory

Earlier today, I was talking about a co-worker to someone else, when I suddenly realized that I could no longer remember her first name. I knew it yesterday – she’s the instructor that took the wandering kitty home with her – but today, it was just…gone. Oddly enough, yesterday I had issues remembering this same person’s *last* name beyond, “it’s something hyphenated.” Now, I have lost her first name, but am having no problems whatsoever recalling her last. Both before *and* after the hyphen.

So I have a theory.

What if our brains are like a (much, much dumber version of a) computer, with only a finite amount of available space for memory? What if it is possible to one day actually run out of memory, to the point where we are not able to retain anything new without dumping something old to make space? Does the fact that I had to forget the first name to remember the last mean that I have reached the end of my available memory? Maybe that’s what Alzheimer’s really is – you run out of usable memory, but are constantly having new experiences that require more, so your brain begins randomly dumping old memories to make room. If that’s the case, is there a website where I can buy a few extra gigs?

Oh, and by the way, I do finally remember my coworker’s first *and* last names…which makes me wonder what else I may have forgotten in order to make room. Hmm…what’s that smell? Did I leave the gas on? Oh no, I’d better g…………………………………………………..

7 thoughts on “Out of Memory”

  1. I'm positive this is the case. At least that's the theory I'm going with for right now, because frankly, I can't think of any other. I've completely wasted a day with zoney-brained foggy-itis and while I seem to sense that this *should* bother me, I can't seem to function well enough to even worry about it! La!

Leave a Reply to Jen Green Cancel reply