I was astonished and disconcerted to discover a couple of years ago that I’d forgotten not just plots but memorable characters in the novels of Trollope, all 50 of which I’d devoured in my 30s and 40s. I started rereading them chronologically and it was quite a revelation of how little I’d retained. I can’t tell you how relieved I am to know that you suffer from the same affliction, Iona! But as we continue to age, this extends beyond literature to people and events of all kinds. As I’ve been mulling sadly over the constantly increasing evidence of my memory loss, I’ve tried to make peace with it by reminding myself that the human brain didn’t evolve to retain the vast amounts of information and diversity of experiences that modern life entails. Most people throughout history spent their short lives within a few miles of where they were born and amongst the same small group of other people. No books, much less tv and films and the internet and world travel on airplanes. Our modern psyches are overloaded with stimuli and data, and perhaps what we mourn as the loss of precious mental furniture is just nature’s way of freeing our minds from what has become unnecessary clutter so we can focus more fully on the present. True or not, it’s a comforting thought.
As one who has never had good recall, I admire that ability. Lord of the Rings was my getaway growing up, reading it through 4 times, enough for even this poor recall to start picking up some elvish. To add to "water" and "plants," I highly recommend Topsoil and Civilization (Tom Dale and Vernon Carter) and Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations (Montgomery).
I was astonished and disconcerted to discover a couple of years ago that I’d forgotten not just plots but memorable characters in the novels of Trollope, all 50 of which I’d devoured in my 30s and 40s. I started rereading them chronologically and it was quite a revelation of how little I’d retained. I can’t tell you how relieved I am to know that you suffer from the same affliction, Iona! But as we continue to age, this extends beyond literature to people and events of all kinds. As I’ve been mulling sadly over the constantly increasing evidence of my memory loss, I’ve tried to make peace with it by reminding myself that the human brain didn’t evolve to retain the vast amounts of information and diversity of experiences that modern life entails. Most people throughout history spent their short lives within a few miles of where they were born and amongst the same small group of other people. No books, much less tv and films and the internet and world travel on airplanes. Our modern psyches are overloaded with stimuli and data, and perhaps what we mourn as the loss of precious mental furniture is just nature’s way of freeing our minds from what has become unnecessary clutter so we can focus more fully on the present. True or not, it’s a comforting thought.
Yes. I wish I had written more things down at the time!
As one who has never had good recall, I admire that ability. Lord of the Rings was my getaway growing up, reading it through 4 times, enough for even this poor recall to start picking up some elvish. To add to "water" and "plants," I highly recommend Topsoil and Civilization (Tom Dale and Vernon Carter) and Dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations (Montgomery).
Thank you! I will check those out.