Do you ever feel so overloaded with information that you feel your brain can't accept even one more tiniest piece of data?

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I can't think straight. I can't spell properly. I can't make decisions. It's happening off and on and it's quite scary. Does this every happen to you and if so, what do you do to quell the feeling that perhaps you're losing your mind?

Maybe I AM losing it.

― Penelope_111 (Penelope_111), Wednesday, 6 October 2004 18:53 (twenty-one years ago)

I had that moment this morning. I was trying to write a little fluff piece on ocean wave dynamics. Which is to say, I was trying to absorb enough information about one of the most complex physics problems imaginable to be able to condense it for a layman. Which is to say, I gave up.

― Gold Teeth II (kenan), Wednesday, 6 October 2004 18:59 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm talking about even the simplest of things. I used to be sharp and on the ball. Now, I'm just wooly-headed and slow.

― Penelope_111 (Penelope_111), Wednesday, 6 October 2004 19:03 (twenty-one years ago)

It's like whenever I learn something new, my brain has to push something out to make room. And it's not selective. Say, one day my brain will shove aside something really useless like Buckethead's complete discography up until 1997 to make room for an onion tort recipe, and then the next day I lose all memory of ever having even been in a calculus class in trying to not leave my house and forget the movies I gotta take back to Blockbuster. Life is hard.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Wednesday, 6 October 2004 19:06 (twenty-one years ago)

Yes it is. Actually, maybe my dream the other night about forgetting what happened the night before could be tied into this.

― Penelope_111 (Penelope_111), Wednesday, 6 October 2004 19:07 (twenty-one years ago)

Am I even making sense?

― Penelope_111 (Penelope_111), Wednesday, 6 October 2004 19:08 (twenty-one years ago)

I think so.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Wednesday, 6 October 2004 19:09 (twenty-one years ago)

Thank you, that's so reassuring!

― Penelope_111 (Penelope_111), Wednesday, 6 October 2004 19:09 (twenty-one years ago)

Have you been getting less sleep than usual? Periods of sleeplessness have lots of effects on people, a couple of which are forgetfulness, irritability, and increased confusion.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Wednesday, 6 October 2004 19:11 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm with you. In some of the especially intense writing seminars I've been in lately I'm presented with SO MUCH STRUCTURALIST SHIT that when I get home I've got, like, a total cognative constipation. I get confused going up the stairs, lose my keys all the time, etc. etc. etc.

― Remy (x Jeremy), Wednesday, 6 October 2004 19:12 (twenty-one years ago)

A little less, but not enough to cause this level of cognitive malfunction. I'm afraid to go to the doc in case they see something queer in my BRANE.

― Penelope_111 (Penelope_111), Wednesday, 6 October 2004 19:13 (twenty-one years ago)

That's it, Remy.

― Penelope_111 (Penelope_111), Wednesday, 6 October 2004 19:13 (twenty-one years ago)

err, cognitive, case in point.

Yesterday I totally forgot I was driving the car and, when the light turned, screamed 'Fucking go!' to nobody in particular before some dude in a Civic honked at me and got me moving.

― Remy (x Jeremy), Wednesday, 6 October 2004 19:14 (twenty-one years ago)

An onion tort recipe will give you decades of pleasure, but I can't imagine Buckethead pleasing the senses for even a moment or two.

― andy, Wednesday, 6 October 2004 19:14 (twenty-one years ago)

Case in point, cognitive.

I saw your spelling and thought mine could be wrong. I no longer trust my judgement. I have to check spelling in the dictionary a lot.

xpost

― Penelope_111 (Penelope_111), Wednesday, 6 October 2004 19:15 (twenty-one years ago)

I think the important thing to do in this new information environment is to let go of information sometimes. You can't retain it all and you don't need to. If you can't recall something, move on or look it up on the web. It's there. It's like saving .mp3s, which I do religiously, despite my suspicion that it will *all* always be available for downloading eventually. I really should stop buying those extra hard drives.

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Wednesday, 6 October 2004 19:23 (twenty-one years ago)

Yes, all the time. Sometimes it's downright frightening. I've solved this in some part, with managing of personal information with a wiki. I document everything in my wiki, every thing no matter how random or how important, if I think it may have relevance at some future point, I write it down. I don't know if I'm any more efficent than I used to be, but the organizing and ordering of information has at least made me feel better.

― Jeff-PTTL (Jeff), Wednesday, 6 October 2004 19:23 (twenty-one years ago)

I think you're right, Spencer. Moving on is really important and not staying in the frightened, what the hell is wrong with me vibe. The more I stess about it, the worse it gets.

Jeff, that sounds practical and useful.

There is nothing scarier than feeling you can't trust your judgement and/or memory.

― Penelope_111 (Penelope_111), Wednesday, 6 October 2004 19:28 (twenty-one years ago)

my short-term memory has been really shit lately.

― pfeffernuesse (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 6 October 2004 20:52 (twenty-one years ago)

neh muh eh eh

― kyle (akmonday), Wednesday, 6 October 2004 21:10 (twenty-one years ago)

is how i feel right about NOW

― kyle (akmonday), Wednesday, 6 October 2004 21:10 (twenty-one years ago)

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