And your name is . . . ?

I have a terrible remembering names.  I'm not talking about just casual  acquaintances but people I work with fairly regularly.  It's not like I completely forget the name, though.  I can picture it in my mind and I can pick the name off a list if I see it.  I just can't seem to get it from my brain to my mouth.  

When I'm talking to someone directly and I can't remember their name I can usually get around it by calling them sir or ma'am or some other such thing.  But, that doesn't always work out.

It's very frustrating stumbling around in my brain for a name and not being able to get it out.

Last night I had a dream about being at work.  I was showing the son of a co-worker around the manufacturing plant and introducing him to people.  I was introducing him to a general manager who asked who this boy's father was.  I could see his face in my mind and the name was on the tip of my tongue but I just couldn't get it out.  Strangely enough, the kid wasn't forthcoming either.  The GM got so frustrated by my inability to come with a name that he totally lost it.  He started screaming at me.

"YOU'VE WORKED HER FOR NEARLY FOUR YEARS AND YOU DON'T KNOW THE NAME OF YOUR CO-WORKERS?  WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU??"  

His rant went on like that until the dream faded away.  

So, what is the matter with me??  

I've read articles that say it's because I'm not interested in or motivated to remember names.  Or that I'm just not paying attention.  

Okay, that makes sense only if it's when I forget a name right after or soon after I've been introduced to a person.  And I admit, I have a problem remembering people's names even right after I've met them.  Maybe it is because I'm distracted.  

Or perhaps it is a self fulfilling prophecy - because I believe I can't remember names then I won't be able to.

What doesn't make sense is when I know people, work with people and interact with people on a regular basis.  Why in the heck can't I remember those people's names?

I read a couple articles that said that because my brain is being bombarded with information - news, media, books, games - that something has got to give.  So, I guess for me it's names?


Another article said that our brains are not conditioned to remember spoken words.  From our youngest years we've been pushed to learned through books and written words.  Great, so my brain is atrophied.  Wonderful.


Maybe it's stress, or fatigue?  Maybe I've simply got too much going on in my life.  Or, maybe I really don't give a crap.  

So, then I read something else written by a person who seems to have the exact same problem I have.  One of the things she discovered was that if you don't exercise regularly then your brain doesn't process glucose effectively and then you tend to forget stuff. So because I'm fat I can't remember names, now?  She goes on to say that perhaps its because my brains is aging.  Great, so now I'm old and fat.  Lovely.

Whatever.  To sum it up if I can't recall your name it's because I'm disinterested, unmotivated, miseducated, tired, stressed out, too busy, old and fat.  

What's your name again?  Can you spell that for me?  Your name is Al?  Oh. Silly me.