Why do you suppose the conscious mind clings to some information and passes other information off to the subconscious?

I find it curious that in RT I often dont consciously remember little details about what someone wore or what color their hair or eyes were,,but I will remember things that people say,,,


in these threads as well, there are probably many posters who I barely remember after I read their post,,but there are others whose 'character' seems to become crystal clear to me after taking notice of several of their posts and putting together their 'back story' from details they have shared,,,


which things do you find you pay attention to and which things seem to slip your mind much more easily?

I try to pay attention.

the bigger impressions made on our myriad of senses,
the more the conscious retains it, the rest is stored
in the subconscious for further reference.

the more and more I think about it smokey

your answer makes sense

I think the people whose 'back story' interest my conscious are the ones who SEEM to have an obsession of one sort or another

those who seem to work in a certain person, or issue into every conversation regardless of the topic

I think I have a very distinct tendency to want to understand obsessions,,,lol

I think we have selective attention spans just like we have selective hearing.

I pay much more attention to discussions I find interesting. Boring discussions slip my mind.

true, there is also the need to know factor

I started another volunteer position last week and I found my mind was so wide open to absorbing some 'new' information that I was remembering details of everything going on around me,,much more than I would normally

iam a man i guess i do kinda, what you say? lol..

i wasnt gonna lie :)

I'm sorry....did you say something?

It does seem that I tend to tune some things out. It is kind of information overload if you try to be too observant. Can't see the forest for the trees.

When I did casework it was important to pick up on certain markers that qualified or disqualified people for programs but the other stuff people would vent about started sounding like the same old blah blah blah and you hated to not be empathetic but you hear it a hundered times it is like a sentence you can finish before they even say it.

Obsessions can be interesting but they are usually triggered by something even unrelated and if you get to stuck on the obsession you miss the root cause or understanding the person.

Sometimes this applies to dateing. After a dozen dates with recently divorced or widowed guys it is hard not to feel like you are hearing the same old stuff about the Ex. You try to be polite but it is sooooooh tired you want to interrupt and say enough I have heard this before. lol Sure the reverse is true for guys.

Look a squirrel!

No Torgo, that was just your tail.

I'm so broke ...I can't pay attention.......bahahahaha!


Seriously though.... I have a bit of a concentration problem, Adult ADD I suppose. Some things I find it hard to stay focused on , other things not so much. So I will forget things very easily but I don't care.

It just comes do to interest and intrigue.

If the post or topic catches me eye, or is written in a way that makes me think or laugh or like it enough, I will remember it, possibly for quite some time.

But a great many of them are just something I will answer and move on, forgetting them just as quickly as I hit the "post reply" button.

It is the same in real life for me. If it does not hold my interest, I tend to forget what is being said by whom before they even finish saying whatever it was they were saying. I am a good listener, but sometimes people just having nothing to say and I do not handle running off at the mouth very well.

For me, I analyse everyone as much as possible. I am not concerned with the little details like eye colour. If there is an 'observer' type of personality, I am it. I just have always been interested & curious about who people really are. Go figure, huh?

I can honestly say that I am pretty much the same way

Our minds work as a novelty filter. New experiences, whether they
are ideas, art, sounds, smells, feelings or tastes, cause new neural
pathways to form which had never existed previously in our brains.
Repeated exposures reinforce existing pathways and are not as vivid
as completely new impressions.

We are excited and highly stimulated by new experiences of every sort
and they leave a fresh and more potent initial impression. Those
we meet online like those we meet in real life who are capable of
inspiring tendrils of new growth stimulate us in a powerful way
which cannot be resisted.

Some people become slightly uncomfortable with a preponderance of
new data to process while others get very excited and there are all
other levels of reaction in between. It is interesting how we learn.

Honestly on forums, many details slip right past me all the time.

On the other hand, for a few years I had a job where I was paid to notice small details and remember them off of just a glance. I was also paid to not show that I noticed those details until it was time for me to write my report. After so many years of doing so, I have only recently begun to realize that is now second nature to me and it seems that I cannot shake that.

Being the type that analyzes everything a little too much for my own good, noticing these small details have proven to be more of a curse than a blessing.

Can we change our neural pathways ? Yes. The brain does not recognise the difference between visualisation & real experience. If you were to overcome thinking that you dont want, (a fear or negative thoughts), you visualise overcoming & think the opposite.