Why talk to somebody if you cannot remember what is said?

Post Reply New Topic

A conversation i had:

<android> where did you go?
<fred> Anna came round
<android> what did she come roudn for?
<fred> Just came round for company
<android> why did she want that?
<fred> Why not?
<android> seems strange
<android> why did she come round?
<fred> Just for company!
<fred> As I've been saying, some people find a lot of pleasure and enjoyment being around other people
<android> what did she do when she arrived?
<fred> We just sat and chatted
<android> about what?
<fred> Nothing in particular
<android> please list what you talked about?
<fred> Not only can I not remember exactly what we talked about (no surprise there) but it's also none of your business anyway

What is the point in talking to somebody if you then cannot rememember what you talked about? This makes no sense at all.

You know I was thinking about this yesterday - Terminator 2 was on A&E or one of those channels and I hadn't seen it in a long time and some of the questions that the T2 was asking about why people cry and stuff sounded just like me . . . I was listening to see what the answers were so I would know!

I don't remember half of the stuff that's mentioned in the conversations that I take part in. I still talk to people, because I feel that I have a lot to offer.

I've been reading a really interesting book about the evolution of the human mind, and one of the points discussed is that social chit chat in humans replaces grooming in primates. The grooming is an important part of group interaction for primates and helps maintain the structure and pecking order in the group. The author calculates that as group sizes increased in early hominids, vast amounts of time would be required to maintain group relationships using grooming. Language enabled an individual to 'groom' more than one other person at the same time.

Anyway, this is one theory about why social chit chat and small talk are so important to most people in their relationships and group dynamics.

ps I don't do chit chat myself, but at least I don't have to endure being groomed!

I may ask for info. & forget the facts, but with repetition I might retain more.
Importance of conversation might be in the feeling I get, interacting w/someone, not the content. Sharing understanding is worthwhile sensation/mentality/experience for me. Words spoken express this familiarity between myself & my friends. Purpose/meaning of words is fine-tuned to each individual, at least that's how I communicate IRL.
Don't do "small talk" much, I avoid talking with people unless they seem "safe" enough & most aren't.
Online, I don't need my memory for who said what when, I just save or print out threads that interest me.

I have short term memory problems here. If given a list of things to do they have to be written down or else they wont all get done. I have trouble with sequencing too.

I am much the same, when I seek out conversation it's usually to get information from another individual or to gain an understanding of another individual. Whether I'll retain the information in the long run, sometimes... sometimes not but it conversations are meant to be turn-based form of communication, it takes two individuals to have a conversation and it's give and take, it's meant to allow individuals to show interest in another person, to share experiences and understanding. "Small talk" for me seems pretty pointless, I'm not too good at it, but for some people it gives them something to talk about... why? Who knows.