6 Comments
User's avatar
j.e. moyer, LPC's avatar

Memory isn’t always verbal or intellectual though. Yes, we often can misremember details, but do we misremember feelings? That’s a harder one to parse. I think the visceral response is likely the more reliable one.

Expand full comment
Andrew Smith's avatar

Great point, and I'm really glad you jumped in with some additional info/thoughts. I thought about asking explicitly, but somehow forgot in the rush to publish! But I really, really get this: whenever I listen to music from my adolescence, I am RIGHT THERE feeling things. The emotion brings me back and connects me to my past so much more strongly than any details I can remember. I'm sure this colors the way I view my past.

Expand full comment
David Perlmutter's avatar

I get complemented on having a good memory, but the stuff I know best, even though it helps me in my work, is fairly obscure by most peoples' standards...

Expand full comment
Andrew Smith's avatar

I mean, you know a ton of detail on animation history, including some obscure stuff for sure... but would you say all the obscure stuff ultimately adds up to synthesized wisdom?

Expand full comment
David Perlmutter's avatar

Actual wisdom in some cases. In reading, I encounter a lot of behavior that, done in public, compromises careers and public images, and I try to learn from that by not doing any of it myself.

Expand full comment
Andrew Smith's avatar

I love it. I feel the same about all the eclectic stuff I've gathered - sure, the specifics don't bring value to a giant universe, but the inherent wisdom gained from doing things in a weird way really pays off.

Expand full comment