Walking through doorways causes forgetting, new research shows

University of Notre Dame ^ | November 18, 2011

[Chode]

ahhhh the eternal question... WHY am i here???

[Designer]

This is why we architects design doorways. We think it is funny as hell when everyone forgets why they entered a room.

Sometimes we design passages with not just one, but multiple doorways, just to piss you off.

Then we go get a beer and watch the fun.

[ChildOfThe60s]

Interesting and plausible.

But this hardly qualifies for the headline of “new research shows”. Long way down the road before that statement has validity.

[dawn53]

I blamed this on “mental pause.”

[HectorOne]

I was going to post this same article but I kept walking through too many doorways

[dagogo redux]

I don’t recall this sort of thing ever happening.

[jocon307]

I have always found, when I’ve had those “wait, what did I mean to do?” moments that if I return to the place I originally had the thought I remember what it was. It’s almost like the thought is floating in the air at the spot I first thunk it.

[Jack Hydrazine]

Will backing up in reverse through the doorway bring back the memory?

[McLynnan]

LOL, that’s another good reason for it! Ever since mental pause I find I misplace things on a daily basis. So I walk through doorways (as this study calls it) trying to find what I lost then and can’t remember why I walked through the doorway or what I was looking for. I’m thinking about hanging a notepad and pen around my neck to make notes reminding myself about what I forgot. This will work if I hang reading glasses around my neck too because they are one of the things I lose all the time.

[RetSignman]

[I now forget why I clicked on this thread . . . .]

What thread?

[WVNan]

It occurs to me that this research was carried out using senior citizens participants. Story of my daily life. Post-it notes are essential for all activities.

[dawn53]

I’m thinking about hanging a notepad and pen around my neck to make notes reminding myself about what I forgot. This will work if I hang reading glasses around my neck too because they are one of the things I lose all the time.

Well you need some "clics."

If losing glasses or keys is a sign of "mental pause"...then my husband's been deep in the throes of it for 30 years :) Finally got him some Clics and he hasn't lost them "yet."

http://www.clicgoggles.com/index.html

[CrazyIvan]

The greatest argument against the possibility of motion at all is trying to get my teenage son out of bed on the weekend.

My mother had a great method. Keep a cup of marbles in the
freezer. When lazy kid (me) doesn't get up, dump them in
bed with kid. They roll always roll towards the person in
bed.

[GOPJ]

A dramatic example is the difference between being out of a pool of water and being underwater. Dramatic because the microcosms of the two are very different than say, one room in a building, and another room.

Importantly, awareness is interactive with whatever bubble it is in. To a great extent, your “personal space” becomes a bubble within the environment of the “bubble of this place”.

Interesting - I think you've got something there...

[Thank You Rush]

“”Is that why I sometimes walk into a room and forget why the heck I walked in there in the first place?””

Isn’t it great to have an excuse now? Our families don’t have to put us away after all!

[CrazyIvan]

The greatest argument against the possibility of motion at all is trying to get my teenage son out of bed on the weekend.

My mother had a great method. Keep a cup of marbles in the
freezer. When lazy kid (me) doesn't get up, dump them in
bed with kid. They roll always roll towards the person in
bed.

[CrazyIvan]

The greatest argument against the possibility of motion at all is trying to get my teenage son out of bed on the weekend.

My mother had a great method. Keep a cup of marbles in the
freezer. When lazy kid (me) doesn’t get up, dump them in
bed with kid. They always roll towards the person in
bed.

[GreenHornet]

I can’t remember if this ever happened to me or not.

[muir_redwoods]

I told my doctor once that my mother-in-law ( who was also his patient) was suffering from Craft syndrome. He looked puzzled and said he'd have to look it up. I told him CRAFT syndrome was Can't Remember A F'ing Thing.

He thanked me for contributing to his medical education.

[NoGrayZone]

It is!! We’ve spoken about this at work ( after discussing a commercial for a “med” that helps with this kind of thing).

It seems we ALL do it, no matter what age we are, various age ranges, we all do it!!

And guess what.....we’re NOT crazy nor have dementia, woohoo!