There was a time when I thought I had a really good memory. I’m not under that mistaken impression anymore. Especially, when I’m trying to recall specific information that I haven’t accessed in a long time.

To give you an example, I was sort of good at Physics and Mathematics in high school. I was interested in both subjects as well, which no doubt helped. But a few days ago, I had to recall Derivatives as I was learning about Gradient Descent. I was shocked at much information and knowledge I’ve forgotten on the topic. The same thing happened this week, when I was reading a book that contained references to the Double Slit Experiment. It’s quite humbling to realise how quickly you can lose specific knowledge if you’re not regularly using it.

I’m OK with the restraints of the organic hardware I’ve been given. In the past few years, I’ve dealt with less of Math and Physics, and more of Programming and Product Development – so it’s easier for me to recall Python syntax and why I’m helping the team ship a particular feature these days.

The upside is that it’s so much easier to soft reload information in your head if you need to. When I first learned about Derivatives in school, I’m quite sure it was confusing and hard to comprehend for the entire batch for the better part of the whole academic year. Now, with a couple of refresher afternoons, I have a working understanding on the topic so that my progress isn’t blocked by missing this knowledge. At the moment, I’m taking these refreshers ad hoc, but it might be a good idea to start using Spaced Repetition using a proper tool like Anki to keep memory sharp. If there’s any comfort in this realisation, it’s that no one remembers everything, so don’t beat yourself up about it (even if you do, you’ll likely forget in some time 😬).