I would really like a better memory. I've heard plenty of reasons why having a good memory is not actually such an awesome thing -- that it makes it harder to get over your mistakes, to forgive others for their past misdeeds, to appreciate derivative art, and to live in the 'now' -- but I remain unconvinced. Having a bad memory still seems to me to be a much worse predicament. It makes everything so futile; what's the point in reading improving books and articles or studying anything at all if all you take away from the experience is a vague blur of impressions? I would so love to be able to cite exact statistics and concrete examples when I argue. I would love to be able to reliably recall the plots of stories I've read and seen, and I'd love, just once, to be able to fully partake in a round of spontaneous Simpsons or Monty Python quoting.

Not that my memory is really all that bad. With enough repetition and/or effective mnemonics I can remember most things that I really want to remember. (The full text of the 'Lord Augustus' poem from I, Claudius, for example, I can still remember word for word after nearly a decade of disuse.) So I guess in a lot of ways it's more a problem of laziness than truly poor memory.

Still, having to work so hard at it is a pain. Reading articles/books/textbooks is fun and watching tv/movies/documentaries/news is also fun. Sitting down to studiously rewatch or reread articles/books/textbooks/movies/documentaries/news until I've committed them to memory is really, really not fun.

Maybe the trick is that I need to talk more about the media I consume. That always helps things stick better than mere passive consumption does. I need to make a point of rehashing not just the general ideas, but also the specifics, the numbers, the names. It may not exactly make me into a Mr. Memory, but it might just tide me over until the day I can finally get Google implanted directly into my brain.