There are a lot of weird people/events/things in this world – and it seems you don’t have to look very far to find them. Case in point is this article. It totally fits the criteria.
It’s about a women (Rebecca Sharrock) who says she can remember every single day of her entire life. Yes, you read that right. In fact, she even claims she can remember her life in the womb before she was born. And she describes the experience in the article!
She also “reminisces” about various childhood events and, at one point, complains about the many “annoying little memories” that she can’t get rid of … calling them “useless clutter.”
Apparently, Rebecca is one of just 60 people in the world with hyperthymesia, or “Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory” (H-SAM). And, according to this website, it’s a viable condition.
(I have my doubts.)
So, if you’re bored –or perhaps tired of reading about the current state of the political world– take a break and enjoy a touch of the bizarre.
Nan's Notebook 
Bizarre for me is passing a mirror and expecting handsome to smile back. What is it they say about repeating the same thing and expecting a different result? At my age I should know better.
Hugs
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At times, I have a hard time remembering what I did two minutes ago. When Rebecca gets to be my senior citizen age, good luck keeping her H-SAM!
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One of the things I detest the most about ZOOM meetings is seeing my old plump face on the camera screen in the meeting. Ugh. Can I turn off the damn camera?
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Hello Nan. Maybe the Professor could give some insights on this, but I have read in science articles that when we remember things, we are in most cases remembering our most recent time remembering that thing. That is why the Mandela effect is a thing. Also I can not understand wanting to remember so much of your life, I live a constant struggle to forget or suppress my own memories. I have a condition known as intrusive thoughts. I mention that because I can not imagine wanting to know or remember that much detail of your life, especially the parts we have no control over. I have read about body memory and as one who has experienced this in counseling as well as in life I know it is true, and wonder if that is not what this person is meaning when she says she remembers her self before object permanence and the brain ability to form memories. She feels the / her body reacting to something, yet it is not defined. It feels like this stimuli could cause it. But that is all subjective. It is not a hard fact nor scientifically or legally reliable. Hugs
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(I have my doubts.)
Yes, so do I.
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No doubt she has a good memory, but I’m afraid that it is not until neural arborisation has ceased (36 months *after* birth) can anyone even have a memory.
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I don’t believe the brain activity in the developing fetus is producing any memory. But I do think children develop a memory early on after birth, well before three years of old. I have no idea about what may be in the textbooks.
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No doubt, basal things like repeated smells and sounds, but those who know (neurologists) say that before arborisation at least slows down there’s really no way to reliably store a retrievable memory. There’s just too much activity, too many new branches forming, paths lost and paths found.
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Basal. Ok. That’s good. That is the process of life. That is how we begin to develop. The first things we learn are from our immediate surroundings. We learn to talk by about a year old and begin to speak words and sentences. By three years old, we cannot shut up! By sixteen or so, we are convinced that we know everything worth knowing and wonder how our parents survived with their rudimentary brain.
By three years of age, my children called me daddy. They could distinguish me from the milkman and mailman.
They knew at least some or all of the colors, numbers, and ABCs. This very basic information had to be stored in their brain and it had to be available for recall on demand. If our children are not responding like this by three years old, then we are searching for doctors who can help them.
Thank you for the new word in my vocabulary, arborization. I now know at least in part what it means. We evolve from a fertilized egg to a few brain cells and a spinal column which is most of the embryo. The brain is the most massive part.
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I have a memory, quite clear, while lying in a cradle. I needed to learn words before I could understand the memory, but I was less than a year old, still non-verbal except wails of whatever, in this case fear.
My mother was preparing supper on the dining room table, cutting up freshly caught fish for some kind of fish recipe. Suddenly the pieces of cut fish starting jumping all over the table and onto the floor, which I have been told is a nerve reaction of some kind. Like Mexican jumping beans or something. My mother screamed and screamed, so I screamed too.
To this day I cannot eat fish that look or smell like fish. Coated is okay, but uncoated, no way in hell can I even look at dead fish.
What is so hard to believe about someone having memories of everyday of their lives? Weirder things happen all the time.
But as I said, it wasn’t until I had words I could understand the memory. Otherwise it would just be a memory of incredible fear.
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“One study found that people with hyperthymesia might have the tendency to become more absorbed and immersed in daily experiences, and that they tend to have strong imaginations.”
OK. I’m just going to stick with “strong imaginations” here. I think it is the best explanation. ‘Shrooms and peyote produce some similar effects. I didn’t read anything about anybody ‘tripping’. I’m just thinking we need to keep one foot in the real world. Firmly.
It seems that I remember My mother’s breasts had large aureola and one of them had a mole in it. I can’t recall if it was the right or the left. Actually, that could have been someone else’s mother. Damn. Now I’m confused.
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I remember being in the womb and trying to order a pizza! Man, was that hard to do! “Where would you like the pizza delivered, sir?” “My mother’s womb!” “Sorry, sir, but we don’t do womb-service!” AAAAAAGHH!!!
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How the heck did you use a phone in there? 😉
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Oh, don’t even get me started on THAT!!
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I’m experiencing some doubts here too.
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Nan, we saw a story on “60 Minutes” or it may have been “CBS Sunday Morning” on this. The actress Marilu Henner from the show “Taxi” has this ability. Give her a date and she can tell you what happened on that date. When they spoke with about a dozen others like her, the one common trait was hyper OCD. Henner showed how organized her closet was, especially around her shoes – one toe in the slot, one toe pointing out, so she could see if she wanted to wear them without pulling them out. So, the image was organized life, organized mind. It was amazing. Keith
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I saw a brief mention somewhere that this was addressed in a “60 Minutes” episode.
Although I didn’t see the show, from your description, it sounds like what Marilu and the “dozen others” have is not quite the same. IMO, Rebecca may actually have borderline H-SAM, but there are simply too many people who will do and say things to gain attention. And I tend to think she’s one of them. JMO
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I have seen documentaries on OCD and savants who are autistic, as well as persons with brain injuries who acquire the condition.
I clicked on the link Nan gave to the womans account and I got an offer for membership and I never got any further. I don’t want to join that blog or whatever.
I’m not going to study much on the subject, but I wonder at what point in the development of a fetus that anything more than biological processes take place. Nothing in the process calls for awareness of self by the fetus. I think that any thought process activated by the fetus would be a danger to it’s survival.
If a child is separated from it’s mother at birth and never allowed to bond, will it have any awareness that it ever happened?
John zander says no way. But that means that three year old don’t know Jack, which any parent will quickly dismiss. At two and three years old is when they become tyrants and terrorists.
But memory prior to birth, l just don’t think so. But there are also those who question my ability to think.
Thoughts, dreams, and imaginings probably reinforce much of our memories.
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cagjr — that first link is easily removed. But I do understand your reluctance.
I personally agree that “memory prior to birth” is bunk. But as I’ve already indicated, needy people often say and do things to generate attention to themselves.
Sidenote: At the end of the article, it says that Rebecca is “currently writing a book about her life.” However, she has been unable to lock down a publisher. Huh. Can’t imagine why.
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Hello Nan. I just watched a Mark Roper video about his son who is autistic. His son doesn’t display savant abilities but some of the kids his son plays with do. One boy he featured can tell you what day of the week any date is on. Give him a random date and he can quickly tell you what day of the week it is. The boy doesn’t know how he does it.
I still have to wonder if body sensation and imagination plus an intense focus on detail play a role in the women’s claims? Of course the point you brought up about writing a book and needing publicity is a really strong reason to fake something. TV shows hove been written around that subject. Hugs
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I didn’t miss your disclaimer in the original post. I didn’t make a lot of effort to read her article(?). Her claim to remember her life in the womb prior to birth flipped up a bunch of flags.
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