I knew there was a reason

I consider myself to be a reasonably intelligent guy, but generally I feel that I have a pretty poor memory. I always wondered why that was. Then, my good buddy (whom I’ve never met, nor even seen in person) Scott Adams wrote this:

At this point I will digress and give you my untested theory about creativity:

Creativity is highly correlated to poor memory.

For me, ideas stream through my head at a frantic pace. I feel like a bear trying to grab a salmon. If my paw misses its target, that salmon is gone for good. I don’t dwell on it. I just lunge for the next salmon. I think people who have fewer thoughts per hour have time to let them settle in and form memories. It’s just a theory.

This could be brilliant! I always find Scott’s writings to be wonderfully thought-provoking, and none have struck home more than this one. I started my career as a software applications developer, which most would consider a decidedly left-brain type of field, but I have far more right-brain characteristics, one of which is a propensity for creativity. That’s why I’m far more successful in my current role as an Information Architect than I ever was as a developer. I had the technology aspect of my career path correct, but IA is far more of an art than a science. It’s looking at the whole picture and trying to work backwards to determine the right approach.

What I often forget are the details – Did I test this specific condition? Who was it that told me that? What was the outcome of that meeting? Now, thanks to Scott Adams, I have found my excuse. Creativity is highly correlated to poor memory. This is why I carry a Palm Treo so I don’t have to remember things like dates, phone numbers, and what I need to pick up next time I’m at Home Depot. It’s why I keep track of all my work tasks in a to-do list. While listmaking is typically a left-brain characteristic, but for me it’s a way to counter my propensity to forget things. (Edit: Such as the fact that I already used the word “propensity” earlier in this post, a fact that I didn’t realize until after I posted it and was proofreading it. Which is hilariously ironic if you read the post by Scott Adams that I linked to at the beginning of this post.)

Of course, thanks to Scott, I will no longer attempt to compensate for my weaknesses. I will now simply say, “Sorry Boss/Wife, I forgot to call that person/pick up milk due to the Adams Theory of Creativity. Aren’t you glad you hired/married someone so creative?”

Sweeeet.