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Comment by sliverstorm | Hacker News Reader

Do many people's minds really work like that? You are struck by a great idea out of the blue, and then you lose it minutes later?

If I think of something important, I will generally remember it for a long time. It's only things like errands ("What did I need again...? Oh yes, butter") that I tend to forget.

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"You are struck by a great idea out of the blue, and then you lose it minutes later?"

Not Great Ideas, no.

But faint echoes, suddenly noticed connections, things that 'ring a bell', yes, I can lose those. And I need to 'listen to faint signals' in teaching.

Think little used synaptic pathway glowing for 30 seconds then dimming...

So I have an A6 notebook and pen around.

I think you would be amazed at the sheer quantity of stuff that you forget. Looking back at old journals is always surprising and fascinating, even the stuff that back then seemed mundane. Writing is a way of augmenting one's working memory. Things that would otherwise flow off like water on a duck get another chance.

> Do many people's minds really work like that? You are struck by a great idea out of the blue, and then you lose it minutes later?

I've found that as I've gotten older (and more busy) it's really important to keep notes. In my younger years I was more mentally agile and also more single-focused, and I got away with being not-very-rigorous with note taking (either digital or analog).

I would say not great ideas, but small ones. One's I'd like to revisit in 6 months' time and mull over, connect the dots, etc.

I've been keeping a "sparks" log (can't remember where I read this, somewhere on HN) where I just jot down small ideas for side projects, etc. when I have them.

Then when I have some free time, I pick an idea off the list and try working on it.

You might be talking about the "Spark File" https://medium.com/better-humans/8d6e7df7ae58

Yup, that's it!

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