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Sherincall comments on [Open Thread] Stupid Questions (2014-02-17) - Less Wrong
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I'm trying to figure out if I
have an average memory, but the availability heuristic biases me toward finding examples of other people remembering things that I don't remember, or
I have a below average memory.
I guess I think this is a stupid question because how are you supposed to help me answer it via online message board? But it seems like kind of a typical problem to have, being unable to tell the difference between "I'm performing fine but I disproportionately notice my mistakes" and "I am actually performing poorly."
This seems easily testable. Though I cannot recommend any, I'm sure there are online memory tests that let you know how you performed relative to all the other subjects. Maybe not good enough, as there is a selection bias in the sample of people who take those tests, but it will give you some info.
However, I think that you have an above average memory and are only noticing this because you usually hang around people who have above average memory as well[1]. Perhaps a more useful test would be getting your friends to take the test as well and compare the results. Maybe ask on LW for subjects? I'd participate.
[1] Assumptions:
You have an above average IQ. I a priori assume this of all LWers.
There is a positive correlation between IQ and memory. A quick search gives results in favor of the assumption, but I didn't dig deeper.
You hang around people of similar IQ.
I think most of them test short term memory. In a lot of cases we care about long term memory.