This is what happens in your brain when you can’t recall a word - Cella Wright
Video Overview & Insights
Dig into what causes the tip of the tongue phenomenon, where your brain struggles to recall a word or term from memory.
Swoppie, swippie ... Samsonite!
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You’re sure you know your 3rd grade teacher’s name— it’s like you’re hovering over it in your mind, but it just won’t materialize. Researchers call this tantalizing torment a “tip-of-the-tongue state,” and it’s something everyone experiences. But what’s actually happening when a word’s caught here, and how can you best get it unstuck? Cella Wright explores why your brain can struggle with recall.
I tought I'd learn something about my brain. But I knew all of this already, mabe I'm a genius.
Lesson by Cella Wright, directed by Avi Ofer.
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I find of if I stop trying to think about it, I’ll be able to remember the word a minute or so later. It’s like forcing it just keeps piling up more nonsense to wade through. Which is fine if it’s just me but a lot harder in conversation.
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I don’t even try to remember the name of most people I know. I just call everyone buddy, or something appropriate for the occasion. I’ve spent hours and hours talking to someone without having the slightest clue what their names was.
Funny thing is I can recall the name of every single classmate I had when I was a kid, all my teachers, friends, etc, but have zero memory of the name of people I’ve met last few years… except those I meet constantly or are somewhat relevant, of course.
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So, you don't know.
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But how do I know what word I am looking for? How do I know that when I find it, it is the right word, unless I already know it? But then I should have known the word right away. It seems to me that we have abstract knowledge of the concept of the word prior to finding it. Otherwise the whole problem seems absurd.
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My 90yo mother finds this phenomenon the most frustrating part of her post-stroke life.
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I had septic shock. The verbal part of my brain suffered some damage. My default language is ASL. So I end up translating for myself a lot.
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I've always had problems grasping for words when I speak. this is why I prefer text communications :p I get to spend more time flailing for words, and the recipient of the messages has no idea how long it took :p
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View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-do-some-words-get-stuck-on-the-tip-of-your-tongue-cella-wright
I discovered a few years ago there is one word that I can never access in my brain. I know the word I just I don't know what it is when I need to use it. Essentially it's groundskeepers people that mow the lawn trim trees rake gravel whatever. Their groundskeepers but what is the name of what they're doing. And I'm talking about it and I don't know the name! What are they called? One word that I just cannot access in my brain!
Dig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-do-some-words-get-stuck-on-the-tip-of-your-tongue-cella-wright/digdeeper
Animator's website: https://aviofer.com
To sum up - "Dang if we know!"
Music: https://www.wonderboyaudio.com
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Only reason I didn't recall the name of the city that the Hanging Gardens is is that I didn't realise Babylon is also a city, and not just the country.
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I wince about how much vivisection must have occurred for us to have all this knowledge about the brain.
I think my life began a downhill trajectory when I was 10 and saw pictures of a laboratory cat with electric sensors screwed into its shaved skull.
This world sucks.
We are ghastly to the core.
More User Perspectives
For me, word recall is directly related to how well I've been eating. A few days of clean diet and my memory and ability to articulate are vastly better than when I'm eating a lot of junk.
@keppela1I was having this problem remembering the word "penultimate" today, as tomorrow is my granddaughter's last day of school before her exams, and I wanted to tell her that today was her penultimate day of the school year. Unable to remember the word, I asked Google to remind me.
@jackshultz2024So what is happening when you take a drug for neuropathy pain and find that it is causing lost words?
@johnconrad4013Aww they met at the grocery store then went on a little date 🥺
@smartperson1I remembered my first grade teacher's name instantly
@flowdane5139It happened too often for me, turned out to be brainfog from prolactinoma,
@mtavsenI have a list on my iPhone of "words I can't remember". Just adding them promotes me to remember them. I also go thru the alphabet to dig out a lost word.
@TucsonDudeWe ADDers call this being in the Noun-Free zone.
@ruthasksquestionsI have transient aphasia due to lifelong chronic hemiplegic migraines. It’s a neurological defect caused by years of damage due to that and a couple other neuro-disorders I have. It’s very frustrating when it is happening. ✌🏻👩🏻🦰👍🏻
@thegingergyrl455I forget everyday words, and have found ways to talk "around" them enough that the person I'm talking knows what I'm trying say
@CrisMindI will often remember a word, none, or song right as I wake up. Apparently, my brain will keep working on the problem while I am sleeping
@tbentley150That tongue and lips has been ripped off from the Rolling Stones
@chuckcarter7864This happens to me more commonly if I am tired.
@jerrybrickley2115Not to brag but the other day i went into a room for something and remembered the thing i'd gone in for!!
@tomdavies9662Hah!!! I just noted the Narrator's last name from the Credits. Mrs. Zimmerman is the name of my 10th Grade Art teacher. Had her class for 2 semesters. She was married to schools Head Swim and Softball coach. I hadn't thought about her for years(4 decades actually).
@SternLXI love that he has a rolling stones t-shirt on
@gregmcgowan4726My mutant power is starting a sentence and immediately forgetting the name of the thing I wanted to make a point about.
@jonhand2197Running through the alphabet works sometimes but I can't remember how often.
@TheoFunestoThen some random thingnpops ul from 20 years ago and everything comes flooding back
@neiltitmus9744Darling, just you wait till perimenopause hits you......................
@bardameWonderful musical presentation!
Many thanks!
When I can't remember a word, I just relax and move on, allowing my brain will continue processing in the background without the stress of a conscious struggle, and secure in the knowledge that the word will pop out of my mouth all on its own as soon as it has become completely irrelevant to the conversation, so that I appear as senile and awkward as possible.
@MonkeyAndChickenMy mind is like a murky pool full of fish where I know they are all there but I can only see the ones at the surface. I wish there was a way to make it clear. I get stuck on words all the time. It makes social situations very uncomfortable. I’m amazed by people who can easily remember great detail and names on command. My Mother was like that. Unfortunately I was not gifted with her ability.
@Garrison64The music in the background got my attention, and you lost it. Re-issue this without the distraction and I will give it my full attention, which it may actually deserve. Thank you.
@EIGYROOne finds that when struggling to recall a word that slowly and mentally going through the alphabet to eliminate the letters that are definitely not considered,then repeating the process withe the letters that might…will often lead to the word.
@OneWouldThinkMy experience has been that resolving the tip of the tongue phenomenon is primarily related to interpersonal context, so that if I engage in both cueing as discussed as well as shifting to a novel interpersonal context (or several in succession), I can court the right preconditions and my emergent associations in thinking lead me to remember what I originally could not quite access.
@13miette5gvxdoztqI'm actually not good with facial recognition. I had a job where I worked with a lot of people for short periods of time so I trained myself to not remember any of them. Because there was no point to it. I was never going to see them ever again. I have to see someone a lot over a long span of time before I begin to remember them now. Just how it is.
@1pcfred2 weeks ago I forgot everything. Just like that. Turned out it was a mini stroke, no face drop, no pain, I just forgot. Luckily I went straight to the hospital and they gave me a strong blood thinners. It all came back after 4 hours. But it was a warning and I am on medication for life. I had all the tests and scans so I am very lucky.
@JillLawton-zt8me“I could’ve told you if you hadn’t asked me” Is my response when someone asks me the name of someone or something I or they can’t remember.😅
@emgee44So basically they don't really know, but they have some guesses.
@kamron_thurmondTony VanAlstine.
@flobiAtFlobiThe entertainment business found a way around recalling a name many years ago - just call everyone: ‘Darling!’ More seriously sometimes lines get lost onstage and we learn to take a deep breath and relax - when you take the pressure off either the word appears or you find a way around it. My Mother would often panic throughout her life when encountering people and I learned to step in and say something like:’ DOROTHY so nice to see you!’ Relaxing is key because how often after the pressure is off does the word appear unbidden! So breathe 4 in top up the breath and out for 6 and take off the pressure.
@grahamhowes6904Then you wake up in the middle of the night and remember it.
@Skipper.17Just yesterday I needed a word but couldn't pull it to save my life.
"Archetypical".
I think we might block them unintentionally.
BTW..great artwork!
For some reason I can never, ever think of the word "inconsiderate". Every time I attempt to use this word I have an extreme tip-of-the-tongue moment. It took me a little while to think of it just now even.
@rigorhead01I'll typically run through the alphabet trying to concentrate on the first letter of the word I'm trying to remember a few times and normally it helps me recall it...or I'll remember it later when I'm exercising and my mind relaxes.
@DrJeckel