1. Do you remember your childhood? What do you remember as the most memorable parts of your childhood?

I do remember a lot from my childhood. Mostly, I remember certain moments with my family like birthday parties and sleepovers52 with my cousins. The memories are usually short and fragmented53. Sometimes a certain smell or a place reminds me of that memory, like walking down the street and seeing a specific streetlamp54 might remind me of a time when I was walking home from school with my parents. I can actually see myself laughing and talking with my parents as we would walk back home during the evening time.

2. Why do we usually forget what happened before age 3?

I really have no idea. But I think it’s mainly because we aren’t fully aware of our surroundings up until that point55. Ages before three are mostly about developing our senses, understanding how our body works in the environment, and getting our basic motor skills56. Around and after the age of three, those skills have been developed and we don’t have to focus on it anymore, which is why it becomes easier to understand what is happening around us. To be honest, it’s just my guess57, I don’t know much about it.

3. Why do some people remember things well while others not?

Personally, I think that it’s about what we pay attention to. Certain people58 pay attention to their surroundings and experiences better than other people. Those people remember things better because they can observe more details and associate them with things they’ve known already. Other people might be unable to notice a lot of things happening around them. It’s particularly common among the older generations. When people get old, they tend to lose their ability to remember bit by bit59 and can’t pay attention to things happening around them as quickly as young people.

4. What is the better way to retain memories, by videos or photos?

I suppose in order to retain memories, watching a video is probably more helpful than seeing a photo.
A photo can be clear but it only captures a moment and it’s still60. In contrast, videos tell you more because it shows a lot of details that photos don’t have, which means more memory cues61. You can see the motion and hear the sound, which are definitely more helpful to recall the whole thing in your mind.

5. How can forgetful people remember things better?

The first method I can think of is to write down the things that you need to remember as much as possible. As people always say, the palest ink is better than the best memory62Butit really depends on the person. They need to try finding something that really works for them. For example, if they remember visual things better, then they can use diagrams to remember certain things or events. Or if audio is easier to remember, then they should record dialogue and replay it to remember.

52 sleepovers:在别人家过夜
53 fragmented:不连贯的，碎片化的
54 streetlamp:路灯
55 up until that point：在这之前
56 getting our basic motor skills:掌握基本的运动技能
57 it’s just my guess：我就是一猜
58 Certain people:某些人
59 bit by bit: —点一点地
60 still:静止的
61 memory cues:记忆提示（帮助回忆起来东西的线索）
62 the palest ink is better than the best memory:好记性不如烂笔头