Absent-Minded

I've lost my car keys. Again. Does that make me 'absent-minded'?

 

According to Wikipedia, absent-mindedness is "where a person shows inattentive or forgetful behaviour." The article goes to outline three different ways that people could be described as 'absent-minded':

• Not paying close attention (you 'blank' or 'zone out') - one that parents of teenagers will know quite well;
• Paying so much attention to one single thing (apparently, something called 'hyperfocus') that you become oblivious to everything else going on around you;
• Being distracted from the one thing you should be doing by 'irrelevant thoughts' or simply other stuff going on around you.

In my own head, I tend to associate this concept with the 'absent-minded professor', a typical character found in popular fiction, a talented academic who is so focused on his work that he forgets his own surroundings. Hence, the pic of Doc Brown from 'Back To The Future' at the top of this entry. Other professors are available...

OK, I've lost my car keys again. 

 

Does that mean I'm on a slippery slope to Alzheimer's disease?

 

No.

 

It's simply that our modern-day, multi-tasking society is just so busy.

The bottom line: the busier you are, the more likely you are to be absent-minded.

I need to find ways to remember the things I so often forget. The details that fall through the cracks of my memory. Like what I was doing when I put those keys down? Hints and tips are welcomed...

 

Aah, there they are. Found my car keys.

Now, where did I park my car?  :)