Summary Of 4 Reasons Why We Forget People's Names

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In the article "4 Reasons Why We Forget People's Names", written by David Ludden the author gives an insightful as well as psychological approach as to why people have trouble sinking names into their brain. To begin, the author argues that names are "arbitrary" and that there's no reason or system as to how we name children other than by our personal whim or choice. To further clarify, unlike ordinary or common words we are able to make connections with what an object should look like or what kind of category it can be placed into. This type of systems makes it all that much easier to identify objects on a broader scale. But, unlike regular objects you cannot provide synonyms that in most scenarios help you determine an object or association. …show more content…

A third implication mentioned by Ludden is that names contain "multiple words." In most cases this is true, it's natural in many cultures for people to be given a first, middle, last name as well as names of endearment (nicknames). This makes remembering an individual all the more difficult. Also, getting to know only one part of an individual's full name can be seen as rude or a lack of respect. In addition, providing one name offers no clear association to someone's full identity because one must take into consideration that a majority of the population can share similar names Therefore, it's safer to remember one's full name even though this is a task for most people to