What are your recall tactics?
I do Audio Recording (Phone App), write on tiny notepads, and even use one of those water-proof bathroom-ready notepads. Sometimes, I felt the ideas were so apparent that I didn't write them down or just continued walking. However, the moment I sit in front of the Computer - the best case is that I'm now doing other "important things" or trying to knock off the tasks in the calendar, etc. That simple but effective idea I had is gone and won't come back in its form for hours, days, weeks, or years!
They didn't turn up as great as I initially though, but this lead to some interesting ideas. And to me writing this answer. :)
This shower thing happens from time to time - but only if I actively think about the problem - and I never go to the bathroom with a goal of solving anything. It's more like something is bothering me and it just happens that it's this time of the day.
Walks are also moments where ideas pops up - again, if I actively think about the problem. Always have a phone with me, so typically I just write down some short note to be able to come back to it later.
My more conscious approach is writing outline of the problem down, together with currently know solutions. Often times imagining I'm doing this for someone else than me. This tends to flush some interesting issues. Also, returning to such note after a day or to, when I try to understand it just from its content, somewhat pretending I know nothing about the issue, can also be fruitful.
We were skiing last weekend and I had a really good idea for him -- I shared it with him and he said, "Get your phone out, write that down!" I said, "There's no way I'll forget, it's too good..!"
Neither of us can remember what it is.
Parental touche, hardcore.
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I remember working for someone a couple decades ago who would go on long road trips to his vacation house and use a voice recorder. He'd record hours and hours of his thoughts, and then have his assistant transcribe the recordings.
One thing I've struggled with -- I have a lot of ideas. I write a lot of ideas down, but I do less well at capturing the level of detail that made the idea exciting at the time. That's what I'd like to develop further.
I used to get a little panicky during this time because I'd worry I would forget this volume of important thought.
Turns out, if it is truly a paradigm shift, you can't forget it. No need to write it down (unless you want to share it). Once you know it, you'll never unknow it. Your lens is forever changed and you can't look at the world without constant reminders that you have had that thought.
It's called "Blitzmail" on Android. I'm sure there's an Apple version, I don't know what it's called.
Absurdly simple. It's a send-only, to only one address, email client. Pops open a texting type box, you hit send. That's it.
This has replaced so many apps/things for me. Notes, calendaring, bookmarks, etc. A really good "GTD Inbox" thing if you're familiar.
The above strategy seems to work well when I'm trying "to hold" an inspiring creative spark; e.g. what are the right questions to ask or "what are the key connections or people to make X work?".
It might work less well when there are a lot of moving parts. For example, I find I usually will need to draw with pencil and paper when it comes to physical designs or complex algorithms.
Also, some ideas about to get your head back in the same creative space where you had the idea... go back to the same place, play the same music, ... the brain's memory is highly associative.
But - someone recently pointed me to Quick Capture [2] (AFAIK iOS only) so I'm trying that. It's mega quick and a good way of getting something down with zero friction. I'll then copy stuff into Obsidian later when I've got more time to structure.
[0] https://obsidian.md/ [1] https://www.craft.do/ [2] https://quickcapture.xyz/
We keep hearing how programs like ChatGPT are going to "rule the earth" or whatever, that they are smart. They are not. They are only "stochastic parrots" -- they repeat what they were taught, albeit in an elegant and sometimes accurate fashion.
What's missing?
What's missing is apparent in many of the replies here: embodiment. That which we get for being humans doing thinking. To me, that means something like "in the moment" - you have these flash ideas, sometimes while driving, sometimes in the shower or on long walks (read: wherever it's borderline impossible to record the ideas) or even in that fog just before being fully awake (hint: when you realize you're onto something an not fully awake - you can train yourself for that - do not open your eyes until you have fully rehearsed the idea), the very process of changing thoughts in order to get the new idea recorded changes the moment; the moment of invention is gone, even if some broad sketch of the idea remains. The embodiment of that idea is gone.
Bots will need zillions more transistors to come even close to that capability.
The process of letting your subconscious solve problems has been explained by David Gelertner in his book _The Must In The Machine_ as a process where the conscious mind, and its censors (logic circuits), are somehow inactivated, which allows the subconscious to play. Wires connect and some kind of aha! moment occurs.
There is a number of ideas that I can keep in my had. If I surpass that, I lose memory of most of them. It would be nice to write them down, but the threat of losing ideas also helps me to stay focused on the first idea.
I am a happier person since I have stopped taking long showers.
Plus information flows from my brain more easily with pen and paper than with computer typing or even talking into a recorder. Sometime about the extra brain cycles needed to speak aloud or type, it distorts my idea expression.
But I sometimes have ideas so fast that a new one will come in before I finish writing down the current one.
It works well while walking or hiking or waking up the middle of the night with some ideas or a schedule to remember. Or memorizing pi, etc. Funny to remember grocery lists from 30 years ago too.
When I do need to recall, I just use the strategy of "hold the items in my head as intently as possible, for as little time as possible until I'm able to get to my phone or some paper".
On the rare occasions when neither my phone or paper are immediately available, I try to visualize the ideas, projecting them onto a mental canvas, and try to use connections between them or mnemonics to remember them as best as I can.
I avoid the problem of "I sit down in front of my computer in order to write down or do a thing" by building the discipline necessary to prevent myself from getting distracted in that manner.
1) An iPhone with a voice memo running
2) A plug in sony voice recorder that's on as a backup
3) Voice memos on Apple Watch for specific things
4) Notes and reminders on iphone
5) iPhone with voice recording near shower during shower
6) If I need to store something in my head, I use memory techniques to remember it - for example, don't append new items to the list, prepend them. i.e. 3rd item you thought of, 2nd item you thought of, 1st item you thought of.
7) I'm building an iOS app that will show me a running live transcript of the last 30 minutes I spoke out loud. (Contact info in my HN profile if you'd like to get on the beta) I haven't found a transcription app that has a paid plan with enough minutes to be left running 24/7 (Otter limits to 4h at a time, and 100 hours per month). And voice memos has no live transcription. So building this instead. If there's an existing alternative that works though, please tell me so I can save the time!
I have not worked on the app for a while, because it (still) works on my (old) Sony Android phone.
Also while I sit at computer and surf I get some idea what to visit or check and often it used to happen to me that I forgot it within few seconds, so now I don't take any risks and immediately open new tab with thing I thought about to not forget it and just return back to original tab without necessity keeping it in mind and stress about forgetting it.
As displeasing as it probably is to HN readers, I have always-on Google Assistant listening and ready to add things to my list.
Otherwise.... my phone is water resistant and has a rugged case!
I think pen and paper is probably best though. I have a boogie board with the smart pen and occasionally have gotten an entire hour of design work in 5 minutes woth it because it's so much less distracting.
But I do this out loud, speaking out loud seems to be the key. Like those japanese guys that point. I can "remember" my voice.
Check out Stephen King's take on this: https://youtu.be/lwhOd65gGoY?t=30
It’s often my wife about a thing related to our lives, but can be something work related that I share that morning with a trusted colleague or even an email to a friend.
An idea that strikes in the middle of the night just won't come back the next day. Or any other serendipitous idea. So I note it down using the path of least friction.
The cards: idea on one side, further notes on the back. Review them later when I'm back at a desk :)
Shower specifically is a hope Siri understands me situation
thanks for something else to worry about ;)
At work, I have a notepad in my desk with all the perl and python shit I always forget.