
Why You Can’t Think of the Word That’s on the Tip of Your Tongue - ezhil
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/22/smarter-living/word-on-the-tip-of-your-tongue.html
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ukulele
Answer

> these moments are simply part of the way we communicate, and they’re more or
> less universal

Hard-hitting science right there. This is literally as far as the article
goes.

~~~
nemo
The deeper answer was on the tip of their tongue, but they just couldn't come
up with it for the article.

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chiaro
As to the question posed, there are two competing hypotheses. Blocking, where
the correct answer is prematurely discounted as false, and partial activation.
Introduction to this paper has an overview:

[https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.3758%2FBF03202721.p...](https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.3758%2FBF03202721.pdf)

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robius
In reality this is a consequence of how much effort we make in remembering
something.

It's well known that making lasting memories relies on multiple associations
that all lead to that memory.

So when you learn someone's name for the first time, say it a few times, and
think about something factually unique about the person, make those
associations with things that come to mind. (ex: Benjamin, Ben, Big Ben, short
Ben with a hat & side burns.)

The more you make, the better you'll be at remembering people's names and the
easier it will get.

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cavemanklaus
"It will come back to me soon." Instead of "I can't remember."

Help with this scenario, I use this inner dialogue as a generative command, I
say it gently and with trust in the innate wisdom of my consciousness and sure
enough within a minute or two this command runs in the background and then
what I'm looking for will become present in my mind. (I learnt this from The
Silva Method). I'm curious about this kind of inner pattern, what other
generative inner commands and questions work for you?

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sandov
This article doesn't answer the question on its title.

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calebm
I thought of the word(s) I was trying to think of: "presque vu" ;)

