Life in the fifties be like…
Does this happen to you? Times when you feel totally let down by your own brain? Do you feel like your brain obfuscated some data from you just to have a little fun on the side?
This morning, I received a call on my phone. The name of the caller was displayed clearly. So I knew who it was before I said hello. I mean — I thought I knew who it was. I was sure I knew who it was. Let us call him Jeevan for the purpose of this story.
Jeevan said hello brightly and enquired if I remembered him. I laughed. Of course, I remembered him. I told him I was not that old yet. I did not know the joke was on me and my brain was sitting by the wayside watching the drama unfold.
He had called for some information and went on to explain the context of his call. I listened attentively, asked intelligent questions, and made all the right noises. Meanwhile, a small background process had started in my head. The process produced a report that said there was a voice and name mismatch. The caller did not sound like Jeevan apparently. I ignored the report and continued to talk.
As we discussed the matter at hand, I asked several questions to understand his requirement better. One of his responses had me stymied though. If Jeevan was indeed Jeevan, his answer should have been different. Who is this guy? An impersonator?
As I processed his response, I felt my brain slowly stirring. I imagined it sitting there choking as it tried to control its laughter. I felt a chill air and a fog lifted and left my head.
This was Jeevan indeed and his responses were spot on. But! This caller was not the Jeevan I imagined him to be. He was a different Jeevan from a different part of my life. Yes, I know several people who go by the name Jeevan.
Now I understood why my brain was literally chortling with uncontrolled laughter. I had seen the name displayed on my phone. I had registered the name clearly. Yet, I managed to think this was the other Jeevan. Why? Just why?
Knowing that I am prone to such confusion, I have a clear code when I save names to my contact list. I always save names with some reference. For example, work contacts will always have the name of the company I knew them from. Jeevan’s name displayed as Jeevan <name of the company where we worked together> when he called.
For some reason, I seem to have completely ignored the part about the name of the company. That’s exactly why Brain was having a hearty laugh. It supplied the required information and even ran a background process to help me clear my mistake, but I bashed on heedless. “Totally my mistake, Brain!”
Luckily, embarrassment averted! I realized my folly in time, rallied around, and asked Jeevan questions about his family and not the other Jeevan’s family. Imagine if I had asked him how his wife was doing when in fact this Jeevan is unmarried!
There is a perfectly reasonable explanation for this behavior of my brain though. You will find more information in the link below.
Anu Anniah Writes 