I have a bad memory for isolated facts (like names or past events), and comparatively poor ability to guess intended meaning of things people are talking about in real time. When I was younger, I would just randomly guess possible answers to patch over the gaps in my mental picture (with little chance for actual success) in situations where it was expected of me to know the answer. Generation of random explanations that have nothing to do with actually explaining the observations might sometimes be motivated by a similar psychological pressure to give some answer.
Now I say “I don’t know” or “I don’t understand”, to the bewilderment of people who would expect better mental agility of me, but don’t know me well enough.
I have a bad memory for isolated facts (like names or past events), and comparatively poor ability to guess intended meaning of things people are talking about in real time. When I was younger, I would just randomly guess possible answers to patch over the gaps in my mental picture (with little chance for actual success) in situations where it was expected of me to know the answer. Generation of random explanations that have nothing to do with actually explaining the observations might sometimes be motivated by a similar psychological pressure to give some answer.
Now I say “I don’t know” or “I don’t understand”, to the bewilderment of people who would expect better mental agility of me, but don’t know me well enough.