12-26-2012, 12:10 AM
Wow, well, I know I'm not crazy now. I just don't understand how some people "see" things. As I mentioned earlier, I know people who would have watched the above video, and only remembered that it was 1989, and would not be able to tell me the color of the engine.
If I already know a train will be some place and I'm ready, I can usually remember to catch not only the road numbers but basic spotting features, and I can usually ID a locomotive if I have more than a half second.
However, if I'm driving past (whether i'm the driver or passenger) and I see the engine only briefly, I might recognize enough to know its make and general type (GP, Dash-8, etc). The shape and color would stand out to me. I try to get the roadnumber since I know it will let me identify the locomotive later.
I'm curious what you mean by this. I'm not sure rivet counting is necessary. Besides, I'm more looking into exactly what the title says (what people remember when they see something briefly). I just picked this train example since I figure most people here would have been familiar with the scenario.
Thats just a tad intense! I'm pretty sure this guy ended up on the show Tosh.0 for his sheer excitement (or at least, it was another person loosing their mind over a UP heritage unit).
Unless you have a really good photographic memmory, you probably won't see "everything". If you do, I strongly suspect you're an outlier. Our minds by their nature try to simplify the information they take in.
If I already know a train will be some place and I'm ready, I can usually remember to catch not only the road numbers but basic spotting features, and I can usually ID a locomotive if I have more than a half second.
However, if I'm driving past (whether i'm the driver or passenger) and I see the engine only briefly, I might recognize enough to know its make and general type (GP, Dash-8, etc). The shape and color would stand out to me. I try to get the roadnumber since I know it will let me identify the locomotive later.
ezdays Wrote:To only have all that knowledge that those rivet-counters do...
I'm curious what you mean by this. I'm not sure rivet counting is necessary. Besides, I'm more looking into exactly what the title says (what people remember when they see something briefly). I just picked this train example since I figure most people here would have been familiar with the scenario.
Ralph Wrote:Love the enthusiasm in that vid! Yeah, I think I'd notice the heritage units!
Thats just a tad intense! I'm pretty sure this guy ended up on the show Tosh.0 for his sheer excitement (or at least, it was another person loosing their mind over a UP heritage unit).
railohio Wrote:Invalid poll. There's no option for "everything."
Unless you have a really good photographic memmory, you probably won't see "everything". If you do, I strongly suspect you're an outlier. Our minds by their nature try to simplify the information they take in.
Modeling New Jersey Under the Wire 1978-1979.
![[Image: logosmall.png]](http://i543.photobucket.com/albums/gg445/CAB_IV/Model%20Trains%202013/logosmall.png)