How far back can you remember?

[skepticlogician]

Hi guys,

 

The other day I was enjoying a nice chat with my parents and we were reminiscing on stories and stuff from our pasts (me, my brothers and my parents) and the very interesting question of "how far back can you remember?" came into the conversation. I shared this memory with them in which I remember being outside by this "huge" pile of gravel by a construction site, playing with the stones and pebbles and with a particular song playing in the background. Immediately my dad said "No way, you can't remember that! You were only a year and a half old!!". Due to the particulars that I mentioned (the song, the gravel and the site), my dad remembers exactly when this happened, specially because this happened outside of the country as we were visiting one of my uncles.

Anyway, don't mind my boring story too much. I actually wanted to ask, what are the oldest memories you guys have of yourselves and stuff?

 

After that particular one, I don't really have a stream of memories between 1 and 2 years old. But then, I start to have a more congruent stream of memories by 3 or so... How about you guys?

 

Cheers!

[NeedfulThings]

I don't really remember before age 4 very well. This is probably because most important events that I would have a better chance of remembering started at age 4.

I have faint memories of earlier times.

[Moontanman]

I have a few disjointed memories of 2 or 3 yo or so but no real continuous memories of more than 4 or 5

[toastywombel]

I don't have very many memories before three, but I do remember some events.

 

I remember watching a football game with my dad, it was at my grandparents house. It was the Dallas Cowboys playing the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles ended upt winning the game I think, but I remember an interception thrown by Troy Aikman vividly. It was late in the 1991-1992 season.

 

I also remember climbing on top of a pile of wood onto a shed in my back yard. My mom came out and found me on top of the shed and was quite scared. I asked her about it just a little ago and she said I was probably three.

 

I have another memory of us moving into our old house in Arlington and one of my Mom's friends carrying in boxes. I would have been around two at that time.

 

I have many other memories from my early childhood but I would say that they are all around two years of age. Most of them are just bits and pieces though.

[Tyler Durden]

The most vivid memory I have of my childhood was around 5 years of age. It was a pointless memory, I don't know why it still lingers. It was a memory of me being in my parents' bathroom and I thought about going on vacation to Hawaii.

 

This is probably because I was in Hawaii when I was only 2 years old. I remember hurting my ass on the cement of the edge of a swimming pool when I was this young. It was my first time experiencing pain in my tailbone, so I guess it makes sense that I have that memory.

 

Other than that, I remember a sort of "limbo" before 1 year. It was like I was on autopilot, dreaming while being awake. I don't remember any conscious actions, I don't remember any objects or situations, just darkness. It's probably just an extremely faint memory that it has no substance.

[KagakuOtaku]

For me, remembering something from a long time ago is easier than remembering something that happened five minutes ago. The farthest I can remember back is this one day, when I was riding a pony during a fair. It's not very vivid, though.

 

The second oldest and most vivid of my early childhood was of when I was two/three. I remember being grounded on the day of my birthday, because I disobeyed my mother.

 

I can even remember something as insignificant as standing on my knees. I don't remember how old I was, but I do remember there being some couch cushions around me...

[Genecks]

The farthest back I can remember, I must have been maybe 6 months old or less. I was in a car seat, I suspect, which was on the couch in what use to be the house's living room. I was looking to my right, and I saw my brother. He was 16-years-old at the time. Sitting next to him, I saw a friend of the family. Both of them were 16-years-old.

 

To say the least, I can remember farther back than modern psychology and neuroscience believes I should be able to remember back to.

[DJBruce]

To be completely honest I am not quite sure how far back I can remember. I feel as if I can remember back till when I was 2 or 3. However, I am guessing that some of these memories are false memories created by my mind in hindsight. My guess is that with all of my families talk about things when I was little, the constant showing of childhood videos, and childhood pictures that some of these have been adopted as memories.

 

I can definitely remember things from when I was four years old.

[valenteri]

I was 3 year old or younger, it was a saturday or sunday. Rays of sun came through the window. I saw my mother making the table. We were having crabs for dinner.