--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It turns out that my memory is just not…" description: "\"It turns out that my memory is just not that great, so for specific scenes with people doing stuff, sometimes I'd have the details all wrong or I could..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08d/rick-moody-8542_details_it-turns-out-that-my-memory-is-just-not_1408208.png" --- # It turns out that my memory is just not that great, so for… ![“It turns out that my memory is just not that great, so for specific scenes with people doing stuff, sometimes I'd have the details all wrong or I couldn't remember what happened exactly, so I just let that be.” quote by Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08d/rick-moody-8542_details_it-turns-out-that-my-memory-is-just-not_1408208.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08d/rick-moody-8542_details_it-turns-out-that-my-memory-is-just-not_1408208.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08d/rick-moody-8542_details_it-turns-out-that-my-memory-is-just-not_1408208.png) > “It turns out that my memory is just not that great, so for specific scenes with people doing stuff, sometimes I'd have the details all wrong or I couldn't remember what happened exactly, so I just let that be.” [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He admits his memory is unreliable for details, so he accepts imperfections and moves on. **In simple terms:** Memory lapses are normal; accept them. Key Takeaway Embrace imperfect recollection without frustration. Themes memory acceptance imperfection Mood thoughtful accepting Type cognitive psychological When to use this quote - storytelling - family histories - personal journals - research notes Key Concepts cognitive bias nostalgia self‑compassion Questions to Reflect On - How do you verify important memories? - What strategies help you recall details accurately? A Different Perspective Relying on faulty memory can distort truth and relationships. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Couldn Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/couldn-remember/) [Details](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/details/) [Happened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happened/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Memory Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory-just-271154/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Remember Happened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember-happened/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Specific Scenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/specific-scenes-4954498/) [Stuff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stuff/) [Turns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turns/) ## Related quotes > [What I remember myself from films, and what I love about films, is specific scenes and characters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harmony-korine/what-i-remember-myself-from-films-and-what-i-love-about-films-is/) [Harmony Korine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harmony-korine/) > [When I play, I'm so in the moment that I can't really remember what happened afterwards. It's a rare experience for a thinking person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lykke-li/when-i-play-i-m-so-in-the-moment-that-i-can-t-really-remember-what/) [Lykke Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lykke-li/) > [I wish I could remember how to write a play. I can't remember how they happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/i-wish-i-could-remember-how-to-write-a-play-i-can-t-remember-how-they/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [I think you just assume that your memory is just sort of a video playback of your experience, but it's nothing like that at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kaufman/i-think-you-just-assume-that-your-memory-is-just-sort-of-a-video/) [Charlie Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kaufman/) > [Everyone has photographic memory; some just don't have the film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-has-photographic-memory-some-just-don-t-have-the-film/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Looking back across the years, so many pictures flash on the screen of my memory that just as I begin to see one clearly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-veidt/looking-back-across-the-years-so-many-pictures-flash-on-the-screen-of/) [Conrad Veidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-veidt/) > [A memory is just a memory, don't let it control what happens in the future or worse the present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/collin-mitchell/a-memory-is-just-a-memory-don-t-let-it-control-what-happens-in-the/) [Collin Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/collin-mitchell/) > [Memory is not just the imprint of the past time upon us; it is the keeper of what is meaningful for our deepest hopes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rollo-may/memory-is-not-just-the-imprint-of-the-past-time-upon-us-it-is-the/) [Rollo May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rollo-may/) > [“For a long time... I've been asking myself this question... Am I a memory? Are you... a memory? Are we just... a collection of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuuki-obata/for-a-long-time-i-ve-been-asking-myself-this-question-am-i-a-memory/) [Yuuki Obata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuuki-obata/) > [No memoirists writes for long without experiencing an unsettling disbelief about the reliability of memory, a hunch that memory is not, after all, just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-hampl/no-memoirists-writes-for-long-without-experiencing-an-unsettling/) [Patricia Hampl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-hampl/) > [“Memory is just an alternate version of reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candace-bushnell/memory-is-just-an-alternate-version-of-reality/) [Candace Bushnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candace-bushnell/) > [Guitar is just something I can do. So much of it now is muscle memory, just instinct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-vincent/guitar-is-just-something-i-can-do-so-much-of-it-now-is-muscle-memory/) [St. Vincent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-vincent/) > [“But mostly I just kept reminding myself to burn every moment into my memory. I just tried to be sure I was always there.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-ryan-hyde/but-mostly-i-just-kept-reminding-myself-to-burn-every-moment-into-my/) [Catherine Ryan Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-ryan-hyde/) > [Part of being a writer is just getting it in your bones, getting the muscle memory down, just doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-bob-waksberg/part-of-being-a-writer-is-just-getting-it-in-your-bones-getting-the/) [Raphael Bob-Waksberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-bob-waksberg/) > [I have a photographic memory; I just haven't developed it yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-winters/i-have-a-photographic-memory-i-just-haven-t-developed-it-yet/) [Jonathan Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-winters/) ## More by Rick Moody > [I believe that God locates himself at the spot where you recognize your own fallibility…And the paradox of it all has been that whenever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/i-believe-that-god-locates-himself-at-the-spot-where-you-recognize/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [The Ice Storm, because of the movie, has had, or is to have, a vigorous life in other cultures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/the-ice-storm-because-of-the-movie-has-had-or-is-to-have-a-vigorous/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [Capitalism, in the realm of sexuality, I figure, thinks that we behave in specific ways, like a breast is always going to produce a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/capitalism-in-the-realm-of-sexuality-i-figure-thinks-that-we-behave/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [Literature precedes genre.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/literature-precedes-genre/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [I'm not the guy to ask about the most up to date stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/i-m-not-the-guy-to-ask-about-the-most-up-to-date-stuff/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [“Words are the oldest information storage and retrieval system ever devised. Words are probably older than the cave paintings in France, words have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/words-are-the-oldest-information-storage-and-retrieval-system-ever/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [Writing the book was itself a process of concealing and revealing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/writing-the-book-was-itself-a-process-of-concealing-and-revealing/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [Tangled in one another's arms and nine times out of ten the things you think about a person make it impossible to touch them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/tangled-in-one-another-s-arms-and-nine-times-out-of-ten-the-things/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [The Great Recession is not imaginary, and the effects loom large. There was an article in the NYT about the galloping death rate among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/the-great-recession-is-not-imaginary-and-the-effects-loom-large-there/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [I have worked really hard to defy categorization, to break down a taxonomy whenever it comes my way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/i-have-worked-really-hard-to-defy-categorization-to-break-down-a/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [I am excited by... the new novel by Samantha Hunt. She's a writer I really admire a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/i-am-excited-by-the-new-novel-by-samantha-hunt-she-s-a-writer-i/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [All the stuff that I used to treat with contempt - you know, I'm an artist, man, I don't do that family stuff -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/all-the-stuff-that-i-used-to-treat-with-contempt-you-know-i-m-an/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [Updike worked this way, and I just kinda borrowed it from him. So the memoir will be relief from novel writing for a moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/updike-worked-this-way-and-i-just-kinda-borrowed-it-from-him-so-the/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [ “\[I\]t is things that make us happy when conversation begins to reveal itself as a paltry substitute.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/i-t-is-things-that-make-us-happy-when-conversation-begins-to-reveal/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [When prose gets too stylized and out of control - and Stein is sometimes a good example - when you don't know what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/when-prose-gets-too-stylized-and-out-of-control-and-stein-is/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) [Explore all 80 Rick Moody quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) ## More Details quotes > [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [The exact details of how you practice value investing will vary investor to investor, but the fundamental principle of scouring the world, looking for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitney-tilson/the-exact-details-of-how-you-practice-value-investing-will-vary/) [Whitney Tilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitney-tilson/) > [The more I trust you, the less details I need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-more-i-trust-you-the-less-details-i-need/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When my main character in 'Heat' climbs the tower, the highest diving platform, hoping to resume competitive diving after an injury, I am there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cadnum/when-my-main-character-in-heat-climbs-the-tower-the-highest-diving/) [Michael Cadnum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cadnum/) > [The first track is the end of a string. At the far end, a being is moving; a mystery, dropping a hint about itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brown-jr/the-first-track-is-the-end-of-a-string-at-the-far-end-a-being-is/) [Tom Brown, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brown-jr/) > [No matter what. Wherever your mind wanders, it seems to turn up at the same Field of Dreams. It's the vision you wake up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-c-collins/no-matter-what-wherever-your-mind-wanders-it-seems-to-turn-up-at-the/) [James C. Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-c-collins/) > [Our thoughts are either focused on what's eternal, life-changing, and true, or lost in the details of our temporary, selfish, false beliefs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-groeschel/our-thoughts-are-either-focused-on-what-s-eternal-life-changing-and/) [Craig Groeschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-groeschel/) > [Just because someone thinks they remember something in detail, with confidence and with emotion, does not mean that it actually happened, .. False memories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-loftus/just-because-someone-thinks-they-remember-something-in-detail-with/) [Elizabeth Loftus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-loftus/) > [The Science Delusion is the belief that science already understands the nature of reality in principle leaving only the details to be filled in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-sheldrake/the-science-delusion-is-the-belief-that-science-already-understands/) [Rupert Sheldrake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-sheldrake/) > [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/) [John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/) > [It takes a little more time to get into the role, but not very much more. In making a record you don't have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-callas/it-takes-a-little-more-time-to-get-into-the-role-but-not-very-much/) [Maria Callas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-callas/) > [We're still working out the details, but I'd be delighted to do the film. The problem at the moment is my busy schedule. Shooting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhang-ziyi/we-re-still-working-out-the-details-but-i-d-be-delighted-to-do-the/) [Zhang Ziyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhang-ziyi/) > [What is needed, however, isn't just that people working together be nice to each other. It is discipline. Discipline is hard--harder than trustworthiness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/what-is-needed-however-isn-t-just-that-people-working-together-be/) [Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/) > [I get worked up over an 'idea' or the ethos of an idea. 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Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/) [Browse all 2,442 Details quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/details/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It turns out that my memory is just not that great, so for specific scenes with people doing stuff, sometimes I'd have the details all wrong or I couldn't remember what happened exactly, so I just let that be.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rick Moody" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/it-turns-out-that-my-memory-is-just-not-that-great-so-for-specific/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Details" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/it-turns-out-that-my-memory-is-just-not-that-great-so-for-specific/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08d/rick-moody-8542_details_it-turns-out-that-my-memory-is-just-not_1408208.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08d/rick-moody-8542_details_it-turns-out-that-my-memory-is-just-not_1408208.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/08d/rick-moody-8542_details_it-turns-out-that-my-memory-is-just-not_1408208.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It turns out that my memory is just not that great, so for specific scenes with people doing stuff…” — Rick Moody", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Rick Moody", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It turns out that my memory...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/it-turns-out-that-my-memory-is-just-not-that-great-so-for-specific/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/it-turns-out-that-my-memory-is-just-not-that-great-so-for-specific/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```