Here's something funny — I could invent a whole new algorithm from scratch in a contest because I dug so deep into a problem, only to later find out the official solution was just Arrays.sort().
And no, I'm not joking. My friends would solve the same question in under 3 minutes. I'd spend 45. Not because I was stuck — but because I was designing a full-on sorting network, convinced there had to be a trick. There wasn't. But what I built actually worked — and they didn't even understand how.
That's the life of someone with intense reasoning ability but mid-tier (at best) memory retention. I can pick apart abstract math and physics ideas like it's nothing. I could listen to a complex concept once, and reconstruct it with even deeper insights. But ask me what we discussed yesterday over lunch? No clue. Gone. It's like my brain filters out what it deems "non-essential" — and trust me, it's ruthless.
I've never been good with History. Couldn't memorize dates or timelines if you paid me. In fact, if you offered me a full scholarship plus monthly stipend to study Medicine, I'd still say no. Not because I can't reason through the biology — but because I know I'd forget half the memorized terms before the exam. That's just how my mind works. It optimizes for logic, not recall.
But when I enter a coding contest or solve a real-world logic puzzle, it's like Hikaru playing bullet chess with 2 seconds on the clock. Everything connects instantly. I see through the noise, I bend rules (safely), and I create solutions that weren't even in the textbook.
How I Manage It
- Lean on notes and spaced repetition for memory gaps.
- Trust deep work for logic-heavy problems.
- Laugh at the forgetfulness — it keeps me humble.
It's a weird paradox to live in — being brilliant in chaos and yet forgetful in calm. But I've learned to embrace it.