At that same lunch, in trying to make light of my mental lapses, I retold this old joke (found online at this site)
Not to turn this into a joke thread or anything, but Zeldar’s joke reminded me of another “senility” joke that my father-in-law likes to tell.
An old couple are sitting watching TV and the old lady gets up and says to her husband “I’m going to go fix myself some ice cream. Would you like some?” “Sure,” says the old man, and the wife heads off to the kitchen.
A couple minutes later she sticks her head in the doorway. “Do you want any chocolate sauce on your ice cream?” “Yeah, that sounds good,” he replies, and back she goes to the kitchen.
A little later she comes back. “How about some whipped cream?” He replies, “Yes, I’ll have some whipped cream.”
Shortly after that: “I’m going to put a cherry on mine. Do you want one?”
“Sure, I’ll take a cherry,” he says, and she disappears back into the kitchen. She’s in there for a very long time, and finally walks out and hands the old man a plate with bacon, eggs, and hash browns.
The old man looks at the plate and says “What the hell is this?
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You forgot the toast!”
Yes, that’s a known phenomenon in psychology of memory. It’s called interference.
(since I can’t find an LOL option)
I’m happy to know the term for this. It happens to me ALL THE TIME and the best way I’ve found to cope with it is just distract myself every time I try to find the right word and think of something else, because my brain will just retrieve the similar-but-wrong word and present it to me proudly with a ‘Found it!’ air and stop trying to find the right word. If I can successfully think of something else, eventually the right word will percolate up from my subconscious.
Megalomaniac?
Grandma. My brothers and I learned this very quickly.
Know-it-all
World’s Foremost Authority ™
I don’t see the term as universally inclusive, in that a person may be dogmatic about 1 or more things, but not everything.
Also, dogmatic strongly suggestes a person who is repeating the “party line” uncritically, relying on some kind of bible as their authority. I wouldn’t call someone so confident of their own opinion dogmatic.
Megalomenia is a disease. In everyday life, I think we’re more likely to come across with instances of vanity and egotism.
I was thinking of it in the second (non-dogma-related) meaning: asserting opinions in a doctrinaire or arrogant manner.
To use it in a sentence (which I have contemplated doing): “You’re very dogmatic about everything, and most of the time you’re wrong.”
Would pontificator work?
And I tried to fight it, but here’s another senility joke. An old woman walks up to an old man in a rest home. She says, “If you drop your drawers, I’ll tell you how old you are.”
The old man thinks for a minute, but can’t think of any way that could be done, so he tries it out. “You’re 84!” the old woman exclaims.
“You’re right!” says the old man. Then he looks down, puzzled. “How did you know?”
“You told me yesterday.”
authoritarian?
–“Tending to tell other people what to do in a peremptory or arrogant manner. See Synonyms at dictatorial.”
domineering? imperious?
Dogmatic
You’re welcome.
Psst: see post #4. Also #18, 29 and 31.
But thank you.
Oh. Well, never mind.