Can't remember phone numbers? You're not alone

If you have a hard time remembering phone numbers, and rely on your cellphone's directory to keep track of all of your contacts, you're not alone. According to The New York Times, cellphones have replaced little black books, PDAs and even Outlook as the central repository of contact info for many people. And since most people don't make backups, if they lose their cellphones, they're out of luck. A recent British study found that 29% of people worried that they'd lose touch with friends and business associates if they lost their cells. The solution: backup, backup, backup. Even if you have to do it on paper. Oh, and that part about not remembering phone numbers: It's not your fault (or the fault of too much cellphone radiation hitting your brain). Turns out the human brain isn't wired to adequately handle numbers longer than nine digits. With most phone numbers requiring at least 10 digits, we just can't handle them. That, and with the cellphone as an omnipresent appendage, why waste your brain cells on phone numbers? Save them for something more important, like, uh, um, what were we saying?

[alorlious @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

When you go to jail they take your cell BEFORE they give you the phone call. Make sure you at least know Mom & Dads #. :)

[Jim @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

If I still have 867-5309 from the mideighties then all phone numbers should have their own song?

[Sonburn @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

Verizon customers can use a nifty little service called Backup Assistant. It backs up your contacts behind the scenes, and gives you a web interface to manage and add contacts. Adding contacts via the web and not the phone! Woot!

[Sonburn @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

Sorry, the link: http://www.verizonwireless.com/backupassistant

[Dandy @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

Another reason to love Mac/OS X: iSync.

My Sony Ericsson K700 and iSync talk together like a sweet couple in love, and I just press "sync" - and it synchronizes everything from calendars, reminders and the address book.

[Kwang @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

Another reason to love Windows: ActiveSync.

My Samsung i600 and ActiveSync talk together like a sweet couple in love, and I just press "sync" - and it synchronizes everything from calendars, reminders and the address book.

Apple dork.

[Michael J @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

That "Backup Assistant" that Verizon is offering is nice, but at the moment is very, very limited in the number of phones it will work on. Sure hope they expand the number of phones soon.

[mrother @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

errrmmm 10 digits? hah. most #'s in canada are only 7, with a 3 digit area code if you're phoning outside of your area code. Man, we need more people in this country.

[Jeff @ Dec 19th 2005 1:38AM]

Mrother, it's the same in the States, except with mobile phones and what they call "Area Code Overlays" (two area codes within the same geo area) 10 digits is the wave of the [near] future. When you're number is in one of those two area codes you must dial the area code even if you're calling your nextdoor neighbor.

Interestingly, I had heard that the human brain can only remember 7 numbers. Industrial designers have known this for years. So they try to design new gizmos with not more than seven buttons (cell phones an exception I guess).