How do you remember things, and think?

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Reading an article today on left-handedness, I realized that people seem to think in different ways. Everyone seems to create memories in different ways, and how much or what they remember is often dependent on how their brain works.

We all have short term and long term memory, and how we store the "long term" memories seems to be completely unique.

I don't always remember a whole event, but I often seem to remember things that created certain emotions. When someone, who has shared an event with me, talks about certain happenings, I find I don't remember the whole incident like they do, but I remember the feelings I had during the event.

My one "super" talent is of an odd variety: I can remember almost every TV show I ever watched, and I can name actors, episodes and more at the drop of a hat. It isn't such a useful talent anymore, because TV has blown completely out of proportion, but it's how I remember things--by capturing not only emotions, but visual images.

I can remember general memories. I can see perfectly in my mind some of the homes I lived in 30 and 40 years ago; I can see the house, barn and area on my grandparents' farm where I spent most of my summers, to the point where I can still vaguely "smell" it as well.

Some people tend to remember and think visually, while others remember audially, and yet others seem to remember by touch, emotionally or with feeling.

I can remember an incident when my brother and I raided the fridge when we were about 6 and 7, eating leaves from a cabbage with mayonnaise on the leaves, or my aunt preparing stuffed celery for a picnic, or an old pot filled with my grandmother's American chop suey to take home. But I don't remember when sound dominated the memory landscape.

How do you think and remember--by emotion, touch, sound, or visually? Is your brain compartmentalized by category? Do certain smells awaken memories?

I think it would be interesting to see how others use their memories, and how they recall. I think mainly on a visual level ultimately, and I think it is why I an a photographer, TV watcher or even why I write and read--to me, they're all visual media. When I read, I create my own visuals, for example, though I think a lot of people remember and think through their ears, something I've never been able to do very well myself.