That specific spot in my brain…
For the last 18 months I have had a locker at the New York Sports club at Grand Central. I have gone to the gym 2-3 times a week and always unlocked the combination lock on my locker. It is a master lock, like the one pictured. Not once during that entire 18 months did I forget the combination to that lock, or even have to think for a moment to recall it. The last time I opened that lock was on Saturday, August 15th.
On Monday, August 17th, I signed up for a new gym at Columbia and I got a new locker. This locker also has a master lock combination lock guarding it. I memorized the combination, then went about my day.
I’m sure you can guess what happened, but I’ll tell you anyway.
Today I went to my old gym to cancel my account and retrieve all the stuff from my locker. Lo and behold, I could not remember the combination to the lock. All I could bring to mind when I tried to remember it was the combination to my new locker at the new gym. I finally had to get the manager to open the lock for me. Even now, hours later, no amount of concentration will bring to mind that old combination, but the new combination is at the tip of my tongue.
My conclusion is that I have space in my brain for exactly one combination to a gym locker.
This bout with forgetfulness has raised your anxiety level to the point where it affects your reasoning. The non-recall of the old combination does not prove that it no longer exists in your memory; it only proves that you cannot remember it. This is a standard philosophical distinction; epistemology vs. ontology. Because the old combination cannot now be known does not mean that it does not exist somewhere in your memory. Plus, it is quite a leap to conclude that memory has volume (i.e., ‘takes up space’ in your brain).
I personally would argue (but not ‘conclude’) that you have the ability to access only the most current gym locker combination; previous combinations still DO exist in your memory, but they’re archived. Your system for accessing archived locker combination data is offline and needs to be rebooted.
P.S. I can’t seem to recall ANY combinations ….