Many years ago, I approached the ATM for some cash and… nothing! No matter how I tried, I could not recall my randomly assigned number; a number that I had used for years. This really troubled me, but that very night, I had a dream that I was using the ATM and I recalled that temporarily forgotten code. The brain is a mysterious organ, for sure.
We use electronic medical records. In order to get into my schedule or a patient’s chart, I have to go through a dance of passwords. Those passwords must contain a sequence of complicated numbers or symbols for security reasons. After you go through an endless dance of letters, numbers and symbols, you realize that you are using the password from a week ago. You now have a new one; one that you have forgotten over the weekend. And, one that you did not write down. I have to call the computer help desk, where they will ask my name, employee number, location and the number of my computer. They will then grant me access using a new password that is even more complicated than the one I forgot.