There’s nothing funny about memory loss, except maybe this.

About a month ago I got an email from the Canadian Association of Retired Persons that said:

CONCERNED ABOUT YOUR MEMORY?

Take the free online brain health assessment

validated by scientists from Baycrest, a world

leader in the research of memory and aging. 

It went on to say that the assessment was free, was specifically for people in my age group, and that I would get a personalized report.  “Well, that sounds OK,” I thought.  I have some memory loss and it would be nice to know how bad it is in the grand scheme of things, so I clicked on the blue button to start my free assessment.

I think I went on to take the approximately twenty-minute test but I can’t say for sure because well, you know, my memory isn’t what it was.

Anyway, about ten days ago I got this in an email from Baycrest (now calling itself cogniciti):

We would like to honor your decision to unsubscribe from our mailing list, but I wanted to check in and see if that was your intent when we sent out an email requesting more information from you so we could match you to research studies nearest you. Were you no longer interested in being a part of our Brain Health Registry?

Wait, what? When did that happen? Apparently they had sent me a request for further information and I must have clicked a “No Thanks” button because, guess what? Not only did I not remember having taken the original assessment test, I also did not remember getting an email from them asking for more information.

I wrote back:

 “I’m still interested, but I don’t recall receiving the email you mention.”

I haven’t heard from Baycrest since then, but this week I did get another email from CARP saying:

Participate In An Important Brain Health

Research Study From The Comfort Of Your Home

Many of us would like to help shape the future of brain health. A challenge is finding the time. Here is an important study being conducted by a respected research institute that you can participate in from the comfort of your home in just 55 minutes.

Well gosh , CARP/Baycrest/cogniciti. You just upped the ante from 20 minutes to 55. Did you think I wouldn’t notice? It was nice of you to offer a bribe in the form of a $10 gift card for Amazon or iTunes, but now I’m really not interested. You misinterpreted my unreliable memory as a lack of awareness.

By the way, did you ever give me my free assessment?  I don’t recall.

 

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Image source: Public Domain Pictures