IT is littered with acronyms – many of which you can’t remember what it means. This has been explained by recent research that shows there is a maximum number of acronyms that it is possible for one person to remember.
Once you’ve reached your maximum number of acronyms as soon as you try to remember a new one then one of the existing ones will be erased from you memory. The acronym to be erased seems to be selected at random though recent computer models lead researchers to suspect that its inversely proportional to your age and directly proportional to the number of different technologies you’re currently working with.
Your maximum number of acronyms seems to be hardwired on an individual basis and no amount of training seems to be able to modify this number.
If you suspect that you’re reaching your maximum number of acronyms all you can do is make sure that you have a cheat sheet available to use to look up their meaning.
Many IT vendors are actively aiding research in this area as their ability to generate incomprehensible documentation littered with acronyms is severely hindered by this new discovery.