Do You Really Hear What I'm Saying?

I don't know about you, but I often have a hard time focusing on what is said. Now, I don't mean that I have a hard time focusing on the intention or meaning of what someone says, but I have a hard time hearing exactly what was told me. Do you have this problem too?

Okay, maybe the word, "problem" isn't the best word to describe my lack of ability to remember what people say. But inherently, it feels like a problem.

To illustrate why I think that, picture this scenario. You sign up for a class at a local university and you forget your laptop, tablet, cell phone and notebook. All you have with you, is your beaming smile and those ears attached to your head. The lecturer explains the first law of thermodynamics, and your eyes glaze over as you ask, "How wi