To refresh, these are random thoughts I have. They don't have to be based in reality. In fact, they work better if they're not. These are questions which are meant to lead to more questions which hopefully will turn into a story of some sort in the future.
This past weekend, I saw The Vow. (Please don't judge me too harshly. There was nothing on TV, and it was awfully hot outside. Over 100 degrees. It broke records. And there was not much to do in the air conditioned house but watch TV.) And it made me think of how memory determines much of who we are.
I know this topic has been done in movies and books before. So, I'm going to try a different spin.
What if we could erase memories that we did not want? What if losing those memories didn't change us at all?
As school has started up again and I have been working, I will have new subbing stories to share. Would you like me to continue with the "what if?" posts on Thursdays (assuming I can come up with something)? I've been debating whether or not to keep them up and post about subbing on other days. What do you think?
I think that losing memories will always change you. That's why alzheimers is so devastating.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Michael, mostly. I think you could get away with deleting a few but more interestingly would be if you could get rid of say an unpleasant memory that caused you trauma, would you no longer be traumatized if the memory was gone?
ReplyDeleteI assume you mean losing the bad memories would not change your personality as a whole, but it would still erase the negative associations with it, right? If that were true it might not be a bad idea. There's more than one memory I could stand to get rid of and I think as long as the overall facts remained, I'd be better off.
ReplyDeleteAnd I love your Thursday what-if posts. You come up with the best questions.
It's an interesting thought - I mean, imagine if physicians could delete memories of people suffering from post-traumatic stress. And imagine a person's death being entirely forgotten because everyone's had their memories of it deleted?
ReplyDeleteI just wonder how many memories you would have to erase--if you took away an unpleasant memory, would the related ones about all the people involved also have to go? It seems like that could eliminate some of your personality if those individuals influenced the way you think.
ReplyDeleteI really like your "What If?" posts. You raise really good questions.
I enjoy your blog posts, whether they're about subbing or knitting or asking bigger questions. No, I don't want to lose any memories. Like The Golden Eagle, what would I give up? I guess it would depend on the trauma for some people.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a good school year.