Philosophical Questions: Memory
Aug. 10th, 2024 01:20 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithPeople have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.
Human memory has been shown to be incredibly unreliable. With that in mind, how do you know which of your memories are genuine and which have been altered or made up?
First, there are many types of memory. Learn what they are and how each of them works.
Of course, that list isn't complete. There's also farmemory, what someone can carry from one life to another. And the biggest risk there isn't that you'll forget some things, which is normal, or remember them wrongly; it's that what holds true for one body, life, or world won't necessarily stay true in another. A lot of early science happens when you know several possibilities, but not which is active currently. Are you standing on a round planet or a flat plane? Are the stars giant balls of fire, pinholes in a dome, or people dancing in the sky? And then how do you determine the difference?
Also consider whether you have any other types of exceptional memory. There are various memory-based superpowers, even in local-Earth. If your memory works differently than average, that will influence your circumstances and therefore your troubleshooting.
Next, consider that some types of memory are more reliable than others, and scientists argue over "how reliable" memory is overall. If you want to study these aspects, you will have to research the field, because it's not as simple as looking up one article or even book.
Now we come to personal aspects, which greatly influence overall reliability of your own memory in particular. How much attention do you pay to your environment and learning opportunities? How good are your observational skills? How much attention do you pay to your memory and how much effort do you put into developing and using it? Memory is like a muscle; the more you use it, the better it gets. But nobody's memory is infinite while incarnate, because the wetware is finite. Even with farmemory and the uncommon ability to make live uploads and downloads within a single lifetime, you've got bandwidth issues. So the stuff to store in your personal, current memory is stuff you expect to use -- and most of all, stuff you might need to use when you don't have access to external storage tools like a notebook, computer, or library. These are the aspects that account for a lot of the wide variation in human memory performance.
Another part depends on how organized your mind is. The brain has a tendency to record everything, but not necessarily file everything. Concentration can improve the filing percentage and thus recall ability. Sleep and dreams are also filing functions. Trauma mangles the processing of memories in a way that impairs filing and recall. If you learn certain mental techniques, especially timebinding methods like a timeline, then you can repair at least some of that. If you study meditation, you mind becomes much more organized, which improves both filing and recall. If you study hypnosis or other trancework, then you can dig into your mental operating system and access things that are not normally accessible from the conscious mind. If you build a memory palace, you can store and retrieve things purposely.
So when gauging how accurate your memory is, think about: How easy is it for you to memorize things? How easy is it for you to recall things when needed? How well do you perform on memory-dependent tests? When you play the matching game Memory, do you use sets of 2 cards (standard) or 3+ cards (enhanced)? Do you play Rock-Paper-Scissors, Rock-Paper-Scissors-Lizard-Spock, RPS-15 (the supervillain favorite), or higher? When you do things from memory, do they usually work right or do you miss steps that mess it up? Do you have a large archive in one or more subjects of things you can do well without instructions, like making craft projects or cooking foods? Are other people often amazed by how much you remember? Some people have better or worse memory than others. It's not enough to know how people in general perform; you have to know how you particularly perform.
Then to gauge the accuracy of a given memory, examine it. Are there parts that are falsifiable? Never argue about that stuff; you can check it and make sure. Are there parts that can be corroborated with reliable sources? How logical are the contents of the memory? Are there strong emotions that may lower accuracy, if you're not used to controlling or compensating for those? Are you in the same state now as when you made the memory? Were you subjected to things that may make recall harder after changes (e.g. dosed with Adderall in school but no longer taking it)? Is it a casual memory or one you put effort into recording carefully for future use? Even if it's not perfect, is it good enough to use? Has anyone tampered with your memory, e.g. gaslighting or the kind of police procedures that mangle memory? (Knowledge of psychology can improve police procedures for better recall, but not everyone uses that.) These can help you decide how reliable a memory is.
However good or bad your memory is, practice can improve it. Here are some things to explore...
7 Science-Backed Ways to Improve Memory at Any Age
12 Ways to Improve Memory and Concentration
15 Best Brain Games for Adults (Online & Offline) to Advance Your Cognitive Abilities
15 Brain Foods to Boost Focus and Memory
20+ Awesome Memory Games For Kids To Enhance Thinking Skills
25 Foods to Include in Your Diet for Better Brain Health
36 Best Memory Techniques for Studying
38 Science-Backed Tricks to Sharpen Your Memory
The 50 Best Brain Foods
50 Ways To Boost Your Brain Power & 12 Online Resources
75 Powerful Techniques to Upgrade Your Brainpower & to Boost Memory, Focus Creativity
100 Best Memory Improvement Books of All Time
Best Memory Board Games 2024
"Blink" in Polychrome Heroics
This game involves looking at a picture very briefly, then trying to use that to answer questions about it.
How to Develop the Situational Awareness of Jason Bourne
How to Improve Your Memory -- HelpGuide
Kim's Game
Introduced in the novel Kim by Rudyard Kipling, this memory exercise is among the most famous games borrowed from fiction. It involves looking at a tray full of items, covering them, then reciting them from memory.
Memory games -- BoardGameGeek
MIND Diet: Best Foods to Eat to Keep Your Brain Young
THINK LIKE SHERLOCK HOLMES: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE
We Didn't Playtest This At All
This game is either ridiculously easy, or insanely difficult if you activate some of the optional modes. Among the harder elements is a rule that you have to say, "Aaa! Zombies" before starting your turn, or zombies eat your brain and you lose. This is harder than it sounds. It's also a version of the infamous Doorway Exercise that's actually fun.
Human memory has been shown to be incredibly unreliable. With that in mind, how do you know which of your memories are genuine and which have been altered or made up?
First, there are many types of memory. Learn what they are and how each of them works.
Of course, that list isn't complete. There's also farmemory, what someone can carry from one life to another. And the biggest risk there isn't that you'll forget some things, which is normal, or remember them wrongly; it's that what holds true for one body, life, or world won't necessarily stay true in another. A lot of early science happens when you know several possibilities, but not which is active currently. Are you standing on a round planet or a flat plane? Are the stars giant balls of fire, pinholes in a dome, or people dancing in the sky? And then how do you determine the difference?
Also consider whether you have any other types of exceptional memory. There are various memory-based superpowers, even in local-Earth. If your memory works differently than average, that will influence your circumstances and therefore your troubleshooting.
Next, consider that some types of memory are more reliable than others, and scientists argue over "how reliable" memory is overall. If you want to study these aspects, you will have to research the field, because it's not as simple as looking up one article or even book.
Now we come to personal aspects, which greatly influence overall reliability of your own memory in particular. How much attention do you pay to your environment and learning opportunities? How good are your observational skills? How much attention do you pay to your memory and how much effort do you put into developing and using it? Memory is like a muscle; the more you use it, the better it gets. But nobody's memory is infinite while incarnate, because the wetware is finite. Even with farmemory and the uncommon ability to make live uploads and downloads within a single lifetime, you've got bandwidth issues. So the stuff to store in your personal, current memory is stuff you expect to use -- and most of all, stuff you might need to use when you don't have access to external storage tools like a notebook, computer, or library. These are the aspects that account for a lot of the wide variation in human memory performance.
Another part depends on how organized your mind is. The brain has a tendency to record everything, but not necessarily file everything. Concentration can improve the filing percentage and thus recall ability. Sleep and dreams are also filing functions. Trauma mangles the processing of memories in a way that impairs filing and recall. If you learn certain mental techniques, especially timebinding methods like a timeline, then you can repair at least some of that. If you study meditation, you mind becomes much more organized, which improves both filing and recall. If you study hypnosis or other trancework, then you can dig into your mental operating system and access things that are not normally accessible from the conscious mind. If you build a memory palace, you can store and retrieve things purposely.
So when gauging how accurate your memory is, think about: How easy is it for you to memorize things? How easy is it for you to recall things when needed? How well do you perform on memory-dependent tests? When you play the matching game Memory, do you use sets of 2 cards (standard) or 3+ cards (enhanced)? Do you play Rock-Paper-Scissors, Rock-Paper-Scissors-Lizard-Spock, RPS-15 (the supervillain favorite), or higher? When you do things from memory, do they usually work right or do you miss steps that mess it up? Do you have a large archive in one or more subjects of things you can do well without instructions, like making craft projects or cooking foods? Are other people often amazed by how much you remember? Some people have better or worse memory than others. It's not enough to know how people in general perform; you have to know how you particularly perform.
Then to gauge the accuracy of a given memory, examine it. Are there parts that are falsifiable? Never argue about that stuff; you can check it and make sure. Are there parts that can be corroborated with reliable sources? How logical are the contents of the memory? Are there strong emotions that may lower accuracy, if you're not used to controlling or compensating for those? Are you in the same state now as when you made the memory? Were you subjected to things that may make recall harder after changes (e.g. dosed with Adderall in school but no longer taking it)? Is it a casual memory or one you put effort into recording carefully for future use? Even if it's not perfect, is it good enough to use? Has anyone tampered with your memory, e.g. gaslighting or the kind of police procedures that mangle memory? (Knowledge of psychology can improve police procedures for better recall, but not everyone uses that.) These can help you decide how reliable a memory is.
However good or bad your memory is, practice can improve it. Here are some things to explore...
7 Science-Backed Ways to Improve Memory at Any Age
12 Ways to Improve Memory and Concentration
15 Best Brain Games for Adults (Online & Offline) to Advance Your Cognitive Abilities
15 Brain Foods to Boost Focus and Memory
20+ Awesome Memory Games For Kids To Enhance Thinking Skills
25 Foods to Include in Your Diet for Better Brain Health
36 Best Memory Techniques for Studying
38 Science-Backed Tricks to Sharpen Your Memory
The 50 Best Brain Foods
50 Ways To Boost Your Brain Power & 12 Online Resources
75 Powerful Techniques to Upgrade Your Brainpower & to Boost Memory, Focus Creativity
100 Best Memory Improvement Books of All Time
Best Memory Board Games 2024
"Blink" in Polychrome Heroics
This game involves looking at a picture very briefly, then trying to use that to answer questions about it.
How to Develop the Situational Awareness of Jason Bourne
How to Improve Your Memory -- HelpGuide
Kim's Game
Introduced in the novel Kim by Rudyard Kipling, this memory exercise is among the most famous games borrowed from fiction. It involves looking at a tray full of items, covering them, then reciting them from memory.
Memory games -- BoardGameGeek
MIND Diet: Best Foods to Eat to Keep Your Brain Young
THINK LIKE SHERLOCK HOLMES: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE
We Didn't Playtest This At All
This game is either ridiculously easy, or insanely difficult if you activate some of the optional modes. Among the harder elements is a rule that you have to say, "Aaa! Zombies" before starting your turn, or zombies eat your brain and you lose. This is harder than it sounds. It's also a version of the infamous Doorway Exercise that's actually fun.
(no subject)
Date: 2024-08-10 09:50 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2024-08-11 07:45 pm (UTC)There was (or was there?) an updated photo of that same stretch of road about 20 or 30 years later and a railroad track running parallel to it and a very robust looking little boy in a Mao outfit running alongside a train. Well, I have no idea if I actually saw that second photo or just dreamed it.
(no subject)
Date: 2024-08-12 06:47 am (UTC)This is because of a combo of ADHD and the fact I was such a sensitive child from being autistic and empathic that I spent most of my childhood until my teenage years blotting out reality with an intensely powerful fantasy world in my head. I did know the difference between reality and fantasy, I just rejected reality and substituted my own, until shifts in my teen years dragged me kicking and screaming back into reality (mostly).
Now as an adult I think I remember maybe thirty-five to forty percent of my teenage and adult life. Though the memories I do have are not in any kind of chronological order; it's like they're all tossed in the junk drawer and if what I'm looking for isn't right on top of the pile, I have to go digging for it. And I seem to be better able to retain information about books I've read, TV shows and movies I've seen, and other things from media. I keep stumbling upon things from my past that show my personality has tended to shift around quite a lot as older memories get lost in the junk drawer of my brain, to the point where who I am is best defined as a hurricane in a brain, IE defined more by the pattern of chaos in my head than by any kind of order.
To give you a clue about how that can feel at times, there have been times in the past where I went from feeling very vehemently about something in one direction or another, to feeling the opposite months later and I can't for the life of me remember either why I felt so strongly before the change or why the change happened. But in some cases I remember that the change happened in a very short time, like in some cases just like around 20 or 30 minutes from one extreme to the other. Again, with no idea at all why the change happened or why I was so vehement before the change. And I know of at least one set of viewpoints that changed abruptly like that twice in the span of several years. And the main thing is I only remember these shifts because of the evidence left in social media, blog posts, and files found on my computer.
Such shifts can also occur on a shorter-term basis, like for instance I might suddenly lose a key understanding about something that I had which results in my suddenly switching from believing something to disbelieving it or just being confused, and then either I have to have the thing re-explained by someone I trust, or I have to wait for the understanding to return on its own. It can make me seem like a troll sometimes but AFAIK nearly every single time it happens it's a legitimate belief or confusion, just one based on one of these unpredictable memory shifts.
Thankfully the larger-scale ones seem to be rare, and the short-scale ones tend to eventually shift back into place as the memory at its foundation floats back up to the surface again. And so my core beliefs tend to stay the same over time. Though this instability is one reason why I write so many posts retreading the same ideas in my social media / blogs, because then the memory is reinforced and it stays afloat.
So like, compared to me, everyone else's memory is effectively photographic. I've lost count of the number of times someone has brought up things that they and I talked about at some point in the past that I just don't remember at all. I often say, in response to this, "I don't remember that, but that sounds like something I'd say," or something similar to indicate I don't remember it but I trust their memory more than my own.
Though I might not have become aware of having to say that so much if not for my last roommate, who seemed to be chronically incapable of understanding that I have memory issues no matter how many times I reminded her, because every time we would have a moment like that, she would respond by accusing me of gaslighting her. When the truth was "No, I just have a shitty memory and you don't." I got very tired of constantly having that argument with her. It was so annoying for so long that I don't think the memory of that pattern of mine is going to go away anytime soon, because every time that "I don't remember that, but sounds like something I'd say" kind of exchange begins with someone else, I get flashbacks to that annoying former roommate.
Anyway yeah, even for someone with ADHD, my memory is garbage.
Thoughts
Date: 2024-08-12 07:56 am (UTC)Like I said, though, you need to know your own memory in order to understand how it is reliable or not. Some people just have a shitty memory.
You might have better luck with cognitive offloading tools. Frex, write things down in a calendar, use a timer, pack a munchie bag and hang it on the doorknob, etc. I've found such things very helpful for stuff I'm bad at remembering, or don't want to waste energy on remembering.
(no subject)
Date: 2024-08-12 07:17 am (UTC)I'm also wondering now if my partial face blindness is just a function of my poor memory, since I *can* remember faces with time and effort or with enough emotional incentive. It's just not easy, and even familiar faces can be rendered unfamiliar to me if the reality doesn't match the memory closely enough.
Ironically, after having said that, I think iconic memory is my strongest memory type. Most of the rest, if not all of the rest, are varying degrees of terrible. Yes, even muscle memory. There are so many things that should be firmly in muscle memory that I will sometimes just randomly forget. They do eventually return, if I've been doing them long enough. But a lot of them just never form to begin with. I've been making tortillas for a few decades now, and every time I have to try to fold one it's like I'm doing it for the first time all over again.
At least I don't have the problem of a friend of mine, Kitty P. She sometimes forgets skills she's mastered, probably from the damage her abusive childhood caused, and then those skills don't return, so she ends up having to learn those skills all over again. Like imagine forgetting how to ride a bike and having to teach yourself how to do it again, or forgetting how to cook. She's still relearning how to cook. I've never had anything quite so dramatic happen to me; usually it's just temporary amnesia about one small subset of a skill, or it's something that just never seems to stick in my memory no matter how many times I do it. What Kitty has on occasion is very different, it's years of being perfectly capable of doing things with (AFAIK) no ADHD to get in the way, then one day she gets a migraine, goes to bed, and wakes up having forgotten how to ride a bike. And she can't even use "getting a migraine" as a diagnostic sign of something wrong because from what I gather, she gets horrible intense migraines every few days at least, and that's been true for most of her life. Also she tells me her family has some issue where going to the hospital is pointless because doctors can never manage to figure out what's wrong with them.
Thoughts
Date: 2024-08-12 08:03 am (UTC)That's useful to know.
>> Most of the rest, if not all of the rest, are varying degrees of terrible. Yes, even muscle memory. There are so many things that should be firmly in muscle memory that I will sometimes just randomly forget.<<
That can happen with dyspraxia. It's harder to learn physical skills, they don't work as well, and they're more prone to fading.
>> Like imagine forgetting how to ride a bike and having to teach yourself how to do it again, or forgetting how to cook. <<
That sounds like a living hell. O_O
>>Also she tells me her family has some issue where going to the hospital is pointless because doctors can never manage to figure out what's wrong with them.<<
For me, medics are sometimes useful if I do two-thirds of the work for them. If I know exactly what's wrong and how to fix it, there's a pretty good chance of getting it fixed, if I can convince someone to sell me the goods or services that I can't readily get for myself, and if they work as advertised instead of malfunctioning. If I know what's wrong but not how to fix it, the chance of success drops considerably. If I don't know what's wrong and can only describe a problem I'm having, they probably can't figure it out either. It's maddening.
(no subject)
Date: 2024-08-12 07:39 am (UTC)* It's always either too hot or too cold, no part of my body is ever satisfied with the temperature no matter what the thermostat is set to, how clothed or unclothed I am, or any other factor I've been able to figure out how to adjust.
* My clothes always give me at least a low-level background noise of annoyance/discomfort, no matter what I'm wearing, what fabric it is, how it's been cleaned, or again any other factor I have managed to adjust. I am at my most comfortable nude or in my panties.
* That is no guarantee, though. My skin always either itches, or Has A Texture On It, or is doing something else annoying at all times. Doesn't seem to matter how often I shower, what soaps I use or don't use, water temperature, or anything else. No matter what I do or don't do, my skin will always be itchy or finding some other way to annoy me. When my mind is occupied with other stuff, I am always randomly scratching itches without noticing that I'm doing it, and if I'm doing something that isn't occupying my hands somehow, I'll either be scratching more often or picking at my skin.
So in short, I am never fully comfortable, and keeping my mind distracted is the only way to filter most of it out and keep it from snowballing. Letting my brain take me where it wants to go, or actively thinking about things, those are the only things that can help me tune out the discomfort. If circumstances have me not distracted enough from the discomfort, then the discomfort intensifies and becomes harder and harder to ignore, and it can get so bad that I can't stop scratching itches or picking my skin even past the point where I start to cry with frustration. Makes getting to sleep very difficult, but I manage mainly by either pre-dreaming (like daydreaming, but just as I'm trying to get to sleep) or by taking sleeping pills.
I would love very much to improve my memory. But my ADHD brain gives me so many hurdles to making any kind of lasting self improvement that I've long since given up trying to improve my memory. I used to take ginko biloba, and that didn't even do anything.
Oh and as to Adderall? It would probably work. But when I tried to get an ADHD diagnosis, the shrink gave me *homework*. Which is honestly like giving someone who's paralyzed from the waist down some hiking boots and telling them to climb a mountain before they can get diagnosed as paralyzed.
Thoughts
Date: 2024-08-12 08:24 am (UTC)That's possible. Then again, there may be other methods -- neurovariant brains just work differently, and other ADHD folks may have found memory exercises that work for them and might work for you.
>> I've tried meditation many times before and can never manage to do it for long. <<
All the same kind, or different kinds? Neurovariant folks often do better with moving meditations, or chantings, or other active stuff instead of sitting quietly.
>> I am at my most comfortable nude or in my panties.<<
So go with that. Hell, I work nude or in boxer-briefs when it's too hot for clothes. Some folks do yoga nude.
>> So in short, I am never fully comfortable, and keeping my mind distracted is the only way to filter most of it out and keep it from snowballing. <<
That sucks. There are types of meditation and other mental practices that are largely about keeping your mind occupied. I don't know if those would work for you. Just go with whatever you find sufficiently distracting to make life livable.
>> I would love very much to improve my memory. But my ADHD brain gives me so many hurdles to making any kind of lasting self improvement that I've long since given up trying to improve my memory. <<
Fair enough.
>>But when I tried to get an ADHD diagnosis, the shrink gave me *homework*. Which is honestly like giving someone who's paralyzed from the waist down some hiking boots and telling them to climb a mountain before they can get diagnosed as paralyzed.<<
What an asshole. But it fits a pattern I've noticed with this society -- people who are pleasing get resources, and anyone who can't meet whatever demands just gets thrown away. Disabled people are commonly required to do things they can't do in order to "qualify" for help, so they just do without.