SelfUnfocused

Coming to terms with being human.

10.22.2004

Brain by Intel

Wired reported on a device that mimics the hippocampus, a brain area involved in memory. Assuming this works, I wonder about the implications. The human memory is easily affected by the emotional state of an individual. Trauma victims often find it difficult to recall terrible events, a biological blessing. It is, after all, those who remember such things vividly and often that are the most damaged. Our memories are chemicals (or are built and recalled by chemicals at least). How many drunken and idiotic nights am I blissfully unaware of?
I doubt that the prosthetic hippocampus will be as kind to us as our finicky neurons are. It is, of course, possible that the hippocampus has nothing to do with the strength of recall, so my musings become moot. The process we call memory is quite complex.
I still wonder. I understand the desire to help those who have lost access to their memories. It is a noble quest. But the cure may hurt. I find there are more things I would like to forget than recall. Blessed are the forgetful.

1 Comments:

  • At 11:21 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

    I see A+ students offering hippocampal databases for download in specific fields of study. This way I don't have to study for a test, I'll "remember" it all once, I just plug into my copy of the database on my calculator. Or even better, my calculator would intercept the data wirelessly and I could query whatever information I needed. There would have to be a "restore/forget" function, of course, so when the professor asks how all hundred students scored the same they would blissfully respond "I don't know, I must have been lucky". Hmm, this seems vaguely familiar, have I tried this already?

    Maybe this will give those philosophy of mind "researchers" some better material to work with...

     

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