Posted by Dinah on November 30, 2007, at 9:31:37
In reply to Re: Sorry, many questions, many good answers, posted by Muffled on November 29, 2007, at 22:17:42
The trouble is that memory is tricky in the best of times. Most people remember things in flashes. Or mix the stories people tell them, or photographs, into the memories. I've definitely noticed that most of my memories happen to involve my wearing clothes I've seen in pictures.
I have a really bad memory. I can tell stories from my youth, but if I try to remember something it just won't work. Do you tell stories about your parents and things that happened to you when you were little? Like "Daddy used to love to have parties. He was a great dancer." I sometimes remember if I actually remember anything anymore, or I just remember the memories.
On the other hand, there are flashes of memories from when I was very little that prove to be pretty accurate when checked against the memories of others. Those I think are real memories, not just remembering memories. They tend to be memories of what I would see from the point of view of whatever age I was. Like I remember going to this restaurant when I was 3 or 4, and all the perspective in the memory is from a four year old height, and I can remember the smells and sights and sounds. There are no words associated with those memories except the words spoken by me or others then.
While many memories I have involve actually seeing me doing something. I'd guess those memories have been influenced by my thoughts about the memories, and others' stories about the memories, or pictures of the events. Those memories usually involve a narrative of what's going on running through my head.
poster:Dinah
thread:797701
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20071120/msgs/797808.html