A Q to trouble your mind, if there is such a thing!?

Question

In reality, if you think objectively, you will discover that t ithis thing called MEMORY is an illusion from the past which really does not exist. It is a post-construct caused by neural disurbances in the human brain. It is clear to anyone who is not purblind that past as such does not exist. There is no mechanism known to human beings to recreate things that happened in the past. The mind when disturbed by actual situations tend to deconstruct a succession of episodes, which we call as remembering. Of course there are physical things like buildings and other structures to produce an effect which we call as memory. If one is able to discard and ignore previous experiences, there is no memory left nor its problems. THINK IT OVER, and remember memories are a hindrance to mental evolution, for they tie us down to something which exist no more in actual world. Have I made my point?

Answer 1

You've made your point, I just don't agree with you.

Answer 2

You are assuming that there is only now, so you can make the claim that memory does not exist, yet you make the claim that physical reality still exists and produces an "effect" called memory.

If you assume physical reality to exist, then the mind exists and it's memory exists. The mind is analogous to a city, in which the cities buildings, signs and traffic lights create pathways for cars. Even when traffic does not exist, the pathways remain. Your mind is similar, with the cells and synapses creating the structure that allows the traffic of our ideas and thoughts to flow through them. We may not know exactly the biology that allows this to occur, but ignorance of a thing does not equal it's non-existence. The cells creating the self may be completely oblivious to the pattern they create, but that doesn't make it invalid. The pattern is the key to the existence of information. Memory is information. Do you believe in the existence of that?

You claim that memories are a hindrance to mental evolution, yet it is memory that allows for evolution itself, as the physical memory of DNA allows evolution to continue and create a unique organism from the mere pattern of it's base pairs.

My memory is not just my personal experiences, but also information, facts and the reality of the world. The patterns of my mind come from a physical reality represented by synapses, molecules and electrical charges of nerve impulses that were formed based on real experiences. I may choose to try to discard painful or useless memories after I have learned from them, and thus recreate my mind as I see fit, but memory itself, while transmutable, is still real.

As far as the existence of past and future is concerned, I propose that you ponder the idea of trajectories for a time and look at the pathway of a ball thrown in the air. If you take a stationary snapshot of that ball you can't tell any information from it, but if you take more, you can begin to calculate the trajectory of it using simple equations. From that you can understand where the object was and where it's going.

You should check out multiverse physics, emergence principles and chaos theory sometime. Also, if you really don't think memory exists, try deleting your web browser and then try to get on the internet. Without the pattern of information in that program, i.e. it's memory, you're not going to get anywhere.

Answer 3

Err you have sort of made your point.
But what I got that what you were saying is basically that there isnt such a thing as past that we make it up. So I dont understand that bit.
I DO however understand you when you say they tie us down because they do do that but also memories can be good if you have no memory you would think of nothing of your life...no way to share anything with anyone..and you'd forgot who you are or once were. You'd also forget you achivement. It doesnt really leave me wondering about it really because I can totally understand where your coming from. Wish Yahoo did a forum where there isnt just questions to ask but we can post things and see how people react because I think this question suits that.
Well Done for taking the time writing that though.

Answer 4

Why would the human mind have memory if it had no value? Memory can serve a good purpose. How could you recall valuable information without memory, especially if it is required spontaneously?

The past is not real now, but the memory of it, the thoughts and sensations can seem as though they are happening now. Living in the past serves little purpose, especially when those past experiences are traumatic. But when we react wrong to past experiences the brain is in conflict and cannot release itself until the conflict is resolved. Past experiences are triggered and recalled from the present experience and will continue to do so until we can deal with the past in the present. When we do we grow for the better. memory makes it possible to finish unfinished business, which becomes a dragging anchor to our progess.

But memory can serve a good purpose. If a child has a bad experience touching a hot stove, he remembers not to do it again when he sees a new stove. Memory serves him well. Memory has a good purpose in that it can keep us from repeating bad experiences. Without a memory filled with knowledge learned and taught from others who have come before us, we would have to learn everything all over again, and the human race would move along at a snail's pace.

Answer 5

Frst of all, think again about memory as an evolutionary force.

Without memories, we would not remember that that slithering thing on the ground was a danger to us. Without memory, we would not remember that it bites, and that its bite can be deadly.

Without memory, even if someone made a discovery like the wheel or the ability to make and control fire, we would never be able to re-create it. We would literally have to reinvent the wheel every second of our lives.

Furthermore, unless you happen to be a terribly suggestible person, or someone deliberately manipulates you while in a suggestible state, though memories aren't perfect (consider the couple arguing over whether they met on a Tuesday or Thurdsay, and whether they went for Ice Cream or Filet Mignon on their first date) they are usually fairly reliable in the overall sense (consider the couple again, though they may not agree on day and food, they definitely remember clearly that they met each other and the broad strokes of their relationship).

Answer 6

We retain the neural implants of experience which is called memory. As custodian of these implants, we can reshape the experience if desired. We become co-creators in this way just as we "create" the world anew for ourselves each morning when we wake up. If not for these neural implants, we would have no sense of direction or continuity.

Answer 7

No, I don't think you have made your point - and you're wrong to say "memories are a hindrance to mental evolution" - without them, we would not be able to evolve or improve.
You would be constantly having to learn - the same thing over and over again.

Answer 8

Don't know what you are smoking but I'd quit if I were you.
Memory is an essential function of higher organisms, without it you would quickly die!! Society would disintegrate. Mental evolution indeed. The human condition is made of memories as is the genetic inheritance we all share.

Answer 9

You have, and a good one at that. Any kind of physical/chemical reaction that could be recorded as a memory would only really have a semblance to the past because the brain doesn't record, it interprets events, and records that. Which in time is also interpreted again and again bringing rise to hugely distorted memory. Back of the net!

Answer 10

Yes and no because without memories we have no point of reference to do or know anything. What thinks ye?

Answer 11

Yes there is no future either. In fact there really is no time either. There is only the Now that exist.