The Fault in Memory

/ Political Joint

memory

“Many a man fails to become a thinker for the sole reason that his memory is too good.”

-F. Nietzsche

There is a vast amount of beings that at several moments through out their life, experience an inexpedient urge from within. I would be fibbing to say that I am not one of these beings. Coming across the quote that is provided above for you, the fellow seeker of Truth, I began to contemplate on the sole reason behind the issue of this almost unexplainable feeling.

Some do not care that they are part of this uncongenial group of outcasts… others obsess and conform to the norm of the era. Whichever category fits you best, I hope my explanation and thoughts fill you with complexity and perplexed vibes. I am aware that I may not always see things as you… but if you are taking the time to concentrate on my thoughts, there is a possibility that I may be understood.

Memory is often looked at as something positive and ever lasting… I agree with only one of these statements &I will explain why. Memory is definitely everlasting (unless you suffer a traumatic experience where all memory is lost), it is what stores the good and bad times, it is per say, the mark in your mind that never fades. Sometimes you wish to forget certain instances… yet others you plead to recall forever.

The problem I have with memory and its permanency, is that we as beings, tend to get hung up and stuck with what is stored… even if it is WRONG. I can not agree with someone who is an “old school catholic” (for sake of example) that abides daily to the 10 commandments and does countless hail Mary’s daily. To me this routine is pointless and will not save you from your wrong doings. It is simply just a routine, something that comes from memory, that you believe will make you a better person. I can not sit with the fact that Christopher Columbus is the man who discovered America (although this is what we teach our youth). I will not be satisfied with society claiming that life is either black or white, or that humans are either man or woman. I am not someone who sees things so one sided.

I am a philosopher, I am a Thinker, I am a Truth Seeker… I will NEVER be held down by memory. For memory is one of the greatest downfalls society can encounter. Memory will restrict the levels of critical contemplation your mind could and should reach.. Nirvana, so to speak.

Do not be a complacent being who takes “facts” from others and simply memorizes them. This is not knowledge, this is not thinking. That, my fellow beings, is the greatest cop out one can take.

Stand up, question, be brave, & do not be held down by memory.

-Truth Seeker

Photo credit to http://www.artistrising.com

62 thoughts on “The Fault in Memory”

  2. History is botched. Time doesn’t work in the linear way everyone wishes.
    What happened say 3000 years ago is what I call a “disconnect”. Time is not linear. History is a very complex concept we don’t know the truth about.
    Memory likes to plot easy; I remember this and that and this… But time doesn’t play by human memory.History must be questioned.
    Time is disconnected. The past is now and the future is past. Time is discontinuous like that.
    Humans think ‘linearly’, hence we run into bugs. The Zen Buddhist emphasizes the importance of the NOW. The now (present) seems to be the most important dimension of time. The future can be the now, and what we think is past can in fact be the now. Time has these sincere models.
    The human being doesn’t understand how time works, the human being thinks linearly.
    It is dangerous to think linearly. History has a lot of ‘jumps’. Look closely at recorded historical events, keenly, and you’d realise that things are never as they seem, and this is owing less to the fact that myopic politicians alter historic information to make sure we all ‘stay in line’ without discord. Evolution has so many tricks *smiles*
    Nice post, dude, in Nigeria we’d say, “Your head is there.”

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    • I really enjoyed this comment!
      Thank you for taking the time to read and comment my post.. I have to completely agree with you when you say history is a disconnect. This is most visible when one tries to read a history book. Facts are extremely generalized and blurred..
      I too think the most important time is now…
      Be sure to check out my other posts!

      -Truth Seeker

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    • I spend a lot of my time trying to figure out a good philosophy for addressing the past (in terms of archaeology, which I studied, or history). That you mention Zen Buddhism and the importance of now interests me – at the moment I’m trying to reconcile history and Taoism, which makes a very similar point (in the Chuangzi in particular). The point is that we create the past in the present (and expect futures) and these change constantly. Thinking about how British children were taught history in terms of empire 100 years ago, compared to how it is done today shows that very well.

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    • Memory is not permanent, either.

      We don’t record everything that happens from moment to moment. Even if you have special memory training, you disregard at least 98% of the common mode inputs, and if we include the skills of th 2, 7, year youthful mature individual which are often never developed by those who fall off the mortal coil, then we can see that memory is more like a book with water, rather than processed wood, as pages, and emotions, rather than ink, to form the words, pictograms, diagrams, and moving picture clips.

      Memory seems permanent just as the picture on a TV screen seems to be in motion: it is an illusion caused by quick ritual. The mind has the habit of supplying answers so quickly that we feel confident in them. These answers flood us with chemicals, natural neurotransmitters, that make us feel this way or that way, and the emotion silences the quest for facts.

      Facts, however, are continually refreshed or rewritten by the ritualistic daemons (life-supporting automatic systems) our of brains, and it is only by comprehending and mastering them, can we really start to access true memory.

      Even then, that memory is not permanent, nor static, but at the very least, is appended to in a way that may alter the significance of the entire body.

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  5. Although it isn’t the only attribute but surely memory informs Truth. Memory is also linked so strongly with imagination the one cannot be without the other and may well go some way towards helping answer the question why different people have different views on the same situation or event.

    My view is, however, that memorising facts (whilst also understanding their time and place) is fundamental to progressive thinking. In other words, take what we know to be factually true now, mix it with imagination and there’s a strong possibility that we shall end up with something that’s entirely possible, if not probable, no matter how far fetched.

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    • Really great comment!
      I like how you speak of imagination.. I had not contemplated this thought before.
      I too agree with your views!
      Thank you for taking the time to read & comment my post

      -Truth Seeker

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    • Thank you for taking the time to read my post!
      I am pleased to hear you enjoyed it!
      Be sure to check out my other posts…

      -Truth Seeker

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  8. One of the very interesting articles I’ve stumbled upon so far.. I completely agree with your perception and Memory is indeed abused wrongly by humans that take it for granted and get accustomed into the habit of routine. Thinkers are rare these days and people are easily influenced by other opinions and quotes. It is nice to see someone out there adding their own thoughts and bending them in other directions. I feel as if this article completes the one I wrote about change vs routine.

    Keep it up, intrigued by what you question next.

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    • Thank you for your kind words and comment!
      I am pleased to hear that my blog could intrigue and inspire you! I agree that there are very few beings out there that challenge the norm and bring new thoughts to the table.. Thankfully I am not one of those complacent beings.. My mind is always questioning.
      I will definitely check out the post you mention (change v routine). Please be sure to check out my other posts as well.
      Your thoughts are always welcomed here.

      -Truth Seeker

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  9. You made some really good points here.I Memory is definitely everlasting. Whether its positive or negative is the key. You cannot rule one or the other out. I’m really digging the vibe her on your blog. I’m quite the thinker myself. Nice meeting you.

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  10. Just in examining the Quote; A memorizer doth not necessarily a thinker make. You pointed that out to be clear. A gatherer of facts, without employing the brains function of collating for the purpose of analyzing is but a parrot. Thanks for the like on my “Rubble Kings” post. I hope you continue to enjoy your pursuits. I too have spent many years studying human pursuits. Sincerely; MAO

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  12. An insightful read, I must say! I tend to think “memory fades or memory recreates. I do not believe in memory” (one of the sentences in my ‘about’ page) and you have kind of seconded my belief why I should distrust my memory. To me even imagination, though necessary for a human mind, is no less a fancy and an accompaniment of memory which makes memories murkier: beautifully or grimly. Memory is worldly. Memory is a part of what in Indian philosophy we call as ‘Maya’ (illusion).

    What I liked most in your read is how you assert that we shouldn’t memorize. I find a deeper meaning in that: even for truth-seekers, realizations shouldn’t become a part of memory. We are often stuck by a great realization; we contemplate on it; try to integrate it in our life and in unconscious moments we fall back in the same sloth of memories. Realizations must become life-changing and critical contemplation must never add more to memory (personal as well as collective). If we realize memory is defunct; we must also learn how to question. For historiography has lot many instances where the art of questioning itself lost all its relevance while disregarding memory; for it could never disregard it successfully.

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    • I am pleased to hear that my blog has provided you with some insight!
      I agree with many of the points you pose here in your comment. The point you raise about realization is also one I strongly agree with.
      Your thoughts and comments are always welcomed!

      -Truth Seeker

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    • Thank you for taking the time to read and comment my blog.
      I am very pleased to know that my thoughts and words can make a difference for you.
      Your comments are always welcomed!

      -Truth Seeker

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  16. I find your statements true and interesting, yet one thing I did not see in anyones comments or your own statements are the infallibility of memory all together. Memory is never a replay or retelling of events as they happened, but more of a plyable reconstruction of events PERCEIVED to have happened. As we all know perceptions are plyable as well. The thing thats supremely tricky about memory as it is a reconstruction is also a re experiencing of events perceived. The unconscious mind cannot differentiate between thoughts of actions and actions. Thus thoughts can evoke supreme emotional responses in the physical systems. Memory can be deceiving to a degree of detriment. Thank you for a good post on something to which we can all relate to in one fashion or another.

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    • You pose a very interesting point … Thank you for taking the time to read and post on my blog! Your thoughts are always welcomed here..

      -Truth Seeker

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  17. F. Nietzsche was a fascinating character, and he was undoubtedly much misunderstood and misrepresented. In part, at least, I suspect that was his own doing. It seems to me that he chose to be different, not understood. Yet it also seems quite strange to me that a writer would do that. I don’t understand the man.

    Even though I am not very progressive, Rivenrod came closest to my thoughts on this topic. Logic. Reason. We cannot do without them, but does no good to apply logic, to reason, unless we have some memory. The problem is knowing what is factually true.

    Imagine a computer. The basic components are:
    1. the CPU, which follows certain rules for processing data. The rules for processing data are what we call a program.
    2. the disk drive, which holds long term data and the program used by the CPU.
    3. RAM, which is the immediate memory, where the CPU hold the data it is working with and upon.
    4. the network adapter, the connection to the world. The source for additional data.

    Our brain contains the CPU, RAM, and the disk drive. Our senses provide us with a connection to the world. Without these components, we cannot think.

    What causes us to think erroneously? We can have flaw hardware. Our program can have bugs. The data we use may not be representative. Because we are finite and flawed, we make errors, and we misunderstand. To correct our errors, we must first admit we can make errors. We must not stubbornly insist upon believing (or remembering) what is not true.

    Where does imagination fit into this model? It doesn’t. A computer doesn’t have an imagination. A computer cannot imagine being wrong.

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    • Very intriguing example you speak of… I had not looked at things from the perspective of a computer. I enjoy how you challenge the thought of imagination.. is it something that is programmed in us per say, or is it a actually an extended form of memory. I do have to side with you when you state that imagination does not and can not effect our memory.
      Thanks for the comment and for reading my post… thoughts are always welcomed here friend!

      -Truth Seeker

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      • Thank you. Your post is interesting and so are some of the comments.

        An imagination does not affect the memory of a computer. At least, what we think of as imagination does not effect the memory of a computer. Our memory? That is a different matter. For various reasons, we tend to think we have heard things and seen things we did not hear or see. We confuse what is imagined with what is real.

        Could such “perceptions” be programmed into computers? Yes, but it would not be quite the same as what we imagine. When computers process data incorrectly, we just call that an error.

        Our minds are much more complex than computers.

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    • Maybe a computer can imagine. It just isn’t programmed to tell you that it does, and you might never think of asking it.
      We don’t know if dolphins can imagine, but the problem is one of communication, not necessarily one of perception.

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      • 😆
        That’s a good one!

        I would not be surprised if dolphins have excellent imaginations, but I don’t know how to test such an hypothesis. It would definitely be an interesting experiment.

        On the other hand, a computer is a relatively simple machine — at least those we are currently capable of building. Although some people use the phrase artificial intelligence to describe computers, that sales jargon overstates what computers are capable of doing. Computers are not smart. What makes computers valuable is their speed and predictability when they carry out explicit instructions (i.e., execute programs).

        Anyway, we don’t have to ask a computer what it is thinking. We can always dump out whatever it has in memory.

        When someone programs a computer, that program tells that computer what to “think.” If a computer is thinking something other than what it was expected to “think,” there is an error in the program. The computer is actually doing what it was programmed to do, but that is not what the programmer wanted it to do.

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      • If smartphones are so smart, with their microphones and their cameras and their AI, why do I still have to dial? They should know what’s about to happen (I’m glad they don’t, but they should.)
        When a computer thinks outside the box, it is considered to be an error. One cannot become smart without making errors which is why a computer will always be stupid. Same thing with kids in school and rote learning.

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  18. Awesome post. Yes memory is not always reliable. We are prone to suggestion. For instance, everyone used to tell the story of how I feel down when I was 2 years old and twisted my arm. They told it so much, that I have a very vivid dream of that experience. Right down to what I was wearing and details about the clinic that I visited. But the reality, is that that memory is not real.

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  19. “Stand up, question, be brave, & do not be held down by memory.” Here’s one statement I make sure to incorporate in my daily living. It also helps quiet down the negative energies received by those who insist on the past as the priority. Right NOW is the priority!

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  20. Memory is not definitive and is highly fallible. When a person remembers something, they are only recalling the actual events the first time. Thereafter, they are recollecting the memory of the memory. Like the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, both the velocity and position of an electron cannot be simultaneously known, because to determine one the other quality must be influenced.

    I think what you’re getting at here is people failing to question their presumptions?

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  22. I enjoyed reading your article! It was very intriguing to me.

    The Bible says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9, ESV). It is through a relationship with Jesus Christ that a person can obtain forgiveness for their sins and be empowered to turn away from those wrong doings, not by doing this or avoiding that. This can happen in the here and now, and Jesus is there waiting for people to come to Him.

    For those who genuinely seek the Truth about themselves and life, Jesus offers a relationship with Himself, for He is the truth and the only way to God (John 14:6). However, He will never force anyone into this relationship. If someone does not want Him, He allows the free exercise of human will.

    French mathematical genius Blaise Pascal said this: “Willing to appear openly to those who seek him with all their heart, and to be hidden from those who flee from him with all their heart, God so regulates the knowledge of himself that he has given indications of himself which are visible to those who seek him and not to those who do not seek him. There is enough light for those to see who only desire to see, and enough obscurity for those who have a contrary disposition.”

    What are your thoughts?

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  24. If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.
    -Mark Twain
    Then again, if I didn’t remember anything I’d be homeless and alone; and I’d probably be hungry, but I wouldn’t know why.
    Sweet read – really got the neurons flowing.

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  27. I do not agree at all with what you say : memory is one of the most important thing you can find : history, knowledge of the past, is essential if we want to better our future. To manipulate memory has been very intelligently analyzed in the book “1984”. All view-points on history have to be taken into account to have the best knowledge possible. The more I think about Nietszche and the more I have the feeling that he laid the foundations for Nazism and other exalted visions of politics. Dangerous and philosophically poor.

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  28. Very thought provoking. Memory becomes a stinker if the being (DASEIN) becomes repetitive as a routine. One of the things that baffle me is involuntary memory, that is the memory which springs forth from the unconscious of which I have not conscious control and that controls me and I am not controlled by it. I really admire your writing, very individualistic, creative and hermeneutical. Anand Bose from Kerala.

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    • Thank you for taking the time to read my post… I am pleases to hear that it intrigues you and your thoughts. Please check out my other posts, I hope they too are a pleasure to you!

      -Truth Seeker

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  30. Memories are permanent as we make them permanent. We could imagine a past incident (memory) and quit imagining it, and it would no longer be. We could also consider that it was there all along yet we hadn’t notice it, and that put it out of our control.

    It isn’t true we have to be products of the past. But it can be made true. The truest truth I can think of now, with regards to that, is that each time I start from nothing.

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