Flame — HabitableZone

Flame » in reply to There's a word for that sort of thing.

Memories
Robert — (archived)

I thought SDAI-Tech1's claim of memories from birth was way over the top. Frank's claim of continuous memories from one year is a bit of a stretch, but it's not totally impossible. I don't think that memory's a binary thing, and that a switch is thrown at age 3 and memory starts. The key, I think, is whether very early memories are tagged with strong emotional overtones.

For many years I had a recurring dream of a time when I was obviously a toddler--the perspectives were consistent with eyes about 18" above the ground. In the dream, I start out sitting on the floor of the living room in the first house I lived in, in the '50s. I lever myself up on furniture and then brace myself against the wall. Leaning against the wall, I make my way along the wall, around a corner, to end up standing in the door to the kitchen (still leaning on the doorjamb). My mother was at the sink, and when she turns and spots me, she lets out a shriek.

Relatively late in life I mentioned the dream to my mother. She remembered the real incident vividly: It was the day I first walked, at about 14 months.

As for confabulation[2], note the sequence of events. I didn't create a false memory after hearing my mother tell me about my first steps. I'd played the memory many times over the years before she confirmed it. I think the memory exists because my mother's reaction tagged it very strongly with emotional significance.

Don't be so hard on Frank. He might well have a lot of memories starting at an early age. Mine aren't continuous, and he may be overestimating the quantity of memories he has, but I think it's likely that he does have at least some from age 1.

--Robert

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