If I Could Only Remember…

 

I cannot stop obsessing about memory.  How it affects me, my family, the history of civilization, science, philosophy, and everything I read each day in newspapers, novels and on the internet.  I was not always so preoccupied, but as I get older, memory becomes more of an enigma.  Why am I recalling certain episodes in my life with vivid certainty?  Why does my sister inform me it never happened the way I recalled?  Why am I sometimes overcome with insights that did not exist only hours before?

In truth, two events took place that brought my full attention to the importance of memory.  First, on a trip to the Southwest, on the back of a horse in the Senora desert, a family member lost most of her memory for 24 hours.  The diagnosis was global transient amnesia, which is an outlier event that almost never reoccurs.   She remembered her immediate family, but little else.  Observing her circuits reconnect was an eye opening experience.  Second, I recently read The Sense Of An Ending, the winner of the 2011 Man Booker Prize, by Julian Barnes.  A novel written by a 60 year old, with a 60 year old protagonist……. about memory.  Among other dilemmas, the book leaves us with the question: What if memory deceives us and we are not who we think we are?

Now, everywhere I turn the limits of human memory smack me in the face and middle age writers are giving their opinion…on memory. (see: Speak, Memory by professor of neurology Oliver Sacks in NYRB February 21, 2013)  If the experiences that I have lived through are not the same as the experiences I remember, and this is true for all humans, how can any history be trusted?  Adding this dilemma on top of the known fact that the “winners” throughout time revise and slant recorded history to favor their position, what truth is remaining?  Should we ignore all empirical history that deals in the thoughts and motives of historical figures?  How could anything in the biblical canon be historically accurate?  Are Lincoln’s true motives for emancipation unknowable? 

I have my own answer to the problem of memory in the historical context which may or may not be a solution for others.  I treat history like I evaluate the financial markets.  There is a web site realclearmarkets.com, that scans all of the financial media and presents, side by side, every position with an opposing view on what the market will do.  I now treat history the same way.  With my personal history, I check with my siblings and other childhood friends who were present at the event.  (I am still not convinced the collective memories of Woodstock are correct, given the clouded minds in attendance)  In reading or researching history, I read as many views as possible.  I find that the large stack of books on Lincoln is inconvenient but necessary to form an opinion.  Moreover, more ancient history is being continuously revised, as the archeological record becomes more complete and lost writings are uncovered.

History aside, there are many other problems that memory presents.  As a lawyer, I have listened to hundreds of individuals recite eye witness accounts with certainty that later were shown to be inaccurate.  Even in biblical times, the accuser was expected to find at least two witnesses before pursuing allegations of a felony nature. DNA evidence has done more to further justice than any other forensic tool by correcting these inaccuracies.

Lastly, I want to present a defense to the always maligned mental disease of plagiarism that afflicts journalists everywhere there are opinions to be formed and articles to be written.  I am not alluding to conscious copying of another’s work product. It is often difficult for a writer to determine whether an idea came from within, or from somewhere else.  When one understands anything about memory, it becomes obvious that the human mind is first and foremost a thief.  No thought within the brain’s grey matter is original.  The greater the intellect and more broadly read the journalist the more integration of purloined snippets of information is taking place.  Putting together the puzzle in a slightly different format is more often than not, progress not plagiarism.  To hold journalists to a higher standard than the creative arts is unfair and could stifle some truly original results.

 “We as human beings are landed with memory systems that have fallibilities, frailties and imperfections - but also great flexibility and creativity.” (see: Speak, Memory above).  In the last analysis, it is important to understand the imperfections and to encourage the creativity.