Memory, a tricky subject.
Science and medicine know some things about human brains. After reading a half dozen scientific papers about memory, I’m not convinced that, through the parameters of science, we know all that much.
Memory has always been a source of fascination. I am a very lucky woman, I have and still do interact with some very brilliant and exceptional minds. From my perspective, each of these minds is/was unique; unique in the way that they approach/approached input, process and output. As far as I’m concerned there is no one kind of genius.
As for myself, my own memory is like a quirky, impish and fiecely loyal friend. Deep in my mind decisions, based on that stored material, are made. Decisions that guide me, decisions that do not reach consciousness.
How do I know that those unconscious decisions exist? Usually I become aware of them as my thoughts and behaviors form patterns. Sometimes, when environmental conditions are conducive, I can actually catch glimpses of that deep place that is the foundation of my existence.
The book I am currently reading is all about memory, science and what science does not know. Dementia is one of the larger themes in the book; the loss of memory is explored. But mostly the book is about what role memory plays in human, and non-human, connections.
I have little experience with dementia. I think my paternal Grandmother may have briefly suffered from dementia, but I don’t really know as once she was hospitalized for heart trouble I never saw her again. My maternal Grandparents were entirely themselves until they passed away, as were my paternal and maternal Aunts and Uncles.
Sometimes I worry about my own memory. I mean, how would you know if you had a problem with your memory when your sitting alone in the bush for days on end? Attila laughs.
When I think about it rationally though, I am still able to juggle working at six differing locations for a corporation, run three small enterprises and this journal. As far as I know nothing is really slipping. Feedback from external sources indicate that nothing is really slipping.
If I do lose my memory, I hope the bad goes first and that I am surrounded by positive and caring people. I have the positive and caring people part in my life now.
Today I am remembering to do laundry!
Worldly Distractions
Weather
-9 °C
Condition: Cloudy
Pressure: 100.4 kPa
Visibility: 16 km
Temperature: -9.0°C
Dewpoint: -10.1°C
Humidity: 92 %
Wind: SSE 15 km/h
Wind Chill: -16
Quote
“We all make excuses rather than deal with what we don’t want to see – even if it is right in front of our noses… we minimize symptoms despite a preponderance of evidence. We acquit the victim and avoid the obvious.”
Source: Making the Rounds with Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat
David Dosa M.D.