Would you *want* to forget?
Jan. 6th, 2004 | 08:27 pm
mood: 
thoughtful
Richard Glen Boire has made a very interesting and thought-provoking post on Brain Waves, titled "Forget About It?", pointing out the legal and ethical issues raised from the creation of present- and future-generation memory-altering drugs. Propranolol, for example, is a memory-dimming drug that, if taken before or within 6 hours of an event, can significantly reduce recall of the event. In the future, it will be possible to selectively delete memories of specific events in one's life, and to create new memories of events that never really happened!
Then, there's the possibility of backing-up a person's entire memory. If the backup is later restored onto another person, that person will start off being an exact copy of the original. The mere thought of some of these possibilities begins to give me a bit of a spin.
I wonder, however, how many of us will be interested in having our memories altered?
Poll #229176
Open to: All, results viewable to: All
No.
As Agent Smith points out in The Matrix, human beings define their reality through misery and suffering. So be it.
Then, there's the possibility of backing-up a person's entire memory. If the backup is later restored onto another person, that person will start off being an exact copy of the original. The mere thought of some of these possibilities begins to give me a bit of a spin.
I wonder, however, how many of us will be interested in having our memories altered?
Poll #229176
Open to: All, results viewable to: All
Given an option, would you want to erase some of your memories?
2 (11.1%)No.
As Agent Smith points out in The Matrix, human beings define their reality through misery and suffering. So be it.