Humans have struggled to define what memory is. Our brains are too intricate and complex for us to use contemporary science to truly crack the code. Some say that memory is the the modification of behaviour by experience. But is it true? How often do you really change your behaviour (hopefully for the better) based on what you have learned from the past? Alternatively, the American neurophysiologist Ralph W. Gerard advocates that memory has to make an impression by an experience and that some record of this impression is retained for the re-entry of this record into consciousness. In other words, it includes some kind of encoding, storage and retrieval. But is it a 100% foolproof process? Or do we all confabulate to a certain extent?
A lot of our memories are put together like a patchwork tapestry composed of snippets or episodes wth associated emotions on the experiences or images. And the emotions that allow us to anchor to these memories are primarily based on our perception and often the result of our distorted reality. Like those funhouse mirrors in carnivals, it is very far off from an accurate representation of the true picture. But what it is true is its reflective function of your mind, which is where the distortion comes from.
Plus, if the present moment is what we only have in the here and now, how would memories serve us? Not to mention that they could be fake?
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