Internet Causes Amnesia?

19Apr07

William James:

Our memory is always used in the service of some interest; we remember things which we care for or which are associated with things we care for. When we wish to fix a new thing our conscious effort should not be so much to impress and retain it as to connect it with something already there. The connecting is thinking. I would say that the art of remembering is the art of thinking.

Human brain is a very powerful and adaptive system. A curious example of the brain’s ability to adapt is our bad visual memory. As you all know it is quite difficult to hold a mental picture in mind of what you have just seen. The reason for that is simple, it is not necessary for the brain to memorize the image while you can actually see that image with your eyes. In a sense, the brain uses sight as the external memory, so it adapted not to spend effort to memorize what it is seeing.

Student:

Professor, may I ask a question?

William James:

Certainly.

Student:

Are you saying that the fact that we can see things all the time frees the brain from necessity to remember the scene around us?

William James:

Pretty much so.

Student:

Professor, what if someone has a magic vision, so he can just see any information he needs. Will it cause his brain to stop remembering things completely?

William James:

I don’t understand. How could that be possible?

Student:

Just as a thought experiment, professor. Any moment he needs any information he can just see it. What the weather in Boson is at this moment, what year his wife’s nephew was born, what is the distance from the earth to the moon, where the nearest coffee shop is located, what 13 time 17 is, what professor William James said on his lecture yesterday, just everything.

William James:

What an absurd idea. How about his interests?

Student:

Same thing. He can immediately see anything that he is interested in and anything in the world that is related to his interests.

William James:

OK, I don’t think it has any practical sense, but I hope this individual never loses his magic sight; otherwise, one day he might not remember who he actually is.

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