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To Remember, the Brain Must Actively Forget

quantamagazine.org

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Re: To Remember, the Brain Must Actively Forget

#31

Post by ZainRiz »

adriand wrote: post #17

I remember sitting at a bar in a distant city in some other country one night, and the person next to me, who I had just met that day, suggested that we do a shot together. Now these shots were big, and it had already been quite the night, and I remember thinking, "If I do this shot, it's probably the last thing I'll remember tonight." It was, but that's not the point of this anecdote. This experience gave me the ide…

There might be a market for this with high end consultants or psychiatrists as a more secure alternative to signing an NDA. It'll be something similar to the movie Paycheck

You give the consultant the drug, then proceed to share your secrets with them and get their expert advice on your issue. Then by the end of the day/week/whatever they'll forget everything you told them and your secrets will be secure.

Re: To Remember, the Brain Must Actively Forget

#32

Post by PascLeRasc »

I recently started taking noopept for memory health and I'm getting a side effect when I feel like I'm a college freshman again and don't know much about whatever I'm doing. It's helpful because I try new things that I wouldn't usually. I've learned a lot about bash and vim in the past two weeks as a result and I've tried new playing styles on guitar, while in the past I'd just play tabs from bands I like. I'd highly recommend it to anyone looking to learn quickly and break through mental blocks.

Re: To Remember, the Brain Must Actively Forget

#33

Post by digi_owl »

ZainRiz wrote: post #31
adriand wrote: post #17

I remember sitting at a bar in a distant city in some other country one night, and the person next to me, who I had just met that day, suggested that we do a shot together. Now these shots were big, and it had already been quite the night, and I remember thinking, "If I do this shot, it's probably the last thing I'll remember tonight." It was, but that's not the point of this anecdote. This experience gave me the ide…

There might be a market for this with high end consultants or psychiatrists as a more secure alternative to signing an NDA. It'll be something similar to the movie Paycheck You give the consultant the drug, then proceed to share your secrets with them and get their expert advice on your issue. Then by the end of the day/week/whatever they'll forget everything you told them and your secrets will be secure.

I recall a cyberpunk RPG had an implant that did something similar. It blocked the transfer between short and long term memory.

Re: To Remember, the Brain Must Actively Forget

#34

Post by digi_owl »

CuriousCosmic wrote: post #29
cryptozeus wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No I would not want to take it. "buyers remorse" will be so huge that I will regret for the rest of my life. For example if something bad happened then its fine but if something good happen and I can't remember, that would suck !

Alternatively, what happens if you are accused for a crime that you didn't commit during your "blackout period"?

While not a crime, i had some friends be very pissed off when i awoke from being blacked out drunk. To this day i do not know what faux pas i did...

Re: To Remember, the Brain Must Actively Forget

#35

Post by digi_owl »

notheguyouthink wrote: post #21
stickydink wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Passing time without any knowledge or memory is probably the main reason to be taking drugs in prison. Yours sounds like the perfect, side-effect free solution!

Interestingly, I wouldn't use it for that (if at all), because it doesn't actually pass the time at all. You still live the time, experiencing it in full. Ie, a boring day would still be a boring day. On the flip side, a drug that let you retroactively forget would be heavily used I bet. Traumatic experiences are often wished to be forgotten. Though, I wonder what a human would be like if they didn't have negative ex…

I ran into an article recently that hinted that memory erasure may well be possible in the near future...

Re: To Remember, the Brain Must Actively Forget

#36

Post by jackmodern »

IAmGraydon wrote: post #30
adriand wrote: post #17

I remember sitting at a bar in a distant city in some other country one night, and the person next to me, who I had just met that day, suggested that we do a shot together. Now these shots were big, and it had already been quite the night, and I remember thinking, "If I do this shot, it's probably the last thing I'll remember tonight." It was, but that's not the point of this anecdote. This experience gave me the ide…

Such a drug exists. Namely, anything of the benzodiazepine class.

bingo^

short/longterm memories will be shot full of holes when on benzos for a while. even one night of benzo usage and you will forget most of the night, mix in a beer by accident and the whole night will be erased.

Re: To Remember, the Brain Must Actively Forget

#37

Post by [deleted] »

IAmGraydon wrote: post #30
adriand wrote: post #17

I remember sitting at a bar in a distant city in some other country one night, and the person next to me, who I had just met that day, suggested that we do a shot together. Now these shots were big, and it had already been quite the night, and I remember thinking, "If I do this shot, it's probably the last thing I'll remember tonight." It was, but that's not the point of this anecdote. This experience gave me the ide…

Such a drug exists. Namely, anything of the benzodiazepine class.

[deleted]

Re: To Remember, the Brain Must Actively Forget

#38

Post by digi_owl »

Over the years i have come to think that the brain can be better likened to a de-duplicating storage system, but with some nasty flaws that all too often result in mixed data on reading.

Meaning that experiences that are similar enough gets overlaid each other, resulting in time flying past as we get older and to the same stuff day after day. This because we seem to experience time retroactively.

Re: To Remember, the Brain Must Actively Forget

#39

Post by wavefunction »

digi_owl wrote: post #34
CuriousCosmic wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Alternatively, what happens if you are accused for a crime that you didn't commit during your "blackout period"?

While not a crime, i had some friends be very pissed off when i awoke from being blacked out drunk. To this day i do not know what faux pas i did...

Have you asked them? What sort of friends cannot broach the subject with you?

There's no reason to continue living in that situation if you can make amends or discover that they judged you in a faulty manner.

Re: To Remember, the Brain Must Actively Forget

#40

Post by analogmemory »

IAmGraydon wrote: post #30
adriand wrote: post #17

I remember sitting at a bar in a distant city in some other country one night, and the person next to me, who I had just met that day, suggested that we do a shot together. Now these shots were big, and it had already been quite the night, and I remember thinking, "If I do this shot, it's probably the last thing I'll remember tonight." It was, but that's not the point of this anecdote. This experience gave me the ide…

Such a drug exists. Namely, anything of the benzodiazepine class.

Most people recognize that as Ambien

https://popula.com/2018/07/22/the-ambien-diaries/

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