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I've always thought that's how memory worked, especially given the way I recall things. Anything you remember is essentially a stored state of sensory patterns.
by biot 11y ago
I've always thought that's how memory worked, especially given the way I recall things. Anything you remember is essentially a stored state of sensory patterns. And because those patterns aren't unique, each new thing you learn cobbles together previous patterns (with modifiers) to form the new memory. It's why looking at the holes in the peel of an orange might remind you of pores in human skin, and the scent of an orange takes you back to the memory of your mom cutting up some oranges for you.
- digi_owl 11y agoBeen formulating something similar over the years. It seems we get a sense of time based on fresh "patterns". So as we grow older, more and more inputs match previous inputs and thus our sense of time gets all mangled. also we have a very aggressive "de-duplication" going on, again without any consideration given to time, that result in experiences with similar elements blurring into each other.
- biot 11y agoThat's an interesting theory on why time accelerates as people get older. If one's sense of time is the rate at which new patterns are formed, if that rate declines to 25% then 2 years will pass by and it will only feel like 6 months. I'm reminded of that quote from Dune: "I'll miss the sea. But a man needs new experiences. They jar something deep inside, allowing him to grow. Without change, something sleeps inside of us and seldom awakens. The sleeper must awaken."
- digi_owl 11y agoIt basically came to me while trying to introspect on why i could remember something from 20 years ago with clarity, but could not remember much about the past week with any certainly. Because as i thought about it, the days seemed to overlap as i had done much the same in each of them.