3 ms·

I had this happen to me when I got into a motorcycle accident. I know I did things, I have the proof and screenshots of calling people 15 times every 5 minutes

by mitchty 10y ago

I had this happen to me when I got into a motorcycle accident. I know I did things, I have the proof and screenshots of calling people 15 times every 5 minutes. But I can't for the life of me remember it at all. It is... weird gaining consciousness piece by piece. Eventually I remember the blackness washing away with me walking through a door (note, couldn't see it just felt it). And eventually other senses returning to my conscious self. I'm now of the opinion that without memory, we do not exist as conscious beings. My first memory post accident as a conscious human, is "hi cat, how are you, were you wanting me to die so you could eat my nose? also who's cat is this and where the hell am I?" Before that colors and sounds and feelings were all... jumbled.

thomk 10y ago
So who's cat was it?
- mitchty 10y ago
  Heh, sorry, was the buddy I called 15 times girlfriends cat.
pharrington 10y ago
In addition to short and long term memory, there is the thought-emotion-action-observation feedback cycle. That you performed purposeful high level actions while being unable to form episodic memories demonstrates that the feedback cycle was still operative and you were experiencing some level of consciousness, though it obviously was not the same level you're used to while being sober and fully awake. The approach of treating consciousness as not binary, but operating within a range, is not new; see the Glasgow Coma Scale[1] and the Erowid experience vaults[2] (though the latter is obviously highly unscientific) for further documentation. [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasgow_Coma_Scale https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasgow_Coma_Scale [2]https://erowid.org/experiences/ https://erowid.org/experiences/
- mitchty 10y ago
  Cool, thanks for the links! While I won't argue that I wasn't "conscious", I'll argue for all intents and purposes, I wasn't conscious at that time. My buddy said I'd basically completely forget everything after 5 minutes, and we would have the same conversation over and over again. Its disconcerting to say the least to find out just how fragile consciousness is.
monk_e_boy 10y ago
I fell off my skateboard and landed right on my bum. I don't remember much about it, just a profound shock. Like something bad had happened. I tried to walk home but ended up walking down a curved lane. Part way down the lane there was a gate that I had already walked past, I was confused, but realised that I needed to turn around and just keep walking. Then I'd see the gate and realise that I had got confused and turned around. So I'd walk down the curved lane without turning. But I'd reach the gate again and have to turn around and walk without turning. My friends found me some hours later. Walking and crying. My spine had been shoved up into my brain. Something had got jiggled around. I had lost around three years of memories and my short term memory was confused. It came back. Oh, the wonder at when it came back and I was living in two times at the same time. I was two ages. My younger self could ask my older self about the future, old me would hand memories down to young me. Like TV pictures. It has always felt like I have a rotten bit or a bruised bit (like an apple) inside my brain. Smells or feelings will trigger mild panic. I dream of that lane. And walking. I can poke at the broken bits of my memory. I don't want to dive into them, but I know enough now to poke around the edges. I can write the story down without feeling too much about it. Like an old hard drive that sort of knows where the bad sectors are. Brains are weird. Meat that thinks.

by mitchty 10y ago

thomk 10y ago

So who's cat was it?

mitchty 10y ago
Heh, sorry, was the buddy I called 15 times girlfriends cat.

pharrington 10y ago

In addition to short and long term memory, there is the thought-emotion-action-observation feedback cycle. That you performed purposeful high level actions while being unable to form episodic memories demonstrates that the feedback cycle was still operative and you were experiencing some level of consciousness, though it obviously was not the same level you're used to while being sober and fully awake. The approach of treating consciousness as not binary, but operating within a range, is not new; see the Glasgow Coma Scale[1] and the Erowid experience vaults[2] (though the latter is obviously highly unscientific) for further documentation. [1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasgow_Coma_Scale https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glasgow_Coma_Scale [2]https://erowid.org/experiences/ https://erowid.org/experiences/

mitchty 10y ago
Cool, thanks for the links! While I won't argue that I wasn't "conscious", I'll argue for all intents and purposes, I wasn't conscious at that time. My buddy said I'd basically completely forget everything after 5 minutes, and we would have the same conversation over and over again. Its disconcerting to say the least to find out just how fragile consciousness is.

monk_e_boy 10y ago

I fell off my skateboard and landed right on my bum. I don't remember much about it, just a profound shock. Like something bad had happened. I tried to walk home but ended up walking down a curved lane. Part way down the lane there was a gate that I had already walked past, I was confused, but realised that I needed to turn around and just keep walking. Then I'd see the gate and realise that I had got confused and turned around. So I'd walk down the curved lane without turning. But I'd reach the gate again and have to turn around and walk without turning. My friends found me some hours later. Walking and crying. My spine had been shoved up into my brain. Something had got jiggled around. I had lost around three years of memories and my short term memory was confused. It came back. Oh, the wonder at when it came back and I was living in two times at the same time. I was two ages. My younger self could ask my older self about the future, old me would hand memories down to young me. Like TV pictures. It has always felt like I have a rotten bit or a bruised bit (like an apple) inside my brain. Smells or feelings will trigger mild panic. I dream of that lane. And walking. I can poke at the broken bits of my memory. I don't want to dive into them, but I know enough now to poke around the edges. I can write the story down without feeling too much about it. Like an old hard drive that sort of knows where the bad sectors are. Brains are weird. Meat that thinks.