4 ms·

Identity-as-memory isn't something I buy into much, because my own memory is flatly terrible already. My childhood up until 10 or so is mostly a blank, for exam

by zyxley 12y ago

Identity-as-memory isn't something I buy into much, because my own memory is flatly terrible already. My childhood up until 10 or so is mostly a blank, for example, with just some impressionist highlights of place names and locations popping up if I think real hard.

meric 12y ago
I can replay at least one memory from any year since I was 2. Some of them obviously impacted my identity, like the time I was 4 years old in kindergarten and I spent a little more effort, but not too much, at writing words a little prettier than usual, and managed to beat the rest of the class to win myself a toy car. At the time it was the proudest moment of my life. It taught me I only needed to spend the tiniest of effort more than average to do very well in society. Other memories include seeing a colourful picture of "1995" on the tv and obviously didn't mean much.
- sukilot 12y ago
  But note that memory is a highly creative act, neurologically. Memories are strongly influenced by physical and mental context of each instance the memory is recalled and recommitted to memory.
mdcox 12y ago
Just playing devil's advocate: that doesn't necessarily rule it out. You could argue that part of your memory is lost and so it doesn't effect your identity. Or more likely, when those memories were fresh they influenced behavior which created the new more relevant memories. That would explain personality and identity progression. I also kind of like the idea that people's identity becomes less malleable as they grow older, which would make sense if it's all based on "higher order"/more specific memories.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
ggreer 12y ago
There is more than one kind of memory. You're talking about episodic memory. I think you have many memories from childhood that you aren't considering. I'm sure you still have many semantic memories (facts, concepts, etc) from before age 10. For example: if you're from the US, you still know the name of the first president of the United States. You probably have even more information from childhood stored in implicit memory. If you're like most people, you learned how to ride a bike, tie your shoes, understand language, and play catch. The memories of learning these things are separate from the memories needed to actually do them. Erasing all of a person's memories would truly destroy them. Once they formed new memories, they would be as different from their original self as an identical twin separated at birth.
- zyxley 12y ago
  Hmm, good point.
- gliese1337 12y ago
  In fairness, studies of adult twins separated at birth do tend to indicate that they tend to turn out surprisingly not that different from each other....

by zyxley 12y ago

meric 12y ago

I can replay at least one memory from any year since I was 2. Some of them obviously impacted my identity, like the time I was 4 years old in kindergarten and I spent a little more effort, but not too much, at writing words a little prettier than usual, and managed to beat the rest of the class to win myself a toy car. At the time it was the proudest moment of my life. It taught me I only needed to spend the tiniest of effort more than average to do very well in society. Other memories include seeing a colourful picture of "1995" on the tv and obviously didn't mean much.

sukilot 12y ago
But note that memory is a highly creative act, neurologically. Memories are strongly influenced by physical and mental context of each instance the memory is recalled and recommitted to memory.

mdcox 12y ago

Just playing devil's advocate: that doesn't necessarily rule it out. You could argue that part of your memory is lost and so it doesn't effect your identity. Or more likely, when those memories were fresh they influenced behavior which created the new more relevant memories. That would explain personality and identity progression. I also kind of like the idea that people's identity becomes less malleable as they grow older, which would make sense if it's all based on "higher order"/more specific memories.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

ggreer 12y ago

There is more than one kind of memory. You're talking about episodic memory. I think you have many memories from childhood that you aren't considering. I'm sure you still have many semantic memories (facts, concepts, etc) from before age 10. For example: if you're from the US, you still know the name of the first president of the United States. You probably have even more information from childhood stored in implicit memory. If you're like most people, you learned how to ride a bike, tie your shoes, understand language, and play catch. The memories of learning these things are separate from the memories needed to actually do them. Erasing all of a person's memories would truly destroy them. Once they formed new memories, they would be as different from their original self as an identical twin separated at birth.

zyxley 12y ago
Hmm, good point.
gliese1337 12y ago
In fairness, studies of adult twins separated at birth do tend to indicate that they tend to turn out surprisingly not that different from each other....