And is it something that would be desirable?

I was feeling somewhat nostalgic the other day and i googled my street but added a "1993" to it, which was my teenage years, long story short i found a few photgraphs that brought back long distant memories, and they had a surprisingly profound effect on me.

What struck me most was the complete change in visual aspect of the entire area and everything in it, to be logically expected of course, but to see the hairstyles people had, the clothes they wore, the style of cars in the street and perhaps most distinctly of all, the shops, with names that have long since gone bust or been pulled down, it was such an odd feeling to see this past world again after i had long forgotten it.

To me it has felt more or less like a seamless time-line where the past became the present without noticing any huge change, and many memories were just gone, but when i look back at these photo's all these old memories came alive and once again became a part of me, i almost feel as if there are two distinct me's, one in those times and the current one, i think this must be a side-effect of growing old perhaps i don't know, but i never saw my time-line in this way before.

This brings me to my main point, as i looked at these old photo's i came across one of my street but from 1953, i was long yet to be born and the photograph intrigued me greatly, there were two ladies smiling in the foreground, dressed in 50's clothing and everything behind them was yet again completely different in a most vivid way, attached to this photograph was a short story of the person that owned it, they described their hobbies during those years, their family, and many short memories they had of this or that event in their life, it was almost as if i too was having those memories, the net is great for collecting history like this, but perhaps technology could go further.

I must say i came away very happy, as if i had been given some insight into a life that i would never have known or seen, we can all imagine other time periods, but its not the same as seeing through someone elses eyes, as being party to someone elses life.

I realise this post is long-winded and overly heavy on the sentimental side perhaps, in my defence i wasn't drunk when i wrote it and i'm sober now too it was just an odd thought, that perhaps by experiencing each other's memories we could understand one another better, and become much closer as a result.

Whats your opinion, could technology ever achieve the ability to upload our memories for others to experience? almost like a youtube clip, and if so, what would the effect be on us? would it be beneficial? or could it be damaging in some unforeseen way?

Like the machine in Assassins Creed ?

Hopefully scientist would realise they have better things to invent rather than a memory reader, how would it even work on a dead and decaying mind, when they don't even know how the human memory works.
To be honest I would rather hear stories of my family/friends past from them and not some machine printing it on a screen or reading it out, it would be no more special than looking up the wiki and reading about my town there.
Also isn't that why people write diaries/memoirs/autobiographies, so that their experiences can live on?
Not to mention people may have some private or dark memories that they would never want disclosed to everyone as they have tried to forget them.

I can't really see a benefit for it when I have pictures, films, stories and living relative/friends to tell me about auld lang syne and my future to look forward too.

I really, really, really don't want other people looking at my memories.

The things I've done... :cryvaultboy:

Apart from people with photographic memories, most people can't even recall details of their own memories, outside of a general description of events.

This for sure.

I'll just leave this here...


Sheogorath The Banker

it’s nice to think you’d easily recognize
a raving lunatic with your myopic eyes
his hair is all askew, possessions in bags,
he’s draqed in chains or festooned in rags
peering in too clearly is a dangerous task
you don’t know what is behind the mask

the smiling man on the street moving in your direction
might be wanting your teeth for his molar collection
you trust your spare key to the sweet lady next door
never suspecting a thing ‘til your blood’s on the floor
the fine merchant, those cute kids, that pair of newlyweds,
you’d be filled with pure horror if you looked in their heads

so, some say i choose this form to put you at ease
with middle class formalities, thank you and please,
others say it’s symbolic, though my bank has no walls
and there’s no penalty for early mental withdrawals

Human memory is unreliable, and heavily fragmented. Seeing seeing someone's memories would probably be the biggest acid trip.

Considering that memories are simply stored interpretations of sensory perception, I can see how it would be possible to recover and "install" memeories.

We are no where close to that of course as we have only just started trying to interpret brain signals (which is the first step in a long road).

Oh god, no. Do not want.
Only if they could be filtered, censored, memories where I get to pick & choose what's available for public viewing, so to speak. Otherwise...
Oh god, no. Do not want.

So who is going to be the first person to implant a USB and wire it to their brain?
And what happens when someone uploads a spam-virus?


These questions are bigger than us.
*solemn nod*

God I hope not, I don't want some stranger looking into my memories, those memories are mine and personal. If I want to share my memories I'll share them to the best of my knowlage other then that---I think not.

And this is how the Matrix becomes self-aware.

Nope, I do not want such a thing. I wish my life to be known by me only.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strange_Days_(film)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsgbcYnmR6Y :wub:

Do you think it could create a matrix within the Matrix?

A Matrix-eption, if you will? :huh:
*rubs chin*

I sure as hell hope not.

I don't want somebody else's memories, that's like theft of the mind.

I also don't want the potential for somebody to experience my life.

This actually reminds me of a book called Rant, where people have ports in the back of their neck where they can plug in this flash drive type thing and experience something through another's eyes. They have it for porm. porm and this thing where some girl runs around all happy picking up sea shells are the two most popular drives.

no

Hell no no no no no

I sure as hell hope not... Last thing I want is people knowing everything about my life. I likes my privacy.

Sure. It's incredibly far away, however. We don't even really understand how memories are stored. First, we'd need to understand exactly how they are stored. Then, we'd need to understand exactly how to interpret them. Then we'd need some way to convert the anolog memories into digital data for storage, and then some way to allow another brain to access this data, whether that be some kind of direct interface, or just converting the memory directly into sensory input for the person.

Interesting answers in that they seem to be overwhelmingly against the idea, but i don't think i worded my original post properly perhaps.

I was never proposing that any stranger would just have access to your memories or any part of your mind, what i should have asked was whether you would want anyone else to experience certain "specific" memories that last no more than a few minutes, and they would be up to you what you make public, not up to anyone else.

So for example, if the happiest day of your life is when you got married, or when your first child was born, or the day you achieved something you are very happy with great or small, perhaps you wish to honour old friends by putting up a few good memories you have of them and yourself, or your intention could be to provide other people with memories of a world in the past that no longer exists, so they can see through that window and gain knowledge of the time period, you may even be storing these memories just in case you forget them yourself and because they are important to you.

There could of course be people who may have bad memories they want to share as a cautionary tale, and like any media, subject to censorship they could do so, providing due warning comes with that experience.

Essentially i would see these "memory clips" as a super advanced form of the photograph or home video in that the most complete ones would even come with the original person's emotions, but in no way was i suggesting that all or any part of your mind be put up for show without your express permission.

i realise photographs and video already do a great job, but actually feeling what someone else felt, seeing as someone else did, may be quite a profound learning experience, perhaps, i don't know.

I really do fail at thread titles

I posted http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1232829-scientists-reconstruct-video-clips-from-brain-activity/page__p__18645222#entry18645222 a while back. Assuming this isn't a hoax, it looks like we're already well on our way to projecting our memories. There are a ridiculous amount of implications technology like this brings up, but from a scientific and technical standpoint, this would be amazing.

I'd have no problem with it being possible for people to show their memories - in my opinion, it would only benefit society. But the technology would need to be perfected enough that whoever was projecting was in complete control at all times.

Now that! is pretty amazing, i had no idea we had come that far, if only a few more amazing breakthroughs like that one could be made in the medical sciences, because we seem to be fighting a losing war against disease and illness.