blog post #9

1. Memory is extremely importnat in defining who we are as humans. It's a form of learning, without it we wouldn't be able to learn. I can remember things I said and did growing up. These things were energetic and revolved around my family and sports. Without these memories I would wonder who my family is and what they are like. I would wonder if I did like sports and if I was any good. If we did not have memory I would not be in this class right now. We wouldn't even have school because no one would remember what they had just learned. We would be living moment by moment and experiencing everything for the first time, every time. Clive Wearing is what other people remember he was. His life is someone else's memory. I think Clive's wife handles Clive's memory damage but at the same time she tries to make hime remember by asking questions and telling him what really happened. He gets mad but she jsut listens and tries to console him rather than get angry herself. She views his damage as a phenomenon. She believes that how he knows he loves her, and how he remembers music is proof that he still has memory. I don't know if I would have handled this the same way. Their love is strong and is true passion, but I don't think I could deal with my husband acting like he's never seen me before, and getting mad at the simplest of things. I'm glad I have my memory. I learn from my mistakes and remember the people who made a difference in my life. My memory could be better, but it could always be worse.
2. Yes, I could be in an argument with my sister, both of us remembering the same event, but each picturing it differently. We both can say we are positive we are right but which one of us is right. Our memories look at certain events both different to each of us. We see what we think happened, not waht actually happened. After reading this section I wonder if my memories of events are accurate or if I made up parts of it. Even after the exercise link, I still wasn't confident in my memory. I remembered little things but I couldn't remember exactly. Even when someone asks me to do something, I have to write it down so I don't forget. I was even surprised at my memory with teh penny exercise on how I remembered what penny was the actual penny. I got it right but I still wasn't completely sure.
3. An interesting concept I learned in this chapter was source amnesia. Source amnesia si that we retain the memory fo the event, but not fo the context in whis we acquire it. Most people have had the event happen where they can recognize someone but have no idea where they have seen that person. Or even hearing something and later recalling that we saw it. This is important because it shows how our memory is susceptible to change. I could hear a loud heavy motor of a truck going by and later the next day swearing that I saw a loud truck go by. Overall this chapter was interesting and made me question my own memory.