memories
Memories and Longevity
A wise friend wrote, in part "... if our bodies could be persuaded to live indefinitely, we would continuously forget things that happened, say, a hundred years of more ago and so the question would arise: in what sense are we actually the same person?"
Good question. But speaking within the terms of today's life expectancy, I note that the need for memory is a bit less. Forget the name of your state's senator? Go to Google. Forget who starred in a Broadway play? Google it. So nowadays we are free to retain less and forget more.
Of course, to help recall events in our personal life, we often need to ask friends or members of our family. The downside of this is that if you live long enough, there is no one left to ask.
A wise friend wrote, in part "... if our bodies could be persuaded to live indefinitely, we would continuously forget things that happened, say, a hundred years of more ago and so the question would arise: in what sense are we actually the same person?"
Good question. But speaking within the terms of today's life expectancy, I note that the need for memory is a bit less. Forget the name of your state's senator? Go to Google. Forget who starred in a Broadway play? Google it. So nowadays we are free to retain less and forget more.
Of course, to help recall events in our personal life, we often need to ask friends or members of our family. The downside of this is that if you live long enough, there is no one left to ask.
1 Comments:
Homer - I cannot tell you how much I have enjoyed your company, both professional and personal
over the years. And this BLOG has been an enormous source of thoughtful enjoyment. Keep up the good work.
Jack Peppard
By
Sam, at 9:41 AM
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