A new documentary claims it’s possible to edit memories to get rid of things we don’t want to think about anymore.
So if people can’t get over a traumatic event or break-up, they
could remove their recollection of it – or at least, the pain attached
to it.
‘Memory Hackers,’ from PBS, shows interviews with scientists and people with remarkable memories to explore how it is possible.
Its message is that memory isn’t just to play back what has happened to us, but is something more interpretive.
‘For much of human history, memory has been seen as a tape
recorder that faithfully registers information and replays intact, the
filmmakers said.
‘But now, researchers are discovering that memory is far more
malleable, always being written and rewritten, not just by us but by
others.
‘We are discovering the precise mechanisms that can explain and even control our memories.
‘The question is—are we ready?’
The programme shows a 12-year-old boy who can remember almost
everything that ever happened to him since he was eight years old. Jake
Hausler is the youngest person to be diagnosed with Highly Superior
Autobiographical Memory, which makes it hard for him to work out which
things in the past are worth dwelling on as everything seems vivid.
Michael Bicks, the programme’s writer, director, and producer, told FastCocreate: ‘A
lot of the things that we think are bad about memory, like forgetting
things or false memories, are byproducts of the system. It’s not
designed to be perfect, so people shouldn’t expect it to be.’
The news site said new imaging tools like PET scans, TMS, fMRIs –
as well as drugs – offer the possibility of radical ways to treat
disorders like addiction, phobias and PTSD.
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