Sierra Dellenbaugh Blog 13: Why do we remember?
Week 13
(Why do we remember?) - 3/23 [5:59]
I started reading chapter 7 of Beloved after the exhausting CAASPP test on Tuesday, and this one paragraph really stuck out to me. I’ll just insert a few sentences: “She shook her head from side to side, resigned to her rebellious brain. Why was there nothing it refused? No misery, not regret, no hateful picture too rotten to accept? Like a greedy child it snatched up everything. Just once, could it say, No thank you? I just ate and can’t hold another bite?” (83). What causes our minds to remember the most painful moments in our lives, but not the names of our first grade teachers, what we had for breakfast that morning, or any information we need for an upcoming test? What decides which information is important and what isn’t? I would like to believe that we tend to hold onto information that will come to be helpful in the future, but I definitely don’t need the phone number for the old landline at my childhood home, but I still have it. I guess the human mind will forever be the biggest, unsolved mystery.
I don’t actually know where I was going with this blog, and I know the last thing you all wanted to see was a blog about our mandatory book for this unit, but I think it’s a lot better than anything I wrote last week.
(I was extremely upset when I realized I didn’t include a song with last week’s post, so here’s my all time favorite that will get old [just happens to fit this blog well too]: The Bandit - Kings of Leon, https://open.spotify.com/track/55meRTYBw8S5q7KF3DkjL7?si=1337941757944609 )
Hey Sierra!
ReplyDeleteI think its really cool how you were able to get something out of your reading. I saw you reading next to me after the test and you seemed really into it which is so nice when reading a book, especially if it is mandatory. I personally have difficulty with this book as I don't enjoy trying to understand the complicated language adorning a fairly bleak plot but your interest makes me want to put in the effort to give the book a chance. Is there a particular reason that quote stood out to you? Does it mean anything to you and what did you interpret it as? Also super excited to listen to your music rec of the week after I finish these comments, thank you for sharing:)
Hi Sierra,
ReplyDeleteI feel your statement so much right now. When coming up with an idea for our blog, I found that most of the things I tended to remember were, in retrospect, completely useless. When you combine that with the fact that I’ve been forgetting the most important formulas on my calculus exams, you might find me quite silly. Seeing your blog post made me realize that it wasn’t just me, and I appreciate that.
Sincerely,
Sean Wang
Hi Sierra,
ReplyDeleteI relate a lot to your post, especially your post about the mind remembering the most painful moments but forgetting the joyful ones. I notice this to be true in the aspects of dreams and nightmares. Whenever I have a nightmare, whether it's about getting chased down the eerie woods by a big monster, or getting a 50 on my AP Bio test, I tend to wake up and spend the rest of the day with a clear memory of the nightmare lingering in my head. However, when I have a pleasant dream, I struggle to retrieve the significant details from my memory and explain it to my best friend by the time brunch begins. I guess that's just how our mind--and memory, truly works. They can be unpredictable.
In a singular moment, we have no memory. We are instead compelled to remember. If there is no reason to recall the name of your first grade teacher then its place in the capacity of your mind is miniscule. If you saw their face, maybe you could recall what their name was. I think it's sad to think about now that in the future the people you find the most precious may not take on such a prime role in your life. But future you know more than you do now. I actually don't remember the most painful moments of my life with coherence. I just know it happened and associate my own conviction of avoidance with that fading memory. I can't reproduce the fear I had at that time nor can I even sympathize with myself. Thinking back makes me feel as if the person that I was is not me at all. I feel indifferent.
ReplyDeleteHi Sierra,
ReplyDeleteMy personal belief is that memories are formed based on how much of an impact that event had on your emotional state. There are experiences which I know I'll never forget for a lifetime, including bungee jumping off of a 150 foot bridge in New Zealand. However, this holds especially true for my painful memories, such as getting separated from my mom in Great Mall when I was five years old and the sense of isolation and danger that followed. The human mind is still largely an unsolved mystery, and I hope that more research can be conducted in the field of memory to reach a definitive conclusion on what exactly causes us to remember certain events.
Sincerely,
Krish
Hi Sierra,
ReplyDeleteMemory is a very interesting concept that is yet to be fully explored or understood. While many people have tried, memory is influenced hugely by consciousness, which is a concept even less understood. Perhaps one day in the future, both of these mysteries can be solved. The biological aspect of memory, however, seems to indicate that moments of stress trigger the brain to release hormones that boost memory, making stressful situations easier to remember. The reason why memories of breakfast or the first-grade teacher's name are unable to be remembered may be because the breakfast memory was stored in short-term storage, so after a period of time, it was naturally discarded. The memory of the first-grade teacher's name might be a retrieval issue, where the memory of the name was in long-term storage, but eventually degraded over time when it wasn't used for years. I hope this helps with some of your questions!
Sincerely,
Raymond Yu
Hi Sierra,
ReplyDeleteIt is so true that we tend to remember painful moments and useless information over useful information and joyful moments. I remember all the times I was bullied back as a freshman, but I don't really remember many of things I learned in pre-calc honors. I actually think that we remember painful moments and useless information along with things that we find interesting, such as (for me) the 16 different programming languages I still know (yea, 16 different ones). It is almost as if we cannot predict what we remember and what we forget.
Sincerely,
Vivan Waghela
Hi Sierra,
ReplyDeleteIf I had a dollar for every single time I've forgotten something, I would be so rich that I could just throw money at someone to remember these things for me. Throughout my junior year, there have been so many soul-wrenching, heart-dropping moments where I lay down on my bed and realize "****, I forgot to do this," then immediately sitting up at speeds that should break my back and running down to see if I can salvage anything together at least so it looks like I tried. I really hope that my forgetfulness will slowly go away as I grow older, because if this amount of incompetence continues, I might end up in such a terrible place that I won't even have important things to remember anymore.
Yi-Kuan C.
Hi Sierra,
ReplyDeleteSometimes I wish I could forget certain things and remember others. The more specific question I have is: Why do we remember the bad things better? My answer to that question is that the more we try to forget about something, the harder it is to forget. An example of this is the last time you embarrassed yourself in public. I know that I try really hard to forget, but the embarrassing moments still stay with me. It might be because it as a learning opportunity that might help me in the future. But sometimes I wish I could remember the things I want to over the things I don't.