Anishka Jannu Week #13 - The Role of Memory in Historical Ideas
People often describe how technology has made us more incapable of using our own mind and memory. However, technology and writing tools help humans improve the sciences and humanity much more than mental power does. This is because our devices and tools allow us to preserve information in a physical, reliable place.
Memory has played an immense role in shaping historical ideas. Although it is not reliable, it was commonly used in the past to progress in the humanities and fields of research. Many years ago, historians and scientists had to rely on written word to understand what events and scientifical advancements had occured. Because cameras and digital technology had not been invented yet, most scientists used their memory and mentally kept track of experiment data. Similarly, historians had to recall which events had occured in the past because of the lack of substantial written material on the topic.
A study on memory and the past describers “researchers [who studied] memory in situations involving extreme aggression and violence … Incapable of understanding the experiences they have lived through or of ascribing meaning to them, they become unable to use their memories selectively” (Caldwell). The reserachers observed the effect of anger and violence on the human brain’s capability to remember. Their results demonstrate that humans choose to forget situation where they felt targeted or hurt. Therefore, people choose to forget certain aspects of their life and “use their memories selectively.” The observations from the study show the ineffectiveness of the human memory. Although our memory is capable of achieving many things, it performs poorly for certain events and occurences. The selectiveness of memory’s functioning makes it unreliable and possibly inaccurate.
The discrepancies in memory demonstrate why it is important for humans to record their observations and ideas in concrete platforms, digitally or physically.
Caldwell, Laurie, et al. “History, Memory and Forgetting: Political Implications.” RCCS Annual Review. A Selection from the Portuguese Journal Revista Crítica de Ciências Sociais, Centro de Estudos Sociais da Universidade de Coimbra, 1 Dec. 2009, journals.openedition.org/rccsar/157.
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ReplyDeleteHey Anishka,
ReplyDeleteI liked your idea of memories in history because it makes you wonder whether history is actually memories or if it's just fabricated facts told over and over again until it becomes a memory. If you're told something enough times you began to believe it and every one has probably heard the saying "history is written by the winners" which essentially just means that there will always be a side of history we never get to hear. So if what is passed down through generations is created using one side of the narrative and that combined with, as you mentioned, the selectiveness of memory then what we learn as history could be a very very small fragrant.
Hi Anishka,
ReplyDeleteYour concept of recollection in history is relatable with me as it begs the question of whether history is made up of true memories or merely made up of facts repeated until they get ingrained in memory. I feel like there will always be a side of the story that never gets heard, and especially when something is told many times, you will start to believe it. Therefore, I feel like what we examine in history nowadays is Soley a tiny fragment of what is passed down through slight altercations to fit the thought and desires of the authors. Thus, showing selective memory in history and intricate bias.