Memories of the 28th Century

We have known for many years that photography is related to memory deficiencies, but it has not been demonstrated whether photography is the cause of defective memory, or if it is a result of having a defective memory, specifically an attempt to fill in for a natural memory, and it is possible that it varies from case to case.

It must be a pleasant surprise to people who can’t remember much that there are devices to allow them to save images of persons, things, places, and events that normal people would remember without the need of mechanical or electronic devices. In these cases it appears that photography comes after the disease of memory loss has developed.

Then there is the process that Plato suggested for writing in “The Phaedrus”, that writing would damage the ability of people to remember.
O most ingenious Theuth, the parent or inventor of an art is not always the best judge of the utility or inutility of his own inventions to the users of them. And in this instance, you who are the father of letters, from a paternal love of your own children have been led to attribute to them a quality which they cannot have; for this discovery of yours will create forgetfulness in the learners' souls, because they will not use their memories; they will trust to the external written characters and not remember of themselves. The specific which you have discovered is an aid not to memory, but to reminiscence, and you give your disciples not truth, but only the semblance of truth; they will be hearers of many things and will have learned nothing; they will appear to be omniscient and will generally know nothing; they will be tiresome company, having the show of wisdom without the reality.
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1636/1636-h/1636-h.htm

I believe that Plato’s fear was well-founded, but considering how much reading is done these days and by whom it is done, the readers and writers haven’t lost much, if anything, and the non-readers don’t have much to forget.

My experience with photography has been somewhat different. I have been acquainted with photographers who had trouble remembering anything of people or events, but who manage to remember everything about someone or something when reminded with a photograph of that person or thing. This suggests that photographs could be used to treat memory loss in some people. Certainly people with dementia are affected this way.

Since photography can be either a cause or a result of memory loss, we should look at each case to determine whether the photography preceded or followed the memory problems, and treat each case appropriately.

Real human minds do not need photographs; there is a complete record in the mind that includes all sensory inputs: fragrances, sights, sounds, and so on. If you can’t access a particular memory, then the problem might be with the indexing that the brain did when the event was first remembered. It is possible to exercise the memory using various concentrations methods that are found in prana yoga and in similar Western techniques.


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H. P. Lovecraft
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