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a couple amazing stories that appeared over the last month or so help re-frame the whole mind/body connection, especially as it relates to memory.
the first tells the story of a woman with alzheimer's, who not only "forgets" she has lupus (!?!!!) but also heals a long-strained relationship with her daughter. the 2nd is a science clip about isolating the chemical that makes us learn and remember - with significant implications, to say the least.
www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22...love-1.html
and
www.nytimes.com/2009/04/06...6brain.html
i find these kinds of things offer a lot of flexibility in terms of how i "think" of daily life and its possibilities....
the first tells the story of a woman with alzheimer's, who not only "forgets" she has lupus (!?!!!) but also heals a long-strained relationship with her daughter. the 2nd is a science clip about isolating the chemical that makes us learn and remember - with significant implications, to say the least.
www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22...love-1.html
and
www.nytimes.com/2009/04/06...6brain.html
i find these kinds of things offer a lot of flexibility in terms of how i "think" of daily life and its possibilities....
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Re: reality just keeps getting weirder....
Tue, April 21, 2009 - 10:45 PM“that people with Alzheimer’s heal themselves of their diseases. Because they forget they have them.”
Yeah, it's interesting to consider the relationship between active disease and the memory of such. Which is worse?
I'm skeptical of science being able to edit memory, though it makes a good story. -
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Re: reality just keeps getting weirder....
Tue, April 21, 2009 - 11:41 PM
>Which is worse? <
not sure what you mean...? but the relationship between active *memory* and disease is a mind-blower. "auto-immune" sounds a lot more optional in that light!
>I'm skeptical of science being able to edit memory, though it makes a good story. <
yeah, a bit too "eternal sunshine of the spotless mind", ain't it. but isn't reality just the continual investigation of layer upon layer upon layer? it just keeps going, and the limits we assume today fall away tomorrow. -
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Re: reality just keeps getting weirder....
Wed, April 22, 2009 - 11:44 AM"not sure what you mean"
What I was trying to get at was... Which is worse, the memories and habitual responses forged by previous pain and suffering about a disease OR the actual active disease itself? -
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Re: reality just keeps getting weirder....
Wed, April 22, 2009 - 12:29 PMok, not sure there's any difference, perceptually....maybe why the relationship is seen to work both ways.
i've always been fascinated by the role of memory anyway - what would it be like to wake up in the morning, as an adult, and not *recognize* birdsong, for instance. be great to perceive the world THAT new everyday (tho i'd just as soon remember how to walk and use a toilet!)
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