“People alter their memories to make them fit their perceptions” – Scott Adams
When I read this first, it seemed a little weird. Altering memories to fit my perceptions??? I always thought that the relationship was the other way round- that my memories determined what perceptions I had. But with some deeper thought, it started making some sense.
Altering the memory – I am not very sure about, but “selective retention”- that for sure does happen. Say for instance, I like this friend of mine. He obviously is no divine soul and does certain things that are good and some that are not so good (see, I am biased right here in not using the word “bad”). Anyways, I might dislike the “not so good” acts of his, but after some time, provided I still like him, would somehow forget about them and simply give him the credit for the good ones. Selective retention!!!
Let us take a slightly different, but a more common example. Let’s say I dislike this person, and you ask me my view about him. I will tell you all that I feel is wrong about him and will easily come up with numerous instances when he was not good to me or to someone else. Does this mean that I have never ever seen him doing any good deed? Selective retention again!!! I prefer to forget such events and keep only those in my memories which suit my perceptions.
Want more??? How many times have we almost forgotten the wrongs that we “accidently” did and not that the other one did to us? Or the pinching comments that we made and covered up with “I didn’t mean to hurt you” and not that came to us wrapped up in a similar fashion?
So it is not what I have experienced that forms my view about this world around me; it is rather my view that determines what I choose to call my experiences. Remember the old saying “aap bhale to jag bhala”.
When I read this first, it seemed a little weird. Altering memories to fit my perceptions??? I always thought that the relationship was the other way round- that my memories determined what perceptions I had. But with some deeper thought, it started making some sense.
Altering the memory – I am not very sure about, but “selective retention”- that for sure does happen. Say for instance, I like this friend of mine. He obviously is no divine soul and does certain things that are good and some that are not so good (see, I am biased right here in not using the word “bad”). Anyways, I might dislike the “not so good” acts of his, but after some time, provided I still like him, would somehow forget about them and simply give him the credit for the good ones. Selective retention!!!
Let us take a slightly different, but a more common example. Let’s say I dislike this person, and you ask me my view about him. I will tell you all that I feel is wrong about him and will easily come up with numerous instances when he was not good to me or to someone else. Does this mean that I have never ever seen him doing any good deed? Selective retention again!!! I prefer to forget such events and keep only those in my memories which suit my perceptions.
Want more??? How many times have we almost forgotten the wrongs that we “accidently” did and not that the other one did to us? Or the pinching comments that we made and covered up with “I didn’t mean to hurt you” and not that came to us wrapped up in a similar fashion?
So it is not what I have experienced that forms my view about this world around me; it is rather my view that determines what I choose to call my experiences. Remember the old saying “aap bhale to jag bhala”.
4 comments:
Perception determines memories (the current topic) as well as memories determine perception. But how can both be true?
I think both statements hold true if we consider TIME frame as well.
PAST--Memories--Perception-- FUTURE
Perception determining memory is the case of "selective memory"
and thats when we are looking just at past events.
But memories determine perception if we look towards future.
“We drive into the future using only our rear view mirror.”-McLuhan
In this case our memories, our experiences will determine our perception of future.When faced with a totally new situation, we tend always to attach ourselves to the objects, to the flavor of the most recent past. We look at the present through a rear view mirror. We march backwards into the future.
Mindblowing..really compelled me to introspect and think about the umpteenth num of times i praised some "frn" of mine or bad-mouthed some "FRN" of mine..:)
sach me.."ap bhale to sab bhala!!"isnt it..
keep the gud wrk!!
Sigmund Freud has given the idea of rationalism which states that any person will do whatever he likes irrespective of right or wrong and once the things have been done then he\she tries to rationalize that what was done was right.
Nice article mam!!(Mam!! u might be surprised,yeah exactly I'm ur 1 yr junior in our coll!! )u made me think!! and found everything u said is right
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