Comment by nashashmi | Hacker News Reader

Comment by nashashmi | Hacker News Reader

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I have been able to recall memories from the time I was one years old. I even recalled a dream I had at the age of 3. These memories were long forgotten and probably the last time I recalled them was at the age of 7. I am now 40.

Recently, I unlocked a memory at the age of 2 months. It is difficult to believe except to me. After unlocking it, the memory felt like it was yesterday. And I have recalled this memory multiple times in my childhood phase. I guess I am now recalling my childhood in greater detail which is causing me to remember what memories I was recalling at the time.

So why can't we remember our baby memories? Because of shock. The present day gives us so much stress. So we focus on now. We focus on what helps us now. We recall memories that help us in the NOW. If you want to recall a memory from before, imagine a stress that likely would have also occurred from before. Like being hungry and being unable to communicate. And reaching for a bottle of milk. Being unable to walk or crawl. Lying on your back. For me, hunger does not evoke too much stress. Other things do like headaches.

My earliest memory is age 2, which was a traumatic one. Being wheeled through the double doors into the surgery areas, while my mom had to wait outside and was assuring me we would get Taco Bell after.

Age 3. My father assembling a solid plastic child riding horse with springs.

Age 4. A residential home converted to child day care, where I first encountered Cosmic Encounter on a table (probably left out from the night before). I had no idea what that was until my teens.

Age 4-6, a rather large number of memories like beginning to formally write with my left hand, almost choking on a sea shell I had been sucking on, Jimmy Carter was president, my first memorable Halloween, etc. All at a Kindercare facility, which is a national pre-school chain.

So it's like a built-in protection to prevent us from recalling traumatic experiences ? Could make sense. But then why also block the overwhelmingly good memories like getting xmas presents ?

I don’t think you can put logic on what you do and don’t remember from an event. Biology would have to mate that with some contextual reasoning somehow which seems a bit to complex for something so inherently subconscious. For example when I think of some family vacations from childhood I can remember deep details about staring out the car window at some place, but as for the fun things we actually did there I am at a loss and have to be reminded by family.

I guess all that is to say you can’t seem to be in control of when the tape player starts recording and you can’t reliably find your old tapes.

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