X-Message-Number: 11105
From: 
Date: Thu, 14 Jan 1999 21:06:30 EST
Subject: coming clean

Several recent posts have addressed the question of preserving records in
order to improve your memory against either ordinary deterioration with
passage of time or freezing (and other post-mortem) damage. In the latter
case, which memories are important to reconstitute your character with the
highest fidelity?

I am not convinced that the highest fidelity is necessarily a good thing in
all cases, but assume for the moment that it is. My amateur guess is that some
of the important memories may be those you are least likely to want to
record--dreams, nightmares, ugly feelings, shameful or embarrassing thoughts
or actions, defeats and failures. Maybe some of the professional psychologists
on this list have opinions--not only as to the effect on fidelity, but also
the effect on your current life if you put more of a spotlight on these areas
than you ordinarily would.

Robert Ettinger
Cryonics Institute
Immortalist Society
http://www.cryonics.org

Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=11105