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Originally Posted by Mike If our memories actually are physical patterns or structures in the brain, would it not follow that if you and I had the same memory of something, that the structure or pattern in each of our brains that is that memory would have to be identical in each brain? (Or at least similar, since even if we experienced the same event, our memories of it would probably be slightly different.) |
I don't think this follows at all.
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If you and I were walking down the street side by side and a white dog crossed in front of us, and we each retained a vivid memory of the dog, then the memory of the dog would exist as a physical pattern or structure in each of our brains. The two structures, since they are a closely similar memory, would also have to share a very similar structure. And if that pattern or structure could somehow be transplanted into another person's brain, he or she would acquire the memory of the same white dog that we saw.
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What if I'm color blind and you're not? What if I'm scared of dogs and you're not? What if I have a beloved white dog and you don't? What if I tend to represent memories as strings of words and you represent them as visual images? What if ...
This stuff is stunningly complex.
~~ Paul