Having reached old age, I find that certain memories are getting difficult to bring forward when I want them. I see a movie star from the 40's or 50's whose name I know as well as my own, yet struggle to recall it (though eventually I do). Or I get up from the couch to go to the kitchen, and before getting there I have forgotten why I was going, though eventually, and with a struggle I do recall the reason.
I have a theory, and if the theory is true we might be able to overcome much "memory loss". Because in cases like these, the memories are not really lost - eventually they can be brought to mind.
The brain is a powerful and complex "natural computer". And I think, like a computer, as it becomes cluttered with vast amounts of input, it becomes less efficient; slower, and could even crash. So when a person reaches their elder years, the brain has amassed a vast amount of input - every little thing you have ever heard, seen, smelled, tasted, touched or learned. The brain becomes a bit cluttered, and, in order to protect its host (us) it stores unnecessary memories "in the attic" much as a computer might compress files to make room for necessary functions. If there is no need to recall Burt Lancaster's name, it gets stored and becomes difficult to unlock.
OK, if this theory has any basis in fact, and the brain puts certain info into a storage unit, then all we should need is access to the storage area, on demand. A way to unlock the memory closet. A key.
I don't think there is any technology (yet) that is capable of doing that, but perhaps the brain, itself, can provide the answer. I can't help but wonder if we could use hypnosis to convince the brain to provide access to the "attic" by use of a "password", just like a computer. For example, under hypnosis it might be suggested that any time you have trouble recalling a name, event etc. that by consciously saying "eureka", or thinking of a specific image, such as a babbling brook, that the brain would recognize that as a key, allowing access to the dusty, cob-webbed attic
I am going to try and find a good hypnotist, and try it on myself. If anyone else who reads this should also try it, please let me know the results.
Of course, this all rests upon whether or not I REMEMBER to find a hypnotist...
