JK: >>I hate to say it because cynic I am not (usually) -- but w/out your memories >>you wouldn't know you lacked your memories.<< Makes me think of "Blade Runner", of implanted memories to make the replicants "real". I rate "Blade Runner" as one of the very best movies I've seen, on a par with "The Pawnbroker". In "Blade Runner" the replicants come off as more 'human' than any of the humans. God, I love it. My problem is, of course, short-term memory. Sometimes I think I'm living the film "Memento" -- an OK film. But so what? We're all just trying to interpret the experiences we can remember, which after a full day of claptrapcluttermutter isn't much to work with. Best to just let it all wash out to sea. Wait like the sand crabs for the tide to come in and see what it brings this time. The Greeks believed, or so I believe they believed, that one had to drink of the river Lethe before entering the netherworld in order to forget their previous existence. That makes sense to me. As a kid I used to wonder about heaven and how I would feel about not having a body anymore. I've always thought my body was me. I couldn't imagine me without it. What good is existing without the senses? God would have to wipe the slate clean or else he'd have a lot of homesick souls moping about heaven all day. My 2 cents. Mike Geary Memphis ----- Original Message ----- From: Julie Krueger To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Friday, October 24, 2008 10:12 AM Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: 'Eternal Sunshine' drug selectively erases memories I hate to say it because cynic I am not (usually) -- but w/out your memories you wouldn't know you lacked your memories. On Fri, Oct 24, 2008 at 8:59 AM, Ursula Stange <Ursula@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote: "Eternal Sunshine" refers to the movie, of course. One of the comments at the bottom of the page mentions potential uses of a memory-cleansing drug. Torturers could make you forget that you were tortured, for instance. An even worse scenario occurred to me. Imagine a torturer threatening you with this drug -- threatening to wipe your memory clean. Wouldn't you tell them everything you know (and even things you don't know) to hang on to your memories of your childhood, your parents, your children, your first kiss... Who would you be without your memories? http://www.newscientist.com/channel/health/brain/dn15025-eternal-sunshine-drug-selectively-erases-memories.html ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html -- Julie Krueger Visit www.VoteForChange.com. Register to vote and help spread the word.