Flashy thing form Men In Black

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'Eternal Sunshine' drug selectively erases memories ...and you thought the little flashy thing from Men In Black was science fiction.If you could have some distressing memories erased would you want to? I mean, would it be like a puzzle with a missing piece or if we are the sum of our experiences wouldn't we then be different people? Would you be willing to give up a part of who you are and what makes you, you to avoid the pain of the past?I just find this shit interesting and I'm bored as shit.

Hmm... thats interesting. Not sure thought I would want to erase any of my memories... at least none that I can think of right now lol.

No way. I have some pretty horrible memories... but... the past made me who I am today.. I wouldnt change that.

No, I agree with what Joe Tiens says at the end, everything that's happened in each of our lives has made us into, yes this sounds sappy, who we are today. There are definately some things I would do differently but to erase them entierly? I don't think so...but this is on a personal level.

Can you imagine what would happen if certain historical events never happened? What would have happened if man hadn't landed on the moon successfuly in 1969, would it have happened a few months later? Or what if, for example, Hitler had never been born, or what if he had been more successful as an artist and never turned to politics? What would the world be like now?

Gosh, you got me all hyped up thinking about this!

*smiles*

Well, erasing a memory is quite different from an event not happening.

Ah yes, I see, two different points...didn't think of it that way! But I still wonder what the world would be like with a huge chunk of its history missing...

Wouldnt it be a better idea to make a machine where you can go back in time and change things you've done?? I know of a few things I'd what to do different.. could possibly bring people back who Ive lost.

The Butterfly effect. How do you know that bringing back that one person would be good? Or doing something different would bring positive results down the road?

Yeah it would be GREAT. If i could tell Jenn that her doctors were fucked and to see someone else.. she probably wouldnt have died of mono.

Great for you... but what if she didn't pass away, maybe she could have caused a fire or accident that would have killed many other people. You just don't know what the effect would be by changing history.

A time machine would be fantastic, there have always been two things I would go back and change. They both happened when I was much younger - one involving answering the phone, the other taking back something I thought I'd wanted (I just read back over this before posting and realised how it may sound to some people: I don't mean sex). But to be honest, I don't know about bringing people back. There are some people I would love so so much to have back in my life, however, what I want may not be what others would want, which could have huge implications. I may be taking this a little too far...smiles

What do you mean great for me??Sure that could have happened... but I DOUBT it. besides I'd give up almost anything to bring Jenn back.Can't happen anyways.

I'm saying it would be great for you and her family if she came back.. but you don't know if it would be horrible for others.

I know this sounds bad.. But I don't really care.

Originally Posted By: sdp

Well, erasing a memory is quite different from an event not happening.

in a sense it is though. After all, the world we each live in only exsists in our own preception of it. Basically, if there are 5 billion people, they live in 5 billion worlds. But, that is a rather esoteric discussion :smile:

There are moments in my life that I wish I could forget like the night I was arrested and charged for my own idiocy and the many difficulties that followed as a direct result. I still cringe at the memory. However, if I were to forget that then I would forget the lessons learned and I would be doomed to repeat it.

Sometimes I wish I could forget the feel, smell and taste of my ex wife. But that would be forgetting some of the good while still remembering the bad.

I guess that's my answer; no, I wouldn't want to forget

I think that concept that changing history is likely to be calamitous assumes society is far more unstable than it is. Many new lives are brought into the world every day. A few may have substantial impacts on the world, for good or bad, but most simply absorb into the system. Most of us have important local effects, but significant global effects only in the mass.

I think it's a given that my or most peoples existance will have a negligible impact on society that affects the masses, but there are those few who can and do. One never knows who that one will be.

I read about this when a coworker gave me an article about it a year or so ago.

There is no way in hell I would want to remove the pain of the past. Why would anyone? It's basically what corrects my present and helps secure a more mature future.

Quote: There is no way in hell I would want to remove the pain of the past. Why would anyone?i can name a more than a few