Memory is undoubtedly related to perception. The content we perceive is restored and reconstructed in memory, even if both are often considered to be separate and independent cognitive capacities. This article will explore how memories can become distorted over time and how this impacts personal identity and self-perception. It will also discuss the influence of technology on preservation and alteration, as well as offer strategies for coping with memory discrepancies.


Memory is the power to retain and recall information and past experiences. It helps us to frame our understanding of the past and our behaviour within the present, as well as to better interpret the world around us. To explain it simply: the human brain reshapes itself with each memory. The gaps between our brain cells, called synapses, are responsible for the communication between our neurons. Then, a part of our brain called the hippocampus can communicate with our cortex and literally change the brain’s physical wiring to retrieve information. However, it is important to notice that emotions are also inherently linked to and can influence cognitive skills and therefore, enhance the subjective vividness of the memory through the sense of reliving the emotional event. This process can determine how strong a memory is perceived at retrieval.


For example, just like in the children’s game where a message is whispered from person to person and becomes increasingly garbled, repeated retellings of a memory can alter the details, leading to significant distortions. This illustrates how memory is not a perfect record of past events but rather a reconstructive process susceptible to various influences. A renowned psychologist, Elizabeth Loftus, has conducted extensive research on memory distortion, particularly focusing on the creation of false memories and her studies have revealed people's memories could be altered when exposed to misleading information after an event. Loftus's research also showed that it is possible to implant entirely false memories in individuals. In one study, participants were given a booklet containing several real childhood events provided by their families and one fabricated event about getting lost in a shopping mall. Despite the event being false, about 25% of participants later recalled and even elaborated on the false memory as if it had genuinely happened. Stress can affect the type of memories we form as well. If we are stressed during an event, we may have more difficulty accurately remembering the details of the event later. Another factor to be considered is time, that may cause information stored in short term memory and never revisited to be forgotten.


It then becomes clear that memory distortion can play a crucial role in real life scenarios. For example, in 1692, the Salem Witch Trials led to the execution of 20 people based on accusations of witchcraft. The accusations were fueled by mass hysteria and false memories, often elicited through intense questioning and suggestive interrogation. The trials underscored how collective memory distortion and social pressure can lead to tragic consequences.


Furthermore, individual memory assumes a fundamental part in the improvement of individual identity. Our memories provide us with a sense of continuity, allowing us to connect our past experiences with our present selves and anticipate our future. They help us to create a narrative of our lives, which shapes our understanding of who we are , what we value and where we are headed. Additionally, distorted memories can either inflate or deflate self-esteem. Remembering oneself as more successful or competent than in reality can lead to overconfidence, while false memories of failures or inadequacies can result in lowered self-esteem and increased self-doubt.


This brings us to the issue raised due to technology. The constant multitasking, rapid information processing, and constant distractions can lead to decreased attention span, memory problems, and difficulty with cognitive functions. There is also the ease in which digital memories can be altered and how that can have negative implications in real life. Digital memories, such as photos and videos, offer high accuracy and consistency but can be manipulated and are vulnerable to data loss. Human recollection, though inherently subjective and prone to distortion over time, is flexible and adaptive, influenced by emotions and social interactions. Combining digital records with human memory can enhance accuracy, providing a balanced approach to understanding and verifying past events. Both digital and human memories have strengths and weaknesses that must be considered, particularly in contexts requiring high reliability, such as legal proceedings.


Therefore, using practices such as mindfulness can help us to keep ourselves grounded and better perceive our memories. It can even prevent our brains from deteriorating during high periods of stress, keeping our bodies healthier. To verify memories, consider keeping a detailed journal, recording events as they happen to preserve accuracy over time. Discuss memories with others who were present to gain different perspectives and confirm details.
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In conclusion, the complex relationship between memory and reality highlights how memories can be distorted by various factors such as suggestion, time, and emotional context. By acknowledging the fallibility of memory, individuals can seek truth and understanding in their personal histories. Seeking verification through diverse perspectives, documentation, and introspection can also foster a more accurate and cohesive narrative of our lives. This approach not only promotes personal growth but also contributes to clearer communication and healthier relationships based on shared and validated experiences.

It’s easy to look back down memory lane through rose-tinted glasses, convinced everything was, in fact, better in the past. Nostalgia is a powerful force. But through objective lenses, were items always better in the past? Nowadays, are clothes actually lower quality, are devices always bound to break too soon, and is craftsmanship dying out?


With the rise of social media, it’s easy to dismiss the acceleration in trend cycles as “the norm”. We buy items as though they’re disposable, swapping slightly used clothes for their newer, trendier version simply because the original became out of style. The same happens for appliances and personal tech devices; even though there is nothing inherently wrong with my iPhone, I may want to switch it for the latest model just because it has a few new updates, and not because I actually need to.


This rise in consumerism can be rooted back to the Industrial Revolution. Before then, most items were handmade. People would visit tailors and craftspeople, who would have dedicated most of their professional lives to perfect their craft. When machinery was introduced to the design process, the speed of production increased exponentially, but not without a cost in the quality of items. Over a century and a half later, during the Great Depression, American adman Earnest Elmo Calkins proposed a selling strategy for economic stimulation that defined purchasing habits of the contemporary world: “consumer engineering,” or how advertisers and designers could artificially create demand. Manufacturers can boost this demand by intentionally incorporating planned obsolescence – the practice of designing products to break quickly or become obsolete in the short to mid-term.


“That’s when manufactured products started to be sort of done in season for the cycles and fashion,” says Professor Matthew Bird, who teaches industrial design at the Rhode Island School of Design. “If you change the style regularly, people get tired of the style. They start to treat cars like sweaters — it’s become grossly accelerated.” He states that this demand lowers the quality of the product because the development and testing are accelerated even more.


In recent years, consumer engineering has become the role of the influencer, who fuels our consumerist mindset by naming things “cool” one day and “cringe” the next, leading to trends with shorter life spans, some dying out by the season.


The consequence of this mindset is that people are buying five times more clothes than they did back in the 1980s. But in the last 10 years, due to the climate crisis, inflation, the pandemic, and a series of other international issues, the cost of materials (such as fabric, metals, etc.) and labor have increased. In other words, it is literally impossible to maintain the same quality of goods whilst keeping the prices relatively low. So industries started to cut corners: if everything is more expensive and the customers still want to pay the same price, whilst still constantly switching styles to follow short-lived trends, both the quality of the item and the quality of the laborers’ lives have to decrease.


Material-wise, this could mean using thinner, cheaper fabric for clothes or using plastic and glue rather than metal and screws for appliances, for instance. The average customer won’t know the difference, especially when shopping online.


For workers, these cut corners often lead to being overworked and underpaid. Take the emerging fast-fashion giant, Shein, as an example: workers in some factories supplying Shein are still working 75-hour weeks, according to an investigation by Public Eye, a Swiss human rights advocacy group. In contrast, St. Paul’s students spend less than 40 hours a week at school (excluding extracurriculars) and already think it’s too much. And none of the factory workers are earning much. According to the same group, wages fluctuated between $829 and $1,382 per month. However, after deducting overtime pay, wages fell to about $332 a month. For reference, the minimum wage in the USA is $7.25 per hour, which multiplied by a 75-hour week, then 4 weeks per month, would equal $2175. Shein workers in Asia are making 15% of what they would under minimum wage in the USA, for clothes that go to consumers often in the USA, which are soon discarded after they go “out of style”.


Finally, by changing design to make items more manufacturable (more machines, fewer workers), companies can avoid higher labor costs. For products like phones, computers, remote controls, and others, it’s often cheaper to design in a way that reduces human labor. People are often required to assemble products, so designs with as few parts as possible are often preferred, as it’ll save a lot of time, and therefore money. “In the design of objects, they’re trying to reduce the amount of labor, and that changes what the object is,” Professor Bird says. “That produces cheaper goods, but it doesn’t necessarily produce better goods”. On the flip side, these objects can be harder to repair once broken, oftentimes lasting a lot less than they should.


In conclusion, yes, modern consumer goods are often of lower quality than they were in the past. According to the Industrial Designers Society of America, industrial designers often focus on three things: appearance, functionality, and manufacturability, and it’s the first two that are often sacrificed to boost productivity. We as customers must remember that these items were made to serve us, not break apart after a few uses. Maybe it’s time to slow down, take a deep breath, and invest in items of higher quality rather than chase the fast-paced trend cycles.

Neuralink is a company founded by Elon Musk which has developed the technological advancements of neuroscience, the study of the brain. According to their company, their goal is to “Create a generalized brain interface to restore autonomy to those with unmet medical needs today and unlock human potential tomorrow”. This would be attained through the installment of a Neuralink device on a human’s head. This device is a small implant, which would be surgically placed on the brain of the patient. Now, this technology seems phenomenal and seems to be a promising path to take the next step in human development. Although, it is important to ask ourselves: what are the collateral effects of Neuralink’s technology? How might the electrical transmissions of the device interfere with brain usage and memory?


Neuralink states that its devices comprise a biocompatible enclosure (hatch), a wireless battery, electronic chips, and protective electrode threads. In its primary years, Neuralink was being used on animals, for research and interpretation of brain signals. Nowadays, it’s currently able to interpret those brain signals as different actions, such as thoughts to control interactions such as a simple videogame – and its main use is the remote control of computers for disabled people. In its due course, the corporation aims to be able to control external limbs, such as the usage of an exoskeleton regaining muscle movement or even assisting with memory and brain capacity. This, alone, appears to be a phenomenal cause that brings a hopeful future for the daily endeavours of disabled people.


However, there is suspicion of Neuralink’s capabilities. If it claims to control body parts, what could be its effect on the brain? The main risk is brain damage. As far as we know about the brain, the implant of a Neuralink device seems safe, though it could potentially lead to brain tissue damage. Of course, this damage might scale from headaches to infections or inflammations (causing risk of amnesia, the loss of short and long-term memory) or even death, in certain cases. Another risk of using Neuralink is the deformation of the brain’s structure, which is also obviously detrimental to one’s health. Also, the research on the use of this technology is somewhat premature, and the long-term effects of this technology cannot be accurately pinpointed. So, even if we have a deduction of its side effects of 1 year; we cannot be sure about 50 years. Moreover, by having a precise interpretation of all thoughts, this technology can be used in an ethically incorrect way, such as reading one’s thoughts. Also, the electrical current/signals frequently in contact with brain cells may be an issue. Through the presentation of an electronic chip and electrodes, the Neuralink can detect brain activity, though it may also alter chemical reactions in brain cells in the long-term timescale.


All the risks above are possibilities of issues when dealing with the brain, which may be emitted by the Neuralink. However, it is still too early to point exactly at the defects of the device, as only temporary short-term results are a base of evidence, and maybe most (or all) of the conditions above will be handled correctly by the team. So, it is certain that many alterations in our brain complex can have traumatising effects, which might include memory damage; but the Neuralink results haven’t yet shown any severe implications with the brain, and the largest issues were still on test subjects and the primary patient, which was almost forced to retract his device due to loose electrode threads. Therefore, it is important to keep attentive to Neuralink’s further impact on society, as its subsequent usage may make the world – or break it.


Sources:
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/brain-stimulation-therapies/brain-stimulation-therapies#:~:text=Electrodes%20are%20placed%20at%20precise,or%20feel%20the%20electrical%20pulses.
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