Hello again!

With almost 2 months down in my university career and Halloween just around the corner, I’m bracing myself for the winter to come. This week in class we began analyzing the work of Marita Sturken, a communications scholar who wrote the book ‘Tangled Memories: The Vietnam War, The AIDS epidemic, and the Politics of Remembering”. Specifically, we reviewed the introduction section of this book, which delved into the idea of different types of memory and how it is related(or unrelated) to history. Earlier in class today, while discussing this section, Dr. Luger mentioned people who cannot forget anything. This really piqued my interest, as I had seen some videos on the internet of people who seemed to match this condition. Not knowing much about and definitely not able to relate(trust me, I am so forgetful), I decided I would do some research and understand why and how it is possible for a person to truly not be able to forget.

When I began my initial research, one of the first things I identified where the name and definition of this condition. Hyperthymesia, also known as piking, is defined by an online website ‘Hyperthymesia.org‘ as a condition that allows a person “to remember the events of any given calendar date, usually back to puberty, with stunning and accurate detail. They can compare similar dates, or catalog days where the weather was rainy or they were in a certain place.”(Informational Sites Collective). It is an extremely rare condition, affecting less than 20 known people in the world and has only been identified since 2006 as an actual medical condition. One of the most interesting aspects of Hyperthymesia is that is completely autobiographical; in other words, the memories these people experience are extremely self-centred and only apply to memories they personally had been a part of. It also doesn’t necessarily mean these people are super humans, as most of you are likely thinking at this point. Many affected with this condition still have trouble memorizing new material, much like the average university student, as Hyperthymesia is not associated with photographic memory or any kind of image based memory. As such, this raises an important topic I want to discuss. Is this condition a superpower, or a disease that causes suffering?

The average human mind, as it has developed over many, many years, was designed to forget.  We are constantly pushing things out of our brains to make room for newer, more applicable data that we will need in the future. This is why for many, even after a short span of time(say a summer break between school), it is next to impossible to remember what exactly had occurred when asked to recall specific memories or details. Without the ability to forget, or brain would be overloaded to the point to where it would be difficult to function regularly in society. The act of forgetting is so commonly associated negatively, but in reality, it is a basic function of the mind that is required for us to live our daily lives. Now, imagine you are a person with Hyperthymesia. You no longer have the ability to simply forget and move on. Every day, you are reliving countless film reels of days in the past; triggered by anything as simple as the mention of a day or an event. Surely this seems like it would be detrimental, and it reality it very much is. A BBC news article interviewed a number of the people with  Hyperthymesia. When asked about the downsides, one of the subects gave this response: “Viewing the past in high definition can also make it very difficult to get over pain and regret. “It can be very hard to forget embarrassing moments,” says Donohue. “You feel same emotions – it is just as raw, just as fresh… You can’t turn off that stream of memories, no matter how hard you try.”(Robson). In a way, I believe this condition fits the perfect description of a ‘double-edged blade’. While blessed with the ability to relive past autobiographical incidents with ease, they also cannot escape them. They are essentially trapped within their own minds; attempting to live in the present while constantly being triggered to remember the past. For many, it is difficult to focus on anything because of this.

I believe at this moment, there hasn’t been enough research to fully determine the full capabilities of a person diagnosed with Hyperthymesia. A blessing? Without a doubt, yes. A curse? Quite possibly as well, but, there may be ways of overcoming the negative effects. Neuroscientists are still unsure of whether it is caused biologically through some sort of chemical alteration in the brain, or from an OCD-like phycological development(stemming from over-fantasizing in your mind). If this kind of memory is something that can be learned by anyone with the proper techniques, it could serve as an extremely useful tool that could benefit all of society and at that point, would outweigh the downsides that come with the condition. With proper research and funding into this relatively new discovery, we could unlock new chapters in the human mind, and push the limits of what it is capable of doing.

Till next time,

Nick.

It’s already October? I can barely believe it, I hardly feel like someone who has been through half a term of university, let alone someone that has already written some midterms! As we progressed in our ASTU class, we moved on to one of the most famous Canadian authors of our generation; Michael Ondaatje. “Running in the Family”, the title of the book we read, is a memoire recounting the stories of Ondaatje’s wild family and his search for his father through fragmented memory and identity. It is wonderfully written and I thoroughly enjoyed the read. As I read, the theme of identity struck a particular chord with me. Michael writes of his struggles as a second generation immigrant to Canada. His family, hailing from Sri Lanka, or as it is referred to in the book ‘Ceylon’, moved to England when he was a small boy, only to relocate again to the Toronto area where Michael attended University. While Ondaatje is Sri Lankan born, he spent the majority of his life elsewhere. This is what sparks his desire to write and visit Ceylon, to be a tourist and explore where he came from. Naturally, this creates a feeling that I can personally identify with quite well; a sense of being an outsider in your own home. As a child, I rarely stayed in the same area for more than 3 to 4 years at a time. My father’s work caused my family to relocate to places all over the world. While I was born in Montreal, I spent less than 3 of my childhood years there, instead moving to places such as Singapore, Korea, Nashville(Southern United States and on two separate occasions), and finally Vancouver.

Many would say I am extremely lucky to have had a nomadic lifestyle, able to explore all different kinds of cultures and environments. I without a doubt agree, I believe I am extremely blessed to have been able to explore like I did at such a young age. However, reading “Running in the Family” sparked a thought that I hadn’t fully considered until now. Much like Michael, I emigrated from my home country at a young age. I did not grow up in a quiet neighbourhood surrounded by lifelong friends and neighbours. I didn’t make the transition from elementary to high school with the same friend groups, nor did I become engrained in a community as an essential and long lasting member. My passport says I am Canadian, My parents are fully Canadian, yet I do not feel Canadian. It is difficult to put into words what it does feel like to me. Do I deceive others, and even myself, by having Canadian pride? Am I pseudo-Canadian? Do I even hold Canadian morals and values? Frankly, at this point in my life I can not truly find an answer.

But maybe I am looking at this all wrong. Perhaps identity does not come from ancestral roots and nationalistic ties. While I may lack in the identity that comes from a strong patriarchal connection to my country, my travels around the world have offered me a chance to build my very own identity. We are a product of our environment, as many say, and to a large degree I agree with the statement. My identity comes not from a single place, such as a country like Canada, but is instead a mosaic of influences from places and cultures that vary greatly. I am, subconsciously, a culmination of events and experiences from my times abroad, and much like the many spices of a curry come together to make a finished dish, these experiences have come together to create… well, me.