More than 99.99% of one's life is a memory.

[flobadob]

I just realised that.

[MickyMacgraw]

I like your theory, could you care to explain?

[flobadob]

Well micky, for example, even the posting of this thread is now a memory to me, as should your question be to you.

[jno]

utilising your memory banks is also taking place in the present

[wildwood]

Surely that can't be right? If you're gonna live till 90 and you're 45 now it would be about 40%

[karenmac60]

Yeah but you haven't lived the other 45 years yet - your life has only been 45 years so far and everything but the present is a memory

[MickyMacgraw]

So the present consciousness consists of just 0.1% on a constant roll? Very deep.

[Prudentia]

I would define it as a bucket of s**t

[New Judge]

I think flobabdob means that more than 99.9% of one’s LIFE TO DATE is memory.

If that is the case then s/he is almost correct because of course at any point in time one’s life is 100% memory. It is impossible to say what percentage of one’s entire life is memory as one does not know with any degree of certainty how long one will live.

[DTCwordfan]

Wait to Alzheimer's kicks in.....then the theory goes out the old window.

[flobadob]

The reason I said more than is because I didn't want ti sit holding the 9 button for two minutes.

[Andyvon]

I'm sorry to disagree Flobadob but you're wrong.

The average human spends a third of their life asleep! That's 8 hours a day, 4 months asleep every year, 4 years asleep every 12 years, and about 25 years asleep in a lifetime! Except for the occasional dream you don't remember your sleep. Also - most adults don't remember much of their childhood, especially infancy. So, we only remember a small percentage of our lives at all!

I write a diary every night detailing what I've done that day. When I look back over the years I'm amazed how many things I've forgotten doing. Even going places and meeting people are forgotten.

I also have terrible insomnia and usually only sleep three hours a night. The doctors have tried to get me to take sleeping pills but my response is that there are so many more things I do in the extra time than other people who are asleep. I'm restoring my car at the moment (new panels, interior etc) and I'll do most of that in the early hours. I tell the doctors I'll get all the sleep I need when I'm six feet under - I might as well make the most of it while I can!

[Andyvon]

So the point of that is that, although I get extra hours of consciousness over most other people, I still remember nowhere near 99% of my consciousness.

[steg]

the rest is in your subconscious

[askyourgran]

So what happens when someone has too much to drink, I can't remember what happened did six weeks ago. So I have no memory of those occasions.

[Andyvon]

So then we must be talking about what type of memory? Total subconscious memory is completely different to voluntary recall. One is highly detailed but conscious recall is very limited.

[society]

"More than 99.99% of one's life is a memory"

It's only a memory if one could remember it.

[Khandro]

The cells in you body are constantly being replaced. The oldest are the cells are in your teeth which take 7 years to replace. Therefore is no physical connection between you now and the person you were 8 years ago. The only connection then is your memory. What exactly is memory ?

[boxtops]

Wow, that's interesting khandro - but how does that explain scars and birthmarks then? How come they still come through, while everything's being replaced? I never thought about that before.