SHEsaysWITHaSMILE.blogspot.com

ANOTHER IMAGINARY CONVERSATION WITH ERIC KANDEL and (me!) sandra, tvgp

ORIGINAL POST 10/30/2010. Can't you just hear him laughing.

anyway.. "eric.. my layman term for it, is "there~memory" -that is, recently i wanted to remember who told me they had dated a certain person

and i can go show you where i was sitting

"i was sitting write -there- when i had the conversation, and the person i can't remember was standing write here."

so, i locked in the "where & what" part of the conversation but not "the who" i had the conversation with, know what i mean? and i do this often. what can you tell me about this, where~memory -which is especially ironic to me, because i have a broken geographic compass when it comes to understanding where i am, what direction i'm headed in, as i drive around...

[eric provides wonderful clarification here.. and i thank him]

and while we're on the subject, ...

i recently used the word cauliflower in a conversation with my son, (after seeing a picture that reminded of a cauliflower), and then my son, lit up, and ran to his science book, saying, "i just read something about a cauliflower" -and i lit up as i watched him search for where he read it, because like me, he employs what i will call again, in layman terms, there-memory too

that is, we both remember about -where- in the book we ran across this word.

here is the important distinction: we do not necessarily remember, -where- in the story

we remember, -where- in the tangible, book. i.e.,

somewhere near the middle of the book, left page, top paragraph.

so! fun to see my son do this exact same thing, but! let me tell you..

the kindle messes me up BIG TIME! because all my life -bk- before kindle, without my realizing it, my brain was locking in -where- i could find a favorite passage or quote, or funny line

3/4 way through the book, write page, last paragraph..

and my brain has not been nearly as interested in -where- in the story. not what chapter..

so, with the kindle.. there is nothing tangible, you see.. no pages to touch, no place for my mind to land in terms of left page, or write page, or first paragraph, or last paragraph. all the pages are just the same one page.


do you know what i mean? i'm lost again.

books then. real books.. books with pages, and thicknesses, and this ability to "flip" and dog-ear, and distinguish between left page, and a write page, a top, or bottom, or middle, or 3/4 paragraph

well, real books, are my first choice, and e-books, a beloved second.


[he is so interested.. smiling, listening.. and provides great clarity once again]


let this also serve as my "thank you" to eric kandel and charlie rose, and all those wonderful guests who participated in the 12 part brain series. "encore!"

don't stop. we need you. we need this information.

posted by SHE @ 8:58 AM