Thread: Can you use Lucid Dreaming to.................

You all seem to miss out on an important aspect of memory.

For one, every single letter of every single page of every single book...not true at all. Certain passages, yes -- passages that are brought into Long-Term Memory by elaborative rehersal (basically putting meaning behind it). Otherwise, the things stay into your short term memory for a short while and then disappear, since they were not consolidated into your LTM.

Also, memories don't exactly "degrade with time," it's more like certain aspects of memory are added, replaced, or are not conjured up when trying to recall memory.

Long-Term Memory is stored in three different ways: Semantic memory (concepts, vocab, rules), Episodic memory ("episodes" of your life), and Procedural memory (how-to things).

Each peice of information stored in each system of LTM respectively, and scattered throughout the brain. When you try to recall memory, it basically "links up" in the brain and is recalled. Peices of information ARE still there, but they may not be recalled, or extra information may be recalled (usually through manipulation).

And when you said "the brain records each bit of memory brought to your senses," that's even less true. Sensory memory has an even shorter recall time than short-term memory unless it is rehearsed, and then if it is elaborated, then it goes into LTM. So no, you don't store every peice of memory, not by a long shot.

If you did, you would have sensory overload. Right now, the TV is on, the fan is on, sounds from my computer and my computer's fan are emitting, i can feel the bed under me, my fingers as they touch the keyboard, my clothes on my body, the way my hair falls over my forehead, and all the other tons of information i can sense right now. I either adapt or habituate so that not all of this information is recorded into my memory: only what's important.

So even if you relive memories, you may not relive the full memory, or your memory will have modified/recalled extra information so the memory may not be exactly what happened, etc...

Sorry to be the bad guy here.

Oh, i almost forgot to mention: Yes, i'm pretty positive you can relive these memories during Lucid Dreaming. I almost forgot about the whole LD aspect of this, i just went on a tangent

Since LD involves your subconscious, i'm absolutely positive these memories will be intact within your lucid dream, since your subconscious is just...sweet.