“Day by day and almost minute by minute the past was brought up to date.”
-George Orwell, 1984
Slate recently conducted what seems to me to be one of the most ambitious and interesting experiments in journalism and creating false memories. They fabricated stories and doctored photos and then quizzed their readers on whether or not they remembered the falsified events.
Around 30% of test subjects reported having remembered when the fake events occurred, which is pretty consistent with other research on the subject. That number increased when they introduced a visual confirmation of the event.
The article is part of a larger series, which is well worth reading.
It’s hard to see the immediate relationship between the relative ease with which our memories can be altered or falsified and technology. While we increasingly rely on digital technologies to document our experiences, giving us more control over confirming our memories, digital assets are also more easily manipulated.
Maybe false memories could work like placebos. Hack into some boring person’s flickr, edit their photos and convince them that they’ve led a pretty awesome life over the past few years. Maybe they’ll be more fun at parties in the future.
photo from Sergey Larenkov
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