Your earliest memory may be fake, study claims

[UM-Bot]

Scientists maintain that our earliest memories could not have happened the way we remember them.

https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/news/319789/your-earliest-memory-may-be-fake-study-claims

[Eldorado]

One of my earliest memories is of being locked-up in my cot, "needing changed" and being quite tearful that my pleas for assistance were going answered by big people pretending to be sound asleep. Like some kinda lazy little brat. (I shoulda climbed out!)

I'm glad that's not true.

[zep73]

One of mine is hearing Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights on the radio in 1978. Could I be mistaken...?

Edited July 18, 2018 by sci-nerd

[seaturtlehorsesnake]

makes perfect sense to me, my memory is a mess. i'm sure there's some i have that i remember being earlier than they actually were, because in the process of remembering them and retelling those stories to myself, i've changed the memories themselves.

[XenoFish]

The more you think about it, the more you change it.

[L.A.T.1961]

My earliest memory is from about 4/6 months. I have several memories from before the age of 2-ish.  

[Bunzilla]

Not so sure that mine's fake, since I remember things that even my parents don't. Not sure how old I was, but it was under 3 years of age. We were out at a small mall, having lunch at a deli my parents liked, and some person stole my favourite toy from off of the table right in front of me. I remembered that the tables were a power-coated mesh in either yellow or red. I also distinctly remember getting my long term favorite stuffed animal at the grocery store. I remember that there were several different kinds of stuffed animals, and that the checkout lanes that were closed had them at the ends of the conveyers, the ones that were open had them on the cash registers. Those aren't fake memories.

[ChrLzs]

This is just stating the obvious, imo...

What I find fascinating (but perhaps not surprising) is the repeated (and very loud..) lament about fake news from a particular sector..... yet a large proportion of that same sector seem to trust their (and other's) memories and anecdotes verbatim.  Often adding the rather silly statement "they have no reason to lie..."

Me, I don't find fake news to be widespread (and it's generally dead easy to check).

Yet fake (or exaggerated or embellished or completely false) memories are well-proven and common.  If you doubt that, just fact-check some resumes, or talk to your grandparents about their exploits in the war..... 

[Davros of Skaro]

I figured that 5 ft wall of flies (a literal wall of flies) stretching across the road was a faulty memory.

[Susanc241]

I dispute this as I have a clear memory of the room I was in the day I got burnt. I was able to describe it to my mum years later and she confirmed my memory of the layout. A temporary home of a few weeks, there was never any photos of it, nor likely to be in 1950! I spent five weeks in hospital being treated and was in hospital over my 2nd birthday. Perhaps traumatic experiences do remain in the memory in a way others don�t.

[Robotic Jew]

I can't recall anything prior to the age of 13 or 14. Everything before then my "memories" I have are all built from stories I've been told by others who were around at the time.

[GlitterRose]

My earliest memory is of chocolate.

[L.A.T.1961]

I have discovered as time has gone on It is unusual to remember events from an early age. Initially I assumed that as eyesight, hearing, sensations of touch and taste was broadly similar for all individuals that memory would function in the same way. I had a few early memories and assumed others did to.

It was not until my teen years and discussing memories from 10 yrs before that I discovered this assumption was flawed. My brother and sister had no similar memories or my parents. I was probably 13/14 at the time and had known about my recollections for many years at that point and they seemed as authentic as any other memory. 

My earliest memory was probably recorded due to a stressful situation.

I recall lying in a cot with bars and it was daylight, the curtains in the room were closed but as they were thin there was still plenty of illumination to see. Unfortunately for me the local church had decided to do some bell ringing and the noise, to my ears, was almost deafening.

I have always assumed It was this that caused my brain to switch on at that moment. The church was maybe 1/3 mile away but I might as well have been in the belfry with the bells given the effect it was having on my hearing. I remember trying to move my arms and they were either held down by bedding or not responding and then the memory ends.    

    

[Seti42]

It depends on how you define "fake". In a sense, all memories are fake.

 

PS: Off topic, but does anyone else have problems posting when using quotation marks? This forum deletes everything after the first quote, forcing me to rewrite my posts if I use quotes.

Edited July 19, 2018 by Seti42

[Nnicolette]

Not at all true. I have several memories from before 1 and when I described items locations and settings they were confirmed by older family members. I could also conclude babies do very well understand what your talking about before they can respond likewise.

Personally I think the reason is that these are memories I recalled at younger ages and even if they supposedly can't remain they do, moreso because I am recalling the he memory of the memory so it was already deemed important and stored again. I can tell because I recall recalling them and even though the details are still precise and correct I don't visually see the memories with clarity anymore. 

I remember escaping and looking for rattlesnakes for example before I could walk in a place where it was later confirmed we had a rattlesnake problem. I remember the structure, the walkway outside the cat food I got into and the swarm of bees that hung around it very clearly and I understood the danger of the snakes even though I couldn't talk yet.

I also correctly  remembered the steps i was carried up and  asked to pick a book I could still describe the bright red Dr. Suess bookends the bookcase and the landing area in a house that burned down when I was a baby. There are no pictures. This study is flawed.

I could name more but I won't keep boring you all the premise of this study is just not true.

[Nnicolette]

12 hours ago, Susanc241 said:

I dispute this as I have a clear memory of the room I was in the day I got burnt. I was able to describe it to my mum years later and she confirmed my memory of the layout. A temporary home of a few weeks, there was never any photos of it, nor likely to be in 1950! I spent five weeks in hospital being treated and was in hospital over my 2nd birthday. Perhaps traumatic experiences do remain in the memory in a way others don�t.

Yes I noticed that too the things I remember before 2  were either traumatic or victorious moments like pouring my first juice without spilling, escaping the house or witnessing  attempted stabbing 

[XenoFish]

1 hour ago, NicoletteS said:

Not at all true. I have several memories from before 1 and when I described items locations and settings they were confirmed by older family members. I could also conclude babies do very well understand what your talking about before they can respond likewise.

You to say several fabricated memories. The only reason you probably have those memories is because you were told them. 

False Memories

Come on, you're the one with the supposed 160 IQ. Don't let my above average brain get the best of you.

[Nnicolette]

12 minutes ago, XenoFish said:

You to say several fabricated memories. The only reason you probably have those memories is because you were told them. 

False Memories

Come on, you're the one with the supposed 160 IQ. Don't let my above average brain get the best of you.

Your brain get the best of me? For one the first sentence doesn't makes sense, and the second is about as idiotic as it gets. Nobody told me those things I told them and they were confirmed by various people. You are reaching stalker status here. Also quite a bit off on my iq but that's ok nothing youuve ever said about me has been correct and I'm sure that tranlates to most things you say. Your opinion isn't important as it is idiotic and misinformed at best and it's sad that you do such a good job at demonstrating thee dunning Krueger    effect to us so constantly. 

I think it's obvious why I don't often read your low grade nonsensical replies to my every post. Lay off the caffiene stop stalking me and get a grip on reality for God sakes you might be happier. Also don't expect me to respond again until you actually have some kind of substance to your moronic posts past your a liar and I'm so smart... You sound like an idiot not to mention you never have a point past trying to upset me which really just results in me pitying your pathetic attempts to sound like you know what your talking about while clarifying that you never do. I'm not amused or bothered by pitying your intellect tho so best of luck to n finding a more productive hobby than stalking me.

[XenoFish]

Here's the difference between you and I.

https://www.fatherly.com/health-science/baby-memory-remembering-childhood-science/

Most of our early childhood memories are fictional. This isn’t our fault. Scientists are fairly certain that we are incapable of forming long-term memories before age three. This doesn’t, however, stop us from conjuring mental snapshots of infancy. A new study analyzes why so many of us think we have such memories. Researchers asked more than 6,000 volunteers to describe their earliest memories and found that nearly 40 percent claimed to remember events from age two or younger. Interestingly, all of these memories fall into a handful of predictable categories.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5803831/Our-earliest-childhood-memories-begin-age-two-claim-scientists.html

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/11169497_False_Memories_in_Children_and_Adults_Age_Distinctiveness_and_Subjective_Experience

I do research and I've got the links to back it up. You've no idea of how many I've got saved for further reading. 

https://www.sciencealert.com/13-science-backed-signs-you-re-smarter-than-you-realise

 

[ChrLzs]

The problem with this 'confirmed by family / friends' business is that:

- the rememberer is likely forgetting it was AFTER the family / friends described the incident to them at some earlier point, that they developed/amended the memory.  Hardly surprising then, that it might be correct at a later point.

- over time, we all have many discussions about early life incidents, and you will be corrected (or politely/empathetically agreed with - "Yes, sweetie, that's exactly how it happened!"...), and thus your mind will 'correct' your memories as required. 

 

Anyways, some folks clearly think it an insult to dare suggest that they aren't thinking this through, and that their memories may be flawed or just plain made up.  So heaven forbid I continue this conversation..

 

You guys are right - everything you remember is 100% accurate.  Enjoy!  What would those smartass scientists know anyway.

Edited July 19, 2018 by ChrLzs

[XenoFish]

https://www.adam-mila.com/brain-development-children-0-6-years/

 

Memory Development

While childhood amnesia makes it impossible to recall most of our autobiographical memories from before we were six, this doesn’t mean that the memories we make before this point are unimportant. Children are still able to form stable memories and they shape the way they interact with and learn about the world. Remembering things is also an important skill that takes time, development, and practice.

[L.A.T.1961]

1 hour ago, ChrLzs said:

You guys are right - everything you remember is 100% accurate.  Enjoy!  What would those smartass scientists know anyway.

Well if you are correct about the fallible and generally untrustworthy human mind perhaps not as much as you think.  ;-) 

[ChrLzs]

2 hours ago, L.A.T.1961 said:

Well if you are correct about the fallible and generally untrustworthy human mind perhaps not as much as you think.  ;-) 

That's why science:

- has a peer review process and will generally only work upon properly documented/verified observations

- is always open to new and better theories..

- before inventing new theories, widely scans about for possible existing explanations

Edited July 20, 2018 by ChrLzs

[+Sherapy]

5 hours ago, XenoFish said:

https://www.adam-mila.com/brain-development-children-0-6-years/

 

Memory Development

While childhood amnesia makes it impossible to recall most of our autobiographical memories from before we were six, this doesn’t mean that the memories we make before this point are unimportant. Children are still able to form stable memories and they shape the way they interact with and learn about the world. Remembering things is also an important skill that takes time, development, and practice.

Indeed X, any claims of memories prior to this are false memories --basically. 

 

[D.O'N]

No offense, but I remember a memory from when I was in a pram like it was yesterday. I was with my mom and dad and we went to see "the lights", its an event where pictures was made of lights etc. On this occasion there was a big display on a wall which was a face of a ape or gorilla. I just woke up and it scared me. I told my parents many years later, they agreed that it happened.