By David Peel
We use the term “etched” in memory.
But you may be surprised to learn that precious few things really appear to be.
Memories are thought to result from multiple elaborate processes involving chemical and genetic signals that result in new or changed synaptic connections within our brain.
Depending on the impact of the memory, the anatomy of the brain can be physically altered. Our brains continue to change as we learn and age.
The remembering brain is not the original brain that formed the initial memory many years later.
Each time the old memory is accessed, it is updated, into the current time or situation. It can change and usually does, each time it is accessed.
This can lead to embarrassing results.
NBC anchor Brian Williams often repeated a story about traveling in a U.S. Army helicopter in the Iraq war.
Williams claimed that his helicopter was attacked with gun and rocket fire and forced to make a hasty landing. He alleged that the pilot of the craft was wounded in the attack and received a Purple Heart.
It turns out that Williams did cover the US invasion. He and his camera crew were riding in a Chinook helicopter across the desert. Another group of three Chinooks were flying in formation about an hour ahead of them.
And one of those helicopters was hit by an RPG and forced down. The other two Chinooks in the formation also made emergency landings.
When Williams’ helicopter finally caught up with the others, it landed as well.
It is not clear whether Williams’ Chinook landed because the others had already made emergency landings, or because a sandstorm was rolling in. However, the sandstorm did arrive, which meant that all four helicopters, their pilots and crews, and the NBC News staffers were all stuck in the desert for several days.
“The story actually started with a terrible moment a dozen years back during the invasion of Iraq when the helicopter we were traveling in was forced down after being hit by an RPG.” He claimed.
But that story was disputed by soldiers who said Williams’s helicopter was never attacked and the crew was not hurt.
It set in motion a rapid chain of events. Williams apologized and then voluntarily took himself off his top-rated broadcast, “NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams,” for an unspecified period, saying the controversy about his remarks had become a distraction.
Each time he accessed this memory, it became like the proverbial “fish that got away” story. It became a taller and taller tale.
Memory can be like that.
Peel seeks justice for those injured in tractor trailer and car accidents, medical malpractice, and disability. He often addresses churches, clubs and groups without charge. Peel may be reached through PeelLawFirm.com wherein other articles may be accessed.
