Ask Lemmy

You'd have a lot of people erasing their trauma and then not understanding why they do or feel a certain way about things.

There is a great movie!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_Sunshine_of_the_Spotless_Mind

I would be afraid of using it, forgetting I used it, and then using it again, in an endless loop. Other than that, I think society would change tremendously, and with change, specially regarding something as fundamental as memory, comes chaos.

Maybe I'd use it to forget some awkward, embarrassing moments, but I don't know, I'm not that worried about them since I imagine everyone else has probably forgotten about those by now, I'd be worried that by purposefully forgetting crucial life-changing moments I'd be, like, losing a part of myself.

• You'd have a lot of scams / lies where someone is accused of doing something they don't remember doing, they wouldn't know whether they did it, and third parties wouldn't be able to evaluate reactions / cross examine the accused.
• You'd have large corporations demanding that ex-employees forget everything proprietary, even if that would prevent you from building up skills in your career.

You ever hear about the US government funding experiments in mind control? One of the examples was a doctor who thought, since experiences are the key to who you are, if you could erase someone's memories and replace them with selected others, you could turn anyone into a 'good citizen.' Turns out wiping someone's brain can sort of be done, and will leave them without memories of the traumas of their past, but making them back into a whole person again isn't so easy, and simply implanting whatever memories you want seems impossible.

I would cheat on my husband with an absolute knob, get pregnant, and then forget to delete that memory.

Vanilla Sky with Tom Cruise.

Forget my favourite books and read them again.

Look at the US Republican Party. Pretending history didn’t happen is basically the party’s platform.

Alcohol already exists my dude

Can I have the reverse and selectively recall memories my AuADHD/limited working memory forget?

Delete my memories of everything pre-2016.

I feel like it would be easier to live in this nightmare if I didn't remember a relatively stable, functioning world.

Based on the other comments, I wonder...

If we could re-read, re-watch, or re-play our favorite media over again for the "first time", we might consume significantly less media.

Why try something new that statistically isn't likely to be the GOAT when you can guarantee an awesome experience with something you know, because you already know it's great?

I can imagine someone who only replays one game repeatedly for decades, only watches one or two movies over and over, only reads one book or series again and again, decade after decade.

I've been doing this unselectively over the past twenty years.

I don't think I'd personally have much use for it, at least so far.

But I see it going dark places. If people figured out how to delete their own, that's one step away from authorities or even just criminals being able to rewrite other people's realities.

There is some horrible shit in my past that I'd definately get rid of. But, besides that gloomy sentiment, I'd use it to experience my favorite movies, games, and books for the first time again. Like seeing Whiterun for the first time or seeing the citadel for the first time.

I already have that ability. Unfortunately I don't have any control over it and stuff gets deleted without my knowledge

Heal the world from generational trauma. Would probably reduce murders by 90% worldwide. Imagine all those child soldiers would have empathy again. Imagine Donnie would suddenly forget how daddy treated him all those years?!

Delete the memory of being able to delete memories, what happens now?

I've got a few normal memories that aren't bad in the slightest that make my brain sometimes feel "fuzzy" like a "I want to scratch it" kinda feeling, if you know what I mean. Not a literal I wanna scratch it. So, probably get rid of those memories first.

Then use the power to help others or get rid of some nuisances.

Younger people¹ playing loud music on the bus without headphones or using speaker phone will temporarily freak out because they have for gotten where they last had their wallet before getting on the bus. Even if they use a digital bus pass, they'll still freak out because a wallet is your life.

No wallet? Then forget the memory of where they are headed. Not my fault you want to be a nuisance. Have fun trying to figure out where you're going.

Being blatantly and proudly racist? I will take away all memories of you being that way, alongside any memory of racist rhetoric you have. Same with sexism too. Erase their identities so maybe, just maybe, they can learn to be better people.

Are you not part of a television show crew ( like that show about 3 friends in New York, I think, doing dumb prank like things ) and filming yourself committing a crime and/or being a real nuisance to everyone around you? Congratulations! You've lost your memory of how a smart phone works! Have fun learning that for the first time, a second time!

Also, if it's for social media and I can see/recognize which social media it is, I will erase your memory of your account password, username, any recovery options, 2fa, ectetera, as well and help you by being a kind person and helping figure out how to use your phone, only to log you out of your account if you're dumb enough to hand me your phone.

Real helpful stuff to make sure nuisances have a harder time.