Our Earliest Memories: Exploring the Mysteries of Self-Awareness

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In summary: I know I'm not the only one who remembers our birthing experience, as I've had discussions with several others. In summary, these people seem to remember their births vividly.
  • #1
mugaliens
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This is going to sound a bit weird to some, but perhaps not so much to others.

I haven't a clue as to when I "first" became self-aware. I have memories dating back to age 0. They're as real and surprising as the expression on my Mom's face when I describe the room in which my diaper was changed, and as we only lived there for the first three weeks of my life...

Life just is. I've forgotten nothing. I am perplexed when friends tell me they can't recall anything earlier than third grade. My son can't recall his years in Korea, yet he was the same age I was when I was in Italy, and I remember everything, including looking at Mt. Vesuvius, over the bay, including riding tricyles (green and red) with my brother, rubbing my head on the carpet, loosing "doggie" out the window of one of my mom's friend's apartments, spending time with my parent's friends whom I haven't seen in 47 years.

I have tons of pics of his time in Korea, but he simply shrugs.

It's all there. Everything. All the way back to, well, you know what. I still recognize the doctor, and years later, I even knew his name. I'm not sure what's up with that, but it is what it is. (shrugs)

I know I'm not the only one who remembers our birthing experience, as I've had discussions with several others.

I'm curious to hear about your own earliest memories.
 
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  • #2
mugaliens said:
This is going to sound a bit weird to some, but perhaps not so much to others.

I haven't a clue as to when I "first" became self-aware. I have memories dating back to age 0. They're as real and surprising as the expression on my Mom's face when I describe the room in which my diaper was changed, and as we only lived there for the first three weeks of my life...

Life just is. I've forgotten nothing. I am perplexed when friends tell me they can't recall anything earlier than third grade. My son can't recall his years in Korea, yet he was the same age I was when I was in Italy, and I remember everything, including looking at Mt. Vesuvius, over the bay, including riding tricyles (green and red) with my brother, rubbing my head on the carpet, loosing "doggie" out the window of one of my mom's friend's apartments, spending time with my parent's friends whom I haven't seen in 47 years.

I have tons of pics of his time in Korea, but he simply shrugs.

It's all there. Everything. All the way back to, well, you know what. I still recognize the doctor, and years later, I even knew his name. I'm not sure what's up with that, but it is what it is. (shrugs)

I know I'm not the only one who remembers our birthing experience, as I've had discussions with several others.

I'm curious to hear about your own earliest memories.

You could see cleary even though a baby's eyes can't focus for months? Perhaps they are false memories, a picture you saw, a description you heard about the room?

What Can a Baby See?
The newborn’s visual acuity (sharpness of vision) is approximately 20/400. This is equivalent to seeing only the big letter “E” on an eye chart. Vision slowly improves to 20/20 by age 2 years. Color vision is present at birth.

Newborns at first don’t pay much attention to the visual world but normally will blink when light shines in their eye. By 6 to 8 weeks of age, infants will fix their gaze on an object and follow its movement.

A baby’s eyes should be well aligned (working as a team) by 4 months of age (see “strabismus” below). As the eyes become aligned, three-dimensional vision develops.

http://www.uic.edu/com/eye/LearningAboutVision/EyeFacts/BabyEyes.shtml
 
  • #3
This certainly runs counter to the science. Psychological research shows that recall begins after 2 at the earliest. And neuroscience shows that the brain is so immature and fast-changing that it is easy to see why no proper memories are fixed. And as Evo says, even the eyes would not seem capable of seeing sufficiently well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Childhood_amnesia

But you feel you have evidence, such as being able to describe a room from your first three weeks of life.

The scientific presumption would be that this is a confabulation - a vividly imagined recreation. But if you can remember particular pictures on the wall, or other confirmed features, then that would start to get spooky.
 
  • #4
I don't have memories, or at least, I do not think I do, which stretch as far back as to the time where I was just born. The two above posters have also pointed out that this is not actually possible but yeah, we never know.

I have lots of memories from pre-school (nursery, kindergarten and what not!), most of which are good ones. I remember most of the "accidents" I had which ended up in me having to have some part of my body stitched! I remember them very clearly but that may be because they were somewhat eventful moments?

To answer your question though, I do remember lots and lots of things from my childhood and I have nowhere near enough beer in my system to start talking about that and I can feel that I will probably end up being nostalgic and melancholic as **** if I keep dwelling on that and at one in the morning on a Thursday, I have other things to tend to - like starting Chemistry work! : P

Good idea for thread, eh.
 
  • #5
The earliest things I can remember are circa age three.

Although I'm not really trying to remember, if I just quickly think back as far as I can the earliest thing in my mind is being in the house with all my family the day my sister was brought home from hospital after she was born (she's just under 3 years younger than me).

Before that, I honestly can't say. My own personal timeline isn't exactly spot on and so unless the event has a specific time frame related to it (sisters birth for example) I can't guarantee my memory is in the right place. I say this because I remember going to town in a pushchair with my grandmother when I was really young, but I can't be sure whether it was pre or post 3 years old. I'm fairly sure everything in my memory is post 3, but can't be certain.
 
  • #6
mugaliens said:
I have memories dating back to age 0. They're as real and surprising as the expression on my Mom's face when I describe the room in which my diaper was changed, and as we only lived there for the first three weeks of my life...

Far more likely is that you saw pictures or heard descriptions early on, and your brain created the memories to go with them. As others pointed out, you could not possibly have seen the room you were in, nor could you have remembered it had you been able to see it.

Memory is a tricky thing. I have a couple of "memories" from before I was 2, but they're most likely my own imagination combined with stories told by my family members.
 
  • #7
I'm 50 going on 51 in a few days, and my earliest memory is of JFK's assassination in 1963.
I was 3 at the time, yet have extremely vivid memories of where I was, what I was doing.
What comes to my mind is the emotions from my mother. Very distraught. Perhaps that's why I remember it so well.
 
  • #8
NeoDevin said:
Memory is a tricky thing. I have a couple of "memories" from before I was 2, but they're most likely my own imagination combined with stories told by my family members.

This is the likely explanation. I know my Mum told me a story about a flying fish coming through the porthole of our cabin when I was on a ship aged about 3 months, nearly landing in the little bath she was bathing me in. I now have a vivid "memory" of this actually happening.

Mugaliens probably indeed has a good memory of his early years. But it would appear to defy science to think it could go back to sharp memories shortly after birth. So it is an interesting claim if he can support it objectively.
 
  • #9
pallidin said:
I'm 50 going on 51 in a few days, and my earliest memory is of JFK's assassination in 1963.
I was 3 at the time, yet have extremely vivid memories of where I was, what I was doing.
What comes to my mind is the emotions from my mother. Very distraught. Perhaps that's why I remember it so well.

I always remember when Princess Diana died. I was quite young at the time and was staying in my grandparents. I'd woke up early (6AM) and was watching TV when it came on.

I just remember sitting there, watching it, trying to work out who she was thinking "is this important enough to wake up my grandparents?". (I did in the end - and by the reaction from them, it was.)
 
  • #10
jarednjames said:
I always remember when Princess Diana died. I was quite young at the time and was staying in my grandparents. I'd woke up early (6AM) and was watching TV when it came on.

I just remember sitting there, watching it, trying to work out who she was thinking "is this important enough to wake up my grandparents?". (I did in the end - and by the reaction from them, it was.)

Yeah, I hear you. Sometimes I wonder if early-age, unusual parental emotions solidifies some memories. It did for me in my case. It is so clear to me that I could describe the yard fence I was leaning against, the open windows of mom's house, the TV live coverage and my mother so very sad.
The memory is so vivid that, though 1963, could just as easily be yesterday.
 
  • #11
I have vivid memories of events that occurred when I was 3. I remember my 4th birthday and that's the first memory that I can attach a date to. There was an event that occurred when I was 7 that indicates I had a memory of playing in a particular sandbox when I was 2. I no longer remember the 2 year old event, but I do remember remembering it when I was 7. I learned how to walk and talk at around 12 months and I can still do both, so that is a kind of remembering. The first thing I remember that doesn't involve me directly was my father telling me that President Eisenhower liked to play golf. I was about 7 years old.
 
  • #12
Jimmy Snyder said:
I have vivid memories of events that occurred when I was 3. I remember my 4th birthday and that's the first memory that I can attach a date to.

So you were 4, not 3?

Sorry, it just read like that.

Anyhow, if it's the first thing you can attach a date to, are you sure the memories of pre-4th birthday events actually occurred then?
 
  • #13
jarednjames said:
So you were 4, not 3?

Sorry, it just read like that.

Anyhow, if it's the first thing you can attach a date to, are you sure the memories of pre-4th birthday events actually occurred then?
I remember events that occurred when we lived in NH when I was 3, but I don't remember the days they occured. Now that I think of it, there is an earlier memory attached to a particular day. I remember the day we moved from NH to NJ and I was still 3. I don't know what day it was, but there may be a record of it somewhere.

Edit: Yikes, hold everything. I remember my sister's first birthday which was celebrated in NH. That's the first memory I can attach a date to. I was 3 years, 9 months old.
 
  • #14
Jimmy Snyder said:
I remember events that occurred when we lived in NH when I was 3, but I don't remember the days they occured. Now that I think of it, there is an earlier memory attached to a particular day. I remember the day we moved from NH to NJ and I was still 3. I don't know what day it was, but there may be a record of it somewhere.

Ah I see, well if you can correlate an event to a rough time period then yes, you can be fairly sure of when it occurred.

My problem is that the events are not aligned with any specific details (events etc), so I can't even be sure what year they happened. So I don't know if they happened when I was 2, 3, 4, and so on.

There are only a few I'm sure of such as my sisters birth.
 
  • #15
Evo said:
You could see cleary even though a baby's eyes can't focus for months?

As per your reference:

"What Can a Baby See? The newborn’s visual acuity (sharpness of vision) is approximately 20/400. This is equivalent to seeing only the big letter “E” on an eye chart. Vision slowly improves to 20/20 by age 2 years. Color vision is present at birth."

I saw well enough to recognize my doctor years later.

The point of this thread, however, is that I remember him.
 
  • #16
apeiron said:
This certainly runs counter to the science.

Yes, I suppose it might. Nevertheless, I also suppose it was interesting enough to bring up as a thread. So, there it is. Would you like me to describe in detail the structure of the room in which my parents used to change my diapers when I was but a couple of weeks old, or can we take it on faith, for now?

I'm not sure why, but my earliest memories get rather personal.

The point of this discussion isn't what most people remember. It's what some of us may remember, and why we might remember it.
 
  • #17
apeiron said:
The scientific presumption would be that this is a confabulation - a vividly imagined recreation. But if you can remember particular pictures on the wall, or other confirmed features, then that would start to get spooky.

Spooky or not, I only lived there for three weeks, and remember pretty much everthing.

As I mentioned earlier, some of my memories are rather personal. I started this thread because I learned that this is unusual. I just wanted to know what others have experienced.
 
  • #18
Jimmy Snyder said:
I remember events that occurred when we lived in NH when I was 3, but I don't remember the days they occured. Now that I think of it, there is an earlier memory attached to a particular day. I remember the day we moved from NH to NJ and I was still 3. I don't know what day it was, but there may be a record of it somewhere.

Edit: Yikes, hold everything. I remember my sister's first birthday which was celebrated in NH. That's the first memory I can attach a date to. I was 3 years, 9 months old.

Lol, ok!

Still, I recall the date I lost Doggie (stuffed animal), June 29, 1963. I was born in May.
 
  • #19
My earliest memory is from age two, and I remember it because I have kept telling myself it's my earliest memory ever since.

I'm being held over my dad's right shoulder, and I'm looking at my crib, which is beside my bedroom's door. He's about to tuck me in.

Second earliest: It's so visual, I'm either 2 or 3 and I'm seeing my uncle, wearing an Afro (this was the disco era) sitting in the middle of our couch, way over on the opposite side of the room from where I'm sitting on the green-rug floor. I remember that more than how my own parents looked!
 
  • #20
mugaliens said:
Spooky or not, I only lived there for three weeks, and remember pretty much everthing.

As I mentioned earlier, some of my memories are rather personal. I started this thread because I learned that this is unusual. I just wanted to know what others have experienced.
When and how did you get these memories? At what age did you remember these older memories?
I have a memory that can be dated to me being 18 months old, but it's very possible I saw a photograph that I remembered.

I do have a true memory from age two though. But it's not possible to remember seeing things before you had functioning sight, brain function, etc... those regression memories have been debunked. They were planted.
 
  • #21
pallidin said:
Yeah, I hear you. Sometimes I wonder if early-age, unusual parental emotions solidifies some memories. It did for me in my case. It is so clear to me that I could describe the yard fence I was leaning against, the open windows of mom's house, the TV live coverage and my mother so very sad.
The memory is so vivid that, though 1963, could just as easily be yesterday.

Interesting. Princess Diane's death was a very serious memory. Both my ex and I can recall it rather vividly.

Getting back to memory recall, I'm wondering if there's something about memory that's a bit more than normal.
 
  • #22
mugaliens said:
I'm wondering if there's something about memory that's a bit more than normal.

Such as?
 
  • #23
mugaliens said:
As I mentioned earlier, some of my memories are rather personal. I started this thread because I learned that this is unusual. I just wanted to know what others have experienced.

As the literature reports, even 2 is early for memories for the majority of people. And claims of memory from birth would be treated as extraordinary. We would have to revise our textbooks about infant neural development if what you say is true.

Which makes your claims both interesting and dubious. I'm sure you appreciate that. You have clearly tested your memories enough to satisfy yourself. So I am sure you can go into more detail that might convince here. It is the fact you seem a systematic observer that makes me even ask the question.
 
  • #24
I was born in '52 and my sisters were born in '53, '54, and '55. I remember when sister 2 and sister 3 came home.

When I was a youngster, I vividly remember my great-aunt having a melt-down in our kitchen talking to our mother. My mother had never taught me French, nor encouraged me to speak it. When my great-aunt was gone, I asked when my favorite older cousin was going to have her baby. My mother asked where I heard that, I explained that she and Aunt Gxxx had been talking all about it. After that, I was "invited" outside when my older French relatives showed up. No secrets.

Teen pregnancy in poor French-Canadian families...not so easy to cover up or "fix".
 
  • #25
Evo said:
When and how did you get these memories? At what age did you remeber these older memories?

Way less than two. I know you don't believe me, Evo, but there it is. My memories date quite a bit earlier than 18 months.

Again, this thread is about why this might happen.
 
  • #26
mugaliens said:
Again, this thread is about why this might happen.

Alright, let's get some literature on the table then.

Anyone for, as you're making the claim it's possible can you provide sources to back it up? Or anything to show it happens that isn't anecdotal?

Anyone against, what do we have against the possibility?

Perhaps this would be more appropriate in another section of PF?
 
  • #27
mugaliens said:
Way less than two. I know you don't believe me, Evo, but there it is. My memories date quite a bit earlier than 18 months.

Again, this thread is about why this might happen.
Please post peer reviewed research that shows such memories are biologically possible for newborns.
 
  • #28
mugaliens said:
Still, I recall the date I lost Doggie (stuffed animal), June 29, 1963. I was born in May.

You expect us to believe that you could tell the date, at less than 2 months old? Not likely. You were told about the date and the event later on.

I think it's fairly obvious that these are not actual memories you are experiencing, but rather memories which were implanted later on. At 2 months old you simply did not have the neural capacity to form such memories. Someone told you about the event when you were much older (2 or 3, maybe), and you have since committed that to memory, while forgetting about when you were told.
 
  • #29
If I tried I could probably draw a fairly accurate mental image of how my pre-school looked like and an even better one for my primary school. I could do the same for where my paediatrician practices (or at least, he practiced there during the two years I went there - my last visit there was sometime in the year 2000, I believe).

Oddly enough, I can't remember how the house I live in today was six years ago, when I was about to quit primary school and I can remember even less well how it looked like another six years down the line. All I can visualise is what I saw in pictures.
 

1. What is the significance of studying our earliest memories?

Studying our earliest memories allows us to better understand the development of self-awareness and how it shapes our sense of self and identity. It can also provide insight into the formation of memories and how they are stored and retrieved in the brain.

2. How do our earliest memories impact our present and future?

Our earliest memories can influence our behaviors, beliefs, and attitudes in the present and future. They can also contribute to our understanding of past experiences and how they have shaped us.

3. Are our earliest memories accurate?

There is ongoing debate among scientists about the accuracy of our earliest memories. Some research suggests that memories from early childhood may be distorted or influenced by later experiences, while others argue that they can be reliable and vivid.

4. Can we intentionally create or manipulate our earliest memories?

While it is possible to create false memories through suggestion and other techniques, it is unlikely that we can intentionally create or manipulate our earliest memories. These memories are believed to be formed organically and influenced by our experiences and emotions at the time.

5. How can studying our earliest memories aid in the understanding and treatment of mental health issues?

Studying our earliest memories can provide valuable insights into the development of mental health issues and how they may be linked to early experiences. By understanding the roots of these issues, we can develop more effective treatment strategies and interventions.

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