Philosophy Wire: Sleeping. Forgetting.

Photo by Spiros Kakos @ Pexels

In a study of mice, researchers show that REM sleep may be a time when the brain actively forgets. Their results suggest that forgetting during sleep may be controlled by neurons found deep inside the brain that were previously known for making an appetite stimulating hormone. [1] They say that during sleep we formulate our knowledge. But during sleep we also formulate our oblivion. You see, you can never learn something without forgetting something else. But the greatest usefulness of sleep is the obvious one: it allows us to stay awake! Only those who dream can stop dreaming. And we have managed to do so especially because we used to live in a dream. Now there is nothing left to stare in awe. Now the cosmos stares back at us in astonishment. Because we are awake. And the world so desperately wants to go to sleep…

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Philosophy Wire: Forgetting. Being.

There are an estimated 90 fatalities a year in the UK caused by drivers pulling out into the path of an oncoming motorcycle. New research by psychologists suggests this sort of crash may often be the result of a short-term memory failure rather than the driver not seeing an approaching motorcycle. [1] We hold sensing in great regard. But the only way to forget something is to see it. Can you ever forget what you never knew? Could you ever remember what you have seen? Your soul knows better. Only the things you know without sensing them at all, are immune to oblivion. The only way for something to exist for ever, is for it not to ever existed at all… Are you brave enough to face the dark?

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Philosophy Wire: Being creative. Fearing death. Existing.

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2017-09-05]: Research from psychologists at the University of Kent shows that creative achievement can provide a buffer against being anxious about death. [1] Stupid people. They are afraid to die and do anything they can to stay “forever” alive. But only those who are not afraid of death do nothing to deal with him. Every creation will be one day gone in the ocean of oblivion. Only those moments of lack of creativity will persist. Those moments where you relax and do nothing. It is at these moments that the universe pauses and stares in awe. Because it knows that at this very moment it has seize to exist and all the cosmos just Is.

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Philosophy Wire: Consciousness, hair power, Samson, myths...

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2014-05-13]:

Unseen power stemming from… hair! [1, 2]
An old tale had told us so. (Samson)
We are now laughing at it. [3]
But something deeper lies beneath the surface... [4, 5, 6]
Our current "knowledge" does not let us see beyond our own nose.
Old knowledge, long gone, haunts our shallow existence.
Let's try to forget in order to remember...

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Philosophy Wire: Marriage, heart, science, religion.

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2014-05-08]: People who are married have lower rates of several cardiovascular diseases compared with those who are single, divorced or widowed, according to research to be presented at the American College of Cardiology's 63rd Annual Scientific Session. [1] Old religious advice, forgotten in the context of "modern", are now coming back as "scientific" conclusions. What we once knew, we learn again... The heart was always wiser than the brain...

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Philosophy Wire: Immortal. Children.

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2014-03-21]: Feeling immortal. [1] From being children, we feel the truth. We know it. After that, we are just… told we are kids. Grown ups know better. But grown ups have the tendency to forget. Oh, I would give everything to remember what I knew as a kid!

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Philosophy Wire: Forget to remember...

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2014-03-07]:

Children seem to lose their very first memories at the age of about nine*. [1] Our life is dictated by things we do not remember. And it is confused by things we should never learn. Only an empty mind can grasp the meaning of the cosmos to its full extend. We must forget in order to remember...

* As if we, as adults, do not forget anything...

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Philosophy Wire: Movies, films, oblivion...

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2014-01-06]: According to a study conducted by the Library of Congress, 70 percent of American silent films are lost--and a good portion of the remaining ones aren't exactly in great shape, either. [1] An era trying to define it self. An era where the past is more important than the now. Trying to hang on a bunch of old films... Trying to find our selves in the midst of the storm... I hear the rough sea outside... I feel the ship sinking... Smiling... Forgetting seems the only way to remember...

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Philosophy Wire: Ancient Greek music. Remember...

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2013-11-25]: Ancient music. Long gone. It sounds familiar. [1, 2] We have heard it before. It has shaped us. We have forgotten it...

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Philosophy Wire: Remembering. Forgetting. “My” (?) life…

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2013-02-24]: I only remember a fraction of the life I have lived. Does that mean I have not lived it? If things I have forgotten affect me unconsciously, isn’t that also true for any other event which took place in the universe? Everything affect us in a way. Who determines the limits of “my” life?

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Philosophy Wire: The right to oblivion, cyber bullying, stupidity

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2013-02-07]: People are fighting for the right to "be forgotten" as far as the Internet is concerned. The EU is trying to pass legislation which will make all big social media portals (e.g. Facebook) satisfy their users' requests for deleting their personal data if and when they wish so. [source: Stanford Law Review, web news]

Two are the main possible reasons:

1. THE SERIOUS: Cyber bullying. The new trend of our time: Children humiliating other children by posting embarrassing pictures over the Internet. The solution? A sue. And learning not to pay too much attention at what is written on the Internet. And (at least as far as I am concerned) a more aggressive tactic could also suit your needs. As others can easily write things about you, you too can defend your self online (and I know that from personal experience - see here for how I used anti-Kakos articles in my favor). There are many administrative tools which could help you with that. Everything is a matter of the proper point of view.A good training in the use of Internet tools and learning how not to give a damn about idiots could be more useful that our right to oblivion.

2. THE STUPID: Embarrassing pictures we posted our selves on the Internet. The solution: None. If you are stupid you will most probably continue being stupid. And it is a good thing to alert others that you are indeed stupid. Maybe the right to being stupid is more important than the right to oblivion.

Ignorance is the greatest evil of them all.

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Philosophy Wire: Bin Laden, parks, oblivion.

Philosophy Wire by Spiros Kakos [2013-02-05]: An amusement park is going to be built where the estate of the "evil" Bin Laden once stood. [source: web news] This is who we are. We like to forget. We MAKE us forget. And then we are slapped in the face by History which repeats it self...

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