Quote:
|
Originally Posted by SuchFriendsAreDangerous
Yes he was but maybe he had his reasons? Im not dissing his sister BUT she is younger than him, her memories may be distorted by childhood. Further and again, people have differing memories of their parents from childhood. For example me and my younger sister have totally different experiences and explanations for our childhood experiences. Further me and my older sisters also have different views about the exact same events and people! So if Lou said his childhood was shit i trust his own opinion about his own life above his sister who can only speak for herself
|
*Correction: Her memories from childhood are most definitely distorted. It's not speciation, it's fact. Memory is colored and shifted and fractured almost immediately. Seriously,
seconds are more than enough to turn a memory into a fantasy. It's a sad truth that most people don't know how to accept, but our brains don't keep time in a bottle. At this point, whatever specific memories she claims to have are more likely to be ballpark guesses. This is especially true when it comes to memories of things NOT happening. It is no more possible for someone to accurately claim that something (like a domestic assault) did not occur than it is to prove a negative.
So you're absolutely right. Science is only beginning to grasp the degree to which memory is inherently corruptible and unreliable. I truly doubt Lou Reed's sister is the exception to this.
All we have is evidence, and while memory can be a supplement to evidence, it's the archival evidence that has the best chance at telling an accurate story.
...
I also think oral histories are pretty safe, because you can compare and contrast the equally fucked memories of multiple people. This makes discrepancies easy to spot, and allows readers to pick up on common and recurring concepts.