Vivid knowledge that makes no sense can live forever

fiction science 

The knowledge implant store

I asked her if she wanted cheese on her hamburger but she thought I had asked her to marry me. Absurd, sure but her interpretation of what a big Mac might be was based on what she knew might be true, her past experiences, what she was thinking about that moment. Our reality is based on our interpretation of the world we experience.  Sometimes we go to the trouble to get some verification from others.

What if there were a way to implant new knowledge to replace old rusty ideas, fuzzy  images that miss the point, that impair our thinking that hold us back. Is there a way of freeing the prisoner inside us the one that is tied to reusing what we know doesn’t work? Why not recycle toxic knowledge and replace it with fresh new ideas and images that connect to all kinds of schemes in our head. Can we jump into the future with that new knowledge sprouting and connecting to networks of knowledge that we have stored and are still useful?

No one would question the fact that minds can be turned, brainwashed, influenced by ads, mentors, a lover whispering in our ear “you are the best and you don’t even know it but I do”.  I was amused when I saw the small shop in an upscale neighborhood lined with galleries and restaurants. In the window were faces, lots of them, some smiling, others with frowns, children, old wrinkled faces, and a small sign in bold Book Antiqua font The idea and image store. And underneath in small letters, Change: Ideas and images implanted and fitted to your needs.

Change what you know and thereby change your life: Why not create knowledge/image implant stores in which cognitive neuroscience methods are used to map in detail what we know about important themes in our lives (such as the how relationships work, parenting, sexuality, self image). Once that has been accomplished then the store staff can begin to replace defective knowledge with new and improved implanted knowledge that can make our lives richer and more effective, more satisfying.  

The foundations of the knowledge/implant initiative came from research on the treatment of patients that experienced recurring nightmares. Barry Krakow chief of the Maimonides Sleep Arts & Sciences in Albuquerque New Mexico had worked, studied and treated 168 women who had been sexually assaulted and who were then disabled by nightmares. The women were encouraged to write down their disturbing dreams and then wrote down a new version that was not nearly as threatening and frightening to them, such as car crashes were turned scenarios of uneventful trips through pleasant country sides.  The women spent several months rehearsing and imaging their new version of the past traumatizing event. Their rewrite and rehearsal of past experience dramatically reduce the frequency of their nightmares (a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2001).

Summary of what the knowledge image store program:

1. Inquiry into what facets of their life clients want to change.
   1. Detailed structured  interviews
   2. Specialized personality measuring instruments along with other tools for assessing what you know about yourself and your world
   3. Mapping what you know is based on measurement using indirect as well as direct assessment of idea and image networks of knowledge.
   4. Identification of toxic knowledge

1. Weeks later similar methods are used to establish reliability of previous responses as well as more detailed accounts of relevant knowledge networks.
   1. Clients are provided with feedback information about their responses during interviews and test results.
2. The patented knowledge implant procedure is used and the results are evaluated using test probes along with brain imaging methods.
3. Periodic evaluation and tune ups are provided.