If you have seen either one or both versions of Total Recall…………or better still read the short story (we can remember it for you wholesale) by science fiction writer Philip K Dick, you will know that part of the storyline (no spoilers) consists of implanting memories to an individual of exotic holiday and other exciting adventures which may be usually financially impossible or highly unlikely as a cheaper alternative.
In the future we may never set foot on a tropical beach when we go one holiday, we could just visit them virtually through downloads we place inside our brain, Dr Kaku says
The article also discusses the notion of false memories which has been studied directly by Loftus and how easily it is to manipulate the mind into believing something actually happened which did not.
Loftus’ research on being lost in a shopping mall is a highly illuminating yet arguably unethical piece of research that proves the point. See below for what she did and how she did it….can we trust our memory as being a factual recollection of precise events or a malleable reconstruction of internal and external forces?
Psychlite 