The Science Of Decency

Technique Name: Memory Expansion (or Interpolative Eidetic Discovery)

Technique Target Skill: Extraction, Extrapolation, Focus

Prerequisites: None.  Video 4.5 recommended (regarding topic: relative time)

Participants: Primarily Solo, multiple possible as guided or assisted meditation

Purpose(s): To increase the participant's understanding of a chosen memory.

Steps (basic):

1. Participant picks a target situation for the Memory Expansion based on personally relative targeting criteria (which portion in the memory chunk do they want to understand?).
2. Participant picks and visualizes a range of time encapsulating the target memory (with some extra on either chronological side).
3. Participant consciously removes focus of the memories pre- and post-target selection (blanks them out in the visualization).
4. Participant recognizes key memories as points of interpolation.
5. Participant expands target memory sequence to fill entire mental focus.
6. Using memory of sensory & cognitive data, logic, or a combination of both, the participant fills in gaps, where possible.
7. Participant repeats steps 4-6 as a recursion into the new data found in step 6, or other gaps within the target memory (optional).
8. The target memory is returned to normal size, key memory points and new data plotted in proper relative proportion.
9. The target memory is assimilated (containing the newly discovered information) into the participant's entire bank of memories.

Explanation (detailed):

For practice of this technique, it is recommended that participants have available to them facilities available for relaxation.  Sitting at home or a quiet setting may be optimum, but the comfort of any given environment will vary from participant to participant.  It is recommended that this technique not be practiced in situations where immediate concentration is required, like driving, working, reading, or learning.

This technique involves a concept known as interpolation.  Interpolation, or interpolating (as the verb), for those who are not familiar, is the plotting of key points, using some predetermined criteria (for example steady timing or some specific recurrence) over a given time-frame.  In many cases this is steady process, such as measuring time.  With time, one might interpolate a minute by its seconds, resulting in 60 interpolated points.  For this technique, subjective criteria will be used, so the points will not necessarily be steadily plotted.

The purpose of this technique is to provide an enhanced level of detail regarding a chosen past event.  The subjectively interpolated points provide an aid the focus process by creating "memory landmarks" in which the participant can reference.

The participant picks an event of which (s)he would like to have a greater working understanding.  The closer the target moment is to the present, generally, the more effective the Memory Expansion.  Memories that are stronger, more vivid, are also more likely to be effective.  The initial visualization should encompass the target memory and some memories chronologically before and after the target.

This is to ensure that the initial cut does not unintentionally remove some target memory.  The participant then “slices” the events off of the pre- and post-target areas of the visualization, disconnecting them from the target.  The excess memory pieces are then blanked from the visualization, but not actual memory (to retain mental stability).  The focus is then left with a gap on either side.

After isolating the target memory, the participant defines key memory points (or “landmarks”).  They do not have to be equidistant from each other, but it is done so for the example.

The participant then “zooms in” to the target memory, retaining key memories at proportionally relative distances from each other.  The “zoom in” should expand the target memory to a significantly larger area or to the full extent of the participant's mental focus.

The target, with key points intact, is then analyzed for gaps in understanding.  For example, if a man is trying to understand the motion his keys made as he put them in his pocket, he would look for any gaps between the landmarks regarding the motion itself.  Placing target key memory points at “keys in hand” and “keys near pocket”, he would then recognize the memory space between the two as a gap in understanding.  The participant then searches internally, for any semblance of actual memories (recommended:  using sensory memory, such as sound and vision) to fill in the gaps where possible.

If more information is desired, but no memories are found under standard searching, the participant may use their personally relative logic to fill in the gaps.  In our example, the man might use his knowledge of physics (gravity, conservation of energy, etc) to help illustrate the motion of the objects.  He might use his detailed knowledge about the construction of the keys and key-ring (weight, shape, material, etc) to project a possible resistance the keys would have provided.  This logical substitution, however, might create false memories and should be used with a sense of humility to the possibility of error.

Logically created paths can be compared against and/or combined with sensory memories for greater accuracy.  For example, if only touch is recognized as a sensory perception within a gap, accompanying logic, such as a our example's working knowledge of physics, can be logically deduced to fit a motion that would justify the sensory perception.  In simple terms, one can use logic to fill in sensory information that is missing.  Though, beware that logic containing false or incomplete reasoning may corrupt the resulting data if integrated.  Again, humility to error is recommended.

The process of filling the gaps is repeated (as a recursion if desired) until the participant's goals are met, or the maximum amount of interpolation (inversely proportional to the participant's acceptable confidence, regarding an interpolation attempt) has been discovered.

When the final level of interpolation is achieved, participant may then return the target into its original “size”, new interpolation points remaining at their relative distances.  The new understanding of the target memory portion may be assimilated as a new association of the situation and placed again amongst the other memories.

There is no limit to the aspects analyzed in this technique.  The key memories and sensory perceptions to be used can be any of the 5 senses or a sequence of active, conscious thoughts.  They may be static pictures, motions, actions, whole sounds, partial sounds, etc.  Anything perceived or logically land-marked is acceptable.  An analogous methodology to this technique is algorithmic sound wave enhancement, which uses predefined algorithms to fill informational gaps (between interpolated points).

Here is the example visualization in its entirety:

-C. Thomas (Author, Proprietor)