65
votes
How can changes in personality/values of a person who turned into a vampire be explained?
The mind and body are less separate than most people seem to think. Changes to body chemistry can greatly change how, and even what, we think:
Alcohol is well-known for its disinhibiting effects and ...
- 7,389
62
votes
How to Interrogate a Memory-Stealing Shapeshifter?
This is similar to the problem of finding replicants in blade runner, so just apply the voight kampff test. the point is that you ask questions that that are supposed to evoke an emotional empathy ...
- 1,409
44
votes
Accepted
How could Nomadic scholars effectively memorize libraries worth of information
Sagas and epics were long history lessons memorized easily by using rhyme, rhythm and repetition of structures, so your sages could use the same techniques.
Avicenna (980-1037) already wrote about ...
- 1,068
43
votes
How to Interrogate a Memory-Stealing Shapeshifter?
Behavioral Biometrics
In short, muscle memory.
There is a section of biometrics called behavioral biometrics, which is based on your actions being different from person to person, as opposed to ...
35
votes
Accepted
How can changes in personality/values of a person who turned into a vampire be explained?
Survivor Bias
All vampires who refused their change, and fought against drinking blood, died. Early.
As a result, there is a strong survivor bias here: only those vampires who adapted to drink blood ...
- 3,383
32
votes
How can I penalize using accelerated time in Full Dive Virtual Reality?
Brains can simply not function that fast.
To process that much information your brain requires rest (AlexP elaborates on this in their comment: to retain information, the short-term memory needs to be ...
- 4,656
28
votes
Is it possible to map the firing of neurons in the human brain so as to stimulate artificial memories in someone else?
a machine that perfectly maps out the way in which neurons fire in Patient A regarding a certain memory, and then to stimulate an identical firing of neurons in Patient B, so as to allow them to live ...
- 301k
28
votes
How to Interrogate a Memory-Stealing Shapeshifter?
Piercings
Similar to one comment about microchipping your population.
A lot of cultures have a practice of ritual body-piercing. This isn't something that can be replicated by shape-shifting flesh, ...
- 11.8k
28
votes
Accepted
Why would a five dimensional creature need memories?
To know what is happening at the other end of its body,
This creature passes through time the same way a fence passes through a field. The fence has a start and an end and everything in between, but ...
- 66.3k
28
votes
What is the likelihood of you remembering how to fight after your brain was pierced by a skull shattering projectile spear if it was regenerated?
Through the mouth will miss the cerebral cortex.
I have from the OP: the spear entered through the mouth and the end result is that you are hanging from the spear.
I have added blue lines to ...
- 306k
27
votes
How can changes in personality/values of a person who turned into a vampire be explained?
Actually I don't think that there is a lot of change of mind involved.
Just look at your points:
"Humans are cattle, vampires are the master race." That is something we already do. (Or most of us do)...
- 2,658
24
votes
How could Nomadic scholars effectively memorize libraries worth of information
Human spatial memory is phenomenally good. Our ability to remember facts and figures sucks, but places and where things are and anything particularly out of place and interesting we can commit to ...
- 1,566
21
votes
A person has composite memories from countless pasts - how would you detect this with modern medical equipment?
Modern medical equipment could not identify the specific situation. fNCI, fMRI and the like cannot "read memories" in any way. If you were generalising from stories where that was possible ...
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20
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What is the likelihood of you remembering how to fight after your brain was pierced by a skull shattering projectile spear if it was regenerated?
Ever heard of Phineas Gage?
Had an unfortunate accident involving a metal bar and an explosive charge.
the tamping iron—1+1⁄4 inches (3.2 cm) in diameter, three feet seven inches (1.1 m) long, and ...
- 78.5k
18
votes
Accepted
A World Where Everyone Forgets About You
Also, I was thinking about problems, like he/she buys something, and the seller would forget about it, so he/she needs to make sure no one thinks it's stealing
Actually, I was thinking that this ...
- 32.1k
18
votes
Accepted
Technology that steals memories
We don't know how to digitize, copy, delete, edit, or record memories.
The technology to do so is so far advanced from what we currently understand as to be indistinguishable from magic. Any attempt ...
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18
votes
How could humans repeatedly lose their latest memories
Backup Restoration
In a far future world, people make backups (periodically, perhaps daily in a hazardous environment) to protect their memories and identity in the case of their body being killed (...
- 47.3k
18
votes
How can I penalize using accelerated time in Full Dive Virtual Reality?
Brains produce degradation products while working. They use up sugar, they produce heat, they produce waste-products, that are transported away by cerebro spinal fluids at night. These byproducts are ...
- 5,702
17
votes
How could Nomadic scholars effectively memorize libraries worth of information
Pre-modern people often had sages and wise men who spent their whole lives memorizing stories. Medieval clergy occasionally would memorize their whole holy book word for word. The Roda don't need ...
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17
votes
How could humans repeatedly lose their latest memories
This effect is a common one for people who have had clinically safe doses of opioid drugs like oxytocin and fentanyl.
It is really quite remarkable to see it play out in real life with people who have ...
- 11.5k
17
votes
Accepted
Can a device that causes memory loss be created with near-modern technology?
You could go with a technique called Trans-cranial Magnetic Stimulation or TMS. But you'd also have to 'play around' with the science a bit and assume a couple of breakthroughs in neuroscience that ...
- 18.8k
15
votes
Technology that steals memories
Make it so that each and every person on earth wears an implant that enhances brain functions: increase memory capacity, faster thought processing, and such.
That way, memory can be read and written, ...
- 10.9k
15
votes
Accepted
Dragon shapeshifting and memory mechanism
Memory RNA
While not scientifically established (AFAIK), the concept of genetic memory goes as follows
(quoted from Wikipedia's memory RNA article):
Memory RNA is a hypothetical form of RNA that was ...
- 3,667
15
votes
How can changes in personality/values of a person who turned into a vampire be explained?
Rationalization
In psychology and logic, rationalization or rationalisation (also known as making excuses[1]) is a defense mechanism in which controversial behaviors or feelings are justified and ...
- 301
14
votes
How long is the subjective experience of eternity?
The brain is a strange and complex thing which we don't really understand. However it's suggested that the brain only lays down new memories for new experiences. Once something becomes repetitive your ...
- 118k
13
votes
How could Nomadic scholars effectively memorize libraries worth of information
I think they would perfect the art of building mind-palaces.
Imagine that the games they played as kids revolved around associating physical items and places of their culture with either a short ...
- 11.5k
12
votes
Dragon shapeshifting and memory mechanism
The Dragon is always° the mother. The child develops faster than typical for the 'donor' species, but the pregnancy lasts longer.
During this "extra time" between the infant being fully developed ...
- 15.5k
12
votes
How to Interrogate a Memory-Stealing Shapeshifter?
Rapid fire questions
I assume the creatures still need time to recall something. Asking multiple questions very fast with little time to answer would most likely trip them up. Make it anything that ...
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12
votes
How could humans repeatedly lose their latest memories
You can use the following facts from neuroscience:
Perhaps the most famous patient in neuroscience is Henry Molaison (patient HM) who had his hippocampi and surrounding regions surgically removed in ...
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12
votes
A person has composite memories from countless pasts - how would you detect this with modern medical equipment?
By seeing brain areas not be active
fMRI and EEG is probably your best bet. Let's take martial arts as an example. Because it is both about the experience and skill, we know that both the temporal ...
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