[ed.general] Re: The modern Rolls Royce

[August West]

Subject: Re: The modern Rolls Royce
From: Chris Malcolm <c...@holyrood.ed.ac.uk>
Newsgroups: ed.general

Windmill <spam-n...@onetel.net.uk.invalid> wrote:
> Jack Campin <bo...@purr.demon.co.uk> writes:

>>[Jaguar braking]
>>> In the event, he managed to slow to a sane speed, but when I heard
>>> that Dennis Brayne, the guy who could even play classical music on a
>>> hosepipe, killed himself in a Jaguar, I thought of that near-problem.

>>Dennis Brain, and according to his Wikipedia page it was a Triumph TR2.

>>"Brain was a noted enthusiast of fast cars and was known for keeping
>>Autocar magazine on his stand as he played the Mozart concertos from
>>memory during recording sessions."

> Thanks for setting me straight. I've realised for a long time that
> ancient memories morph in various ways, but of course that doesn't help
> to tell me when it has happened.

> Strange that I thought his surname was Brayne; I'm not acquainted with
> anyone by that name.

> Of course I'm not the only one whose memories are more fluid than I'd
> like. Maybe I picked up some of the information from an inaccurate
> source.

> I'm not keen to think my recollection is flawed (:-), but it's
> difficult to disagree with Wikipedia, especially as their contributors
> will usually be checking their sources carefully.

It's the staff. The old archivist who fetches memories from the
brain's files isn't getting any younger. Sometimes he finds the
required memory has bits missing. Sometimes it hasn't, but he looked
in the wrong place, or the drawer is stuck and the handyman has
sneaked off for a snooze. Or maybe the archivist's old feet have
started hurting again.

But you're impatiently waiting for the requested memory. So he quickly
grabs anything vaguely similar that with a few minor edits can be
stitched into place to present an apparently seamless original
memory. Done neatly and quickly enough and the whole confabulation has
the Ring of Truth.

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