DeeDoo’s Digital Scrapbooking Blog

We rented and watched Final Cut, a Robin Williams movie, the other night. Once again, a great performance by one of my favorite actors. In this world of the future, parents can pay to have a tiny device implanted into the developing fetus’ brain. The device fuses with the memory center and records every single memory, including those within the womb, until the child dies. The memory device is removed from the deceased person’s brain and stored forever in a special library, to be accessed by family at any time they might wish to share their loved one’s memories. Robins’ character ‘edits’ the lifelong memories of clients who have recently died and these memories are presented as movies (called remembrances) at the funeral. The movie touched upon privacy concerns plus the question of how a person might react and live their life knowing they have such a device implanted.

If you watch the Science Channel program on Sundays that shows glimpses of current developments in science and technology, you will begin to realize that the sort of memory chip envisioned in Final Cut isn’t that far-fetched. It could actually come to pass. Along with extending our lives through biotechnology, choosing the genetics of our children, and many other possibilities, what will be the final result for humanity as a whole?

I LOVE to ponder these questions, but soon I begin to get dizzy and feel faint with the effort. I want a memory chip implant that would allow me to learn and remember anything and everything I wanted. I want a USB port or some kind of access to that chip that would allow direct downloads of information and I want TONS of storage. I would ‘learn’ every language in the world, every fact and thought on so many subjects…..my imagination and the list goes on and on.

As wonderful as that sounds to me, I do wonder if each of us knew everything, how would that affect our relationships with one another? Would we need each other less or more? Would we be more creative, or not creative at all, or somewhere in between? Would the ‘smart’ people still be smarter than others or would we all be more equal? I think that if everyone had all the knowledge those with higher intellect and creativity would still bring about the new ideas for the future, just as they do now. But I also think that if everyone had the benefit of so much information, each of us would have a deeper insight into our own humanity. It would be interesting to see if our sense of morality and responsibility toward ourselves and each other would ascend to a higher level, or if they would remain as they are today, with just more ways to corrupt ourselves faster.

I must say I enjoy some science fiction movies, television, and books very much, just for sheer entertainment. But the very best science fiction, it seems to me, gives us a glimpse into the very real future and forces us to look upon issues that will confront us then from the safety of now. And they get you to thinking about what other things the future has in store for us. I think you might enjoy Final Cut for that very reason.