Cicadas, Memory, and the Art of Forgetting

Here on the East Coast of the US, 2013 is the year of the return of the seventeen-year cicadas. I have not as yet actually heard any cicadas this year but, all in good time, I'm sure. The seventeen-year cicadas have an unusual life cycle to say the least. Nearly all cicadas spend years underground as juveniles, before emerging above ground for a short adult stage of several weeks to a few months.  Periodical cicada species, such as the 17 year cicadas, are so named because, in any one location, all of the members of the population are developmentally synchronized—they emerge as adults all at once in the same year. This periodicity is especially remarkable because their life cycles are so long. [Wikipedia; photo: Wikipedia]

Prompted by what appeared to be a cicada that had been crushed underfoot by an (I hope) unawares jogger in a nearby park, I began thinking about those 17-year cicadas the other day. The seventeen years between their emergences are about half of a human generation. Seventeen years also seems to be about the length of time at which details of events, the ambience of the political climate, and all but the deeper personal memories begin, in many instances, to blur or be forgotten. So how was the country doing in 1996? Well, the nation was getting ready for the Presidential elections with Clinton, Dole and Perot the eventual candidates. With the GDP up almost 4.5% vs. 1995 and with unemployment at 4.7%, we were in the midst of an economic boom. Nevertheless, a budget showdown between Clinton and Congressional Republicans forced a government shutdown for the second year in a row. We were about midway between Newt Gingrich's "Contract for America" and the Monica Lewinsky scandal. The Cold War had been over for years. And only people in the intelligence community were aware of a militant Middle Eastern group called Al-Qaeda. And 17 years from now, what will we make of the state of the union in 2013? Will we have forgotten the NSA spy programs, the Republican obstructionism, the do nothing Congress, the Tea Party, the Recession, the Supreme-Court-mandated corporate personhood?

I've no scientific basis at all for this speculation on the length of long-time memory. Some long-term memories last decades, others are gone in a matter of days. Still seventeen years seems to me like a good compromise for a breakpoint.

To what extent do we choose our memories? To what extent do they choose us?

Memories seem to be part of us. They allow us to re-experience our past, albeit in a less vivid and physical way.

Loss of memory is the greatest loss experienced by Alzheimer's patients. They are losing the awareness of their past experiences and relationships. In a way they are losing their selves.

Forgiving a past wrong often requires forgetting the wrong.

Elizabeth Loftus, a memory researcher, has identified four major reasons why people forget: retrieval failure, interference, failure to store and motivated forgetting.

“The advantage of a bad memory is that one enjoys several times the same good things for the first time.” - Friedrich Nietzsche

It is singular how soon we lose the impression of what ceases to be constantly before us. A year impairs, a luster obliterates. There is little distinct left without an effort of memory, then indeed the lights are rekindled for a moment - but who can be sure that the Imagination is not the torch-bearer? - Lord Byron

Well, before I forget, I'm going out now and look around and listen for some 17 year cicadas.