Jacque Fresco - All Decisions Are Forced by Background (1974)
- Jacque, can I ask a question? - What is it? - Could I ask a question? - Sure - The so called mind, if it doesn't have any experience, it does nothing. - Not only that, but if you tape the eyes of a baby, tape them closed and plug the ears, and plug the nose so that he's smell impeded and keep it in a black bowl, just feed it and keep it close until it is 30 years old, assuming you can keep it alive, and then cut the brain open. There is no development in those areas where the information comes through the eyes. All experience comes through the senses. If you born blind, you cannot visualize lightning. If you born without a sense of smell, or no hearing at all. Things such as noises or a loud bang have no meaning to them. - In other words, there are certain developments within the brain itself, as you became associated with things and ideas. - The information is stored there. It is like a storage system, like a record. - So the conditioning is not only in the thought, but it is in the brain cells. - The thought is in the brain cells, if you wish. It is stored in the brain. Stored in the brain in a special way like magnetic tapes stores things, but it doesn't look like a thing. - Then how do you get rid of the past, if it is stored in that place? - Here's how you get rid of the past. We never really get rid of the past. It is the old language. No one can get rid of the past, but here is what you do. Here is how the brain works, at least in your terms. This is a food store, you see? And this is where you live. Okay? You always walk to the food store through the woods. There are the woods and there is a paved road that runs like this, but you walk through the woods, because it is a shorter distance. Suppose it rained for 3 days and this area were flooded. And you got half into the woods, you back off, and you walk around this way. You shunt the old brain path. It isn't gone, but you now take this one because these conditions here have forced the change. - Well, I don't really mean like that but... If in the beginning, supposed he goes another way... ...They go by features. They apply... - Associative memory. - Then you go around, and see there are other possibilities - Yes. If he knew this was there, if he was told there was a new road. - No, no, you have to get into the path and avoid what is blocking the road - Yes, he would do this, or go this way... - But that is not experience that is stored before, I mean. - Let me put it another way. You only know of this road. But if you know of another road, it's a new intellectual experience. That is a new cerebral experience. Which you can, but if you go up this road, and there are 15 hungry alligators, then you back off this road and go this way, but this isn't gone. It's only bypassed. But suppose somebody... In one of your barber shops, say, that you're going to use scissors. And she comes up with a new device, you pass it over your head, and it cuts the hair and everything else by radar. You haven't forgotten the scissors, it is bypassed. You set it aside. - In other words, any memory, from the very beginning that is there... - ...is bypassed over so far, that you hardly can tell. - But it is always there. - If you wish. - From way back to the childhood, these memories were there... - No, it was loose, very poorly associated. If I could bring back to my childhood memory, say when i were 2 months old. - Right. - [Jacque does baby noises] There is no other type memory. The images and faces were vague. - But you couldn't actually see that nor identify with it. You can only think about it; think that you know something about it, but it is not actual. - Right. A child doesn't look at this and say how interesting, how bright, and the contours. A child doesn't do that. The child just looks and grins. But the child doesn't say "hmmm plastic". The child doesn't have those tools to inquire with. I am just saying that all early experiences are bypassed. Do you know how I mean that? Bypassed means that if you got skis on and you come to an area where there's is no longer any need for them, you take them off, but the memory isn't erased. You shunt it, and get on your roller skates. Then you roller skate one mile with nothing but snow, and you say "I should have taken my skis with me." You have to confront that area first. We say here, that instead of human beings thinking, they work on the basis of associative memory. I'm going to draw some pictures here and you try to tell me what it is. I'm not going to tell anybody what it is, but see if your associative memory... If you can make an association, like the key I drew. I am going to draw difference things, you have to try and tell what it is. Is everybody's mind sharp in here? [Jacque draws a picture] I am not going to finish the picture, you tell me what it is the minute you know. Okay. [Jacque continues the drawing] Okay. Let's just say that nothing happened for now. And I tried something in diversion, okay? - What is it? - I don't what... I will try it out. This should work very fast. - Here it is. - A crocodile. - Okay. - What? - a crocodile she said. But it is maybe too early, you see here yet? Was it too early? - Too early. Come on. All right. Now i see it. If she didn't call it, you know what I mean? If she didn't call it, I would have to finish it up... finished the whole crocodile. But, I'm trying to prove that the human brain can put something together before it is fully illustrated. If you've seen... - But they know what the thing is supposed to be, an animal. Yes, that is exactly... all right. Let me show you. If the person never saw that animal, they could never call it out. - Sure. - So, she calls it on the basis of the associative memory. She has seen it before. - In that case. - People, when they look at something, and they react to that something, it means that they had experience with it. Now, suppose I do something like this. Very few people immediately have a reaction to this. - A bow and arrow? - Yes, you are pretty good! You got it! Is there anybody who doesn't see that? How can she tell so earlier? Because she must somehow study contours or lines when she looks at things. If she didn't get it, I would have gone all the way. - I suppose she probably doesn't know anything about that, but probably she is a more... - ...perceptive, you mean? A perceptive person? No. Always associative memory because the person doesn't look at the whole bow and arrow. They look at parts, sometimes. Now we try this one, and see what happens. This one becomes... [Jacque is drawing] You thought is was a flag? Anyway, the point is, what is a flag? You see? Now, here is where you come into trouble. Watch this. Joe, this is right up your alley. Here is a clue. - A turtle? Right. That's pretty goddamn good. You see? That is a turtle. Here is what that means. Is there anybody who can't see the turtle? Before this turtle, you must have seen a turtle. You must have looked at the patterns of a turtle, or you must have owned a turtle. When I said no one can make a decision, in this case, the decision is forced by background. How would you say that? The decision is forced by background. If you bring a great scientist into this room tonight. And I say "Can you think", he says "Of course" and I say, think about this for 20 minutes. [Jacque is drawing] What is he going to think about? What is that? You can't. No matter how much he does that. Unless he lived in China, Japan, or something. But he can't think about it. Even if he wanted to, nothing would happen. That is what I mean when I say man can't think. He can only react to associative memory. Now, If i can find a tissue. - So, all he is is a second hand human being. - I don't think he is only that. I think he's... or she is whatever their background. Background means the food that you eat, the way you live, places you have been, the books you read, the people you know: all of that influences you. You are composite of all the books you read, all the experiences that you had. Suppose I wanted to make a child a Leonardo Da Vinci. I believe that there are no gifted people. There are no talented people, that all of those things come from environment. There is no heredity. You inherit nothing but the color of the eyes, and the skin, and the hair, and the physical structure. But nothing of a mathematical or musical ability. Although there are many stories about a 3 year old or 4 year old child, who sits at the piano, and plays with no instruction. You've read that I am sure. Haven't you? Or children who draw very well. You take... ...Leonardo da Vinci, or you take Michelangelo. Or anybody you want to, Galileo. Whatever Galileo was as a little boy? Was he born genius or when he tried to throw a ball and couldn't, and everybody laughed at him. Did he try to run with the other boys and he couldn't run as fast. Then did he sit on a beach and play with sand? What were the differences? If one child was brought up in isolation, away from the other kids, and they begin to look at nature and the birds because they are too small, too weak, too skinny, or can't play. They are forced to some degree of isolation. If the environment of isolation is constructive, meaning sand, beach, clay, shells. If it is not, if it is in an orphanage, then they tend to develop like most of the other kids. They tend to. But if the child was left alone, with a bunch of clay and drawing paper, etc., then that child might develop handling a pencil better than other children.
Posted by: ltiofficial on Oct 7, 2012
Jacque described how all decisions are forced by background, associative memory, and discusses development of the brain from early life (Sept 16, 1974)