Confabulation

To follow up on my post on misinformation, let me point out something else that I think is frequently a source of misinformation: confabulation. Strictly speaking, confabulation consists of making up a story to explain events that you don't completely understand. Typically, it is associated with amnesia. A typical example would be a person with amnesia who goes to the pharmacy to get a prescription filled. While he is waiting, he browses the magazine rack and an article advertized on the cover of Redbook catches his eye. While he is reading, he drifts off into a mild fugue state. When he snaps back to reality, he has forgotten why he is in the drugstore reading a woman's magazine. So he creates a story that he had come to the store to buy the magazine for his wife. He buys it and goes home, forgetting his prescription altogether. Even people with mild memory-affecting conditions can go through this pattern. One thing that people who live with amnesiacs who continue to forget things need to keep in mind is that this happens frequently, and they should check to make sure they make it to appointments, pick up prescriptions, etc.

An important thing to remember is that the person does not consciously invent an explanation. To them, they are searching their mind for memories. To them, the story they make up seems like a memory, and they honestly think they are remembering something that they actually imagined.

Even people with no diagnosed memory problems can confabulate. Sometimes we cannot explain something, so we come up with an explanation. Even though this is a product of our imagination, our minds see it as something we learned, not something that we came up with. We can sometimes pass this information off as fact. This is particularly true of teachers, who are asked many questions every day. Sometimes we give an answer as fact that is really just reasonable conjecture.

Notes from the Misinformation Zone

This past semester, I discussed misinformation with my seventh graders. My belief is that teachers have traditionally been the leading source of misinformation in America. I think that the internet has passed teachers. The advantage the internet has is that you can usually check information rather easily. It is not usually so easy when your teacher is giving you wrong information. I think you should make a habit of checking surprising or questionable information by asking somebody else whom you trust or looking up the information online. Remember to stick to reliable sources. Even great teachers sometimes will give you misinformation. We are responsible for providing a large, large amount of information - and it is inevitable that we sometimes get it wrong.

One example of misinformation that stuck with me until a few days ago regards SAFEWAY - the grocery store. My seventh-grade history teacher told us that Safeway was founded by nuns who wanted to provide a store that charged reasonably priced groceries. It was essentially a non-profit organization until it was taken over by a grocery conglomerate. It turns out that this is not true at all. Safeway was started the same way as any grocery store, and for the same reasons. I believed this information, and passed it along, until I decided to look it up. This is one way misinformation is spread.

Nissan Denki cube

I told some of you that Nissan was planning with some of the cities in the Phoenix area to set up electric charging stations. Also, there would be stations connecting Tucson with the Phoenix area. This is the concept car for a possible electric car to be released in 2010. I just read that the actual car that Nissan is likely to release is not going to look like this at all. It is supposed to look more like a conventional car. This is frustrating, since I want this car. I especially like the lightning-bolt motif (see the front grill and the charge indicator). It also looks a lot like my Scion Xb, which I really like.

Note to the Anti-Reagan conspiracy

You are going to have to find a new name. This may be a surprise to some of you, but the United States once had a president named "Reagan." Calling your group the "Anti-Reagan Conspiracy" might attract the attention of the FBI. On the other hand, "the anti-Laura's Little Sister Conspiracy" is an ungainly title. Come up with something. Thanks.

Mr. Bateman's Blog

I will remove the moderation for comments, but please try to stay on topic. It is hard to wade through all the pointless posts to determine if somebody had something pertinent to say.