Are memorys physical?

[Alfiechallis]

(Sorry if this is in the wrong forum I am new to this site)

So let's say in the future the manage to pass your consciousness to another person would you still have the same memorys? Or are memorys simply located in the brain like a storage device?

[OldChemE]

Interesting question.  If, as I understand the current state of brain science, all consciousness and memories are the result of connection between brain cells, it would seem that there is nothing that could be passed on to another brain.  That is, to pass anything along it would be necessary to structure the new brain to be identical to the old brain (at least as regards individual cells, connections and presumably other details).  Assuming that the person you want to pass the information to already has a structured brain, there is nothing you could pass on without restructuring them (as in erasing a hard drive and copying new data-- but in terms of brain cells and links, not files).

[iNow]

It’s not really that simple. Memories include sights, sounds, smells, emotions... they change a bit every time we think of them. They’re organic, not clean files or tapes. They exist on a biological structure and are influenced by our environment. 

Transferring consciousness seems pretty unlikely, too. It’s hard to answer hypothetical questions like this since a good answer requires a lot more detail on actual processes used, limitations, involved, technology available, etc. 

[Phi for All]

I would say no. Consciousness behaves like an emergent property of many different variables. 

[iNow]

x-posted with oldchem 

And phi