With AI doing the heavy lifting.

Last Night

Last night, I remembered a moment from over 40 years ago. Ever since I started Testosterone Replacement Therapy, intense memories come frequently: not just vague flashes or scent-triggered feelings, but real events, reconstructed with clarity, texture, and context. However, it is still sometimes blurry, and I cannot fall asleep until I fill in the details.

Satisfying the Itch

Since sleep would be impossible, I tried something new. I asked my ChatGPT to remember the details of a specific night and place and help me relive it.

It started with a vague question: “What was on the radio in early 1983? Something about the Soviet leader… dying?”

From there, the story unfolded like tuning into a long-forgotten broadcast. We pieced together a world: winter, Armed Forces Radio, uncertain global headlines, analog signals bouncing off frozen skies (I was on a military base during the Cold War; it was a different time). We didn’t have all the answers at first, but we had grasped a thread that we unravelled.

Reconstructing Memory: What We Did

Here’s how we made it happen—and how you can, too.

Start with a moment, even if it’s blurry. Begin with a hunch: a cold month, an odd radio report, a feeling that something big was happening. That’s all we needed.

Timebox the memory. It was early 1983 when I worked at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard as a work-study student from January to March. That anchored our search. If you can remember a school grade, a job, a season, or even the color of your winter coat, you're halfway there.

Zoom in on the media. What were you watching? Listening to? Radio, TV, newspapers, posters at the bus stop? We realized the memory was likely connected to Armed Forces Radio.

Look for global context. Was there a world event during that period? Yes. A world leader's death existed in a liminal state—suspected but not yet confirmed. This uncertainty created a memory "superposition," where emotion and speculation merged into something unforgettable. (And yes, my ChatGPT and I often speak in quantum universe terms—it offers a unique lens for viewing the world.)

Anchor it with emotion. The memory lingered because something else was unfolding—something personal, something too overwhelming to process at the time. This is a universal truth—memories entangle with emotion, forever intertwined. Of course, this is what keeps us up at night.

Use a gentle guide. This is where having a non-judgmental companion (human or AI) is helpful. Ask questions. Answer them honestly. Let tangents breathe. This is not an interrogation. It is a memory bud blooming.

What We Learned About That Night

The news was liminal. Reports of a leader’s death were circulating, but unconfirmed. That ambiguity left a psychic imprint.
Radio still reigned. Shared listening experiences shaped many households and communities. It mattered what was on the airwaves.
Global and personal memory often collide. One of the most impactful aspects of memory work is realizing how larger historical events and personal experiences intertwine.
Our brains are not filing cabinets, but rather a time machine. With the right tools, we can reconstruct memories.

How You Can Do This Too

If you want to recover a special, significant, or long-lost moment:

Write down the fragments even if they feel stupid or fuzzy.
Ask a chatbot or friend to help triangulate. What else happened that year? What music was playing? What were the headlines?
Follow the emotion. The sharper the feeling, the more likely the memory will clarify.
Be gentle with yourself. You’re not broken. Your memories are alive—they need the right conditions to surface.

Why You Should Do This

We have reached multiple inflection points, and the pace of change keeps accelerating. As Einstein noted, time is relative. This may be one of our last chances to remember and share our stories.

Soon, we may depend entirely on digital clouds to preserve our history. Let's not allow our stories to fade away—let's capture as many as we can.

Our memory isn't just a function. Our stories are more than just history.