$1000 Challenge

We are researchers at McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School who have
been studying the hypothesis of "repressed memory" or "dissociative
amnesia," as it is sometimes also known. This concept refers to the
theory that an individual could experience a serious traumatic event
-- a trauma so serious that it would normally seem unforgettable --
and then develop amnesia for that event (i.e. be literally unable to
remember the event) for months or years afterwards, only to ultimately
recover the lost memory at some point later in life. For example, in
modern novels or screenplays, an individual may experience childhood
abuse, or an assault, or a rape, and then have amnesia for the event
for years afterwards -- almost as if the mind were attempting to
protect the individual against the traumatic memory. Then, the
individual may "recover" the "repressed memory" years later, perhaps
at a moment fraught with considerable emotion.

Although we are aware of many such instances of "repressed memory" in
the literature of the last 200 years, we have been unable to find any
such instances prior to 1800. Therefore, we offer a $1000 reward to
the first person who can find for us a case of "repressed memory" that
appears anywhere in the world's literature (novels, poems, dramas,
epics, the Bible, or other such sources) -- in English or in any work
that has been translated into English -- prior to 1800. To qualify as
a bona fide case, the individual described in the work must:

1) Experience a severe trauma (abuse, sexual assault, a near-death
experience, witnessing the death of a loved one, etc.).

2) Develop amnesia for that trauma for a period of months or years
afterwards (i.e. be clearly unable to remember the traumatic event as
opposed to merely trying not to think about the event, or trying to
keep the event out of one's mind).

3) Experience amnesia that cannot be accounted for by biological
factors such as a) early childhood amnesia -- in which the individual
was under the age of five at the time that trauma occurred, or b)
brain impairment -- such as an individual who was knocked unconscious,
or was drunk with alcohol, at the time of the trauma.

4) Recover the lost memory of the event at some later time in the
individual's life, even though the individual has previously been
unable to access the memory.

A literary example that fulfills all of the above criteria is Penn, in
Rudyard Kipling's novel, Captains Courageous, who develops complete
amnesia or for having lost his entire family in a tragic flood. He
later goes to work as a fisherman on a Grand Banks schooner. On one
occasion, after a tragic collision between an ocean liner and another
schooner at sea, Penn suddenly recovers his lost memory of the flood
and the death of his family, and recounts the story to other members
of the crew.

Note, however, that Captains Courageous appeared in 1896; we are
seeking a comparable example of "repressed memory" in a work prior to
1800.

At present, we have been unable to find any cases of "repressed memory,"
meeting the above criteria, in any work prior to 1800. We offer a prize of
$1000 to the first person who can do so. Please contact us with any
questions or candidate cases at:

[email protected]

The first successful respondent, if any, will receive a check for $1000
from the Biological Psychiatry Laboratory, and the successful case will be
posted on this website. In the event of any dispute (i.e., a respondent who
disagrees with us as to whether a case meets the above 5 criteria), Scott
Lukas, Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry (Pharmacology) at Harvard Medical
School, has agreed to arbitrate. Dr. Lukas has no involvement in the
debate surrounding �repressed memory� and has never published in this
area; thus he represents an impartial arbitrator. We have agreed to abide
by Dr. Lukas� decision in the case of any dispute.


Harrison G. Pope, Jr., M.D., M.P.H.
James I. Hudson, M.D., Sc.D.
Directors, Biological Psychiatry Laboratory
McLean Hospital
Belmont, MA 02478


Edited by harrisonpope

This is not an ad, it's a challenge. I want to challenge anyone who knows the
world's literature, and Islamic literature is surely some of the greatest. I'm
looking for input for the purpose of education, not advertising.

Im willing to offer money to whoever can tell me anything that rhymes with "orange." or can accually lick their own elbow.

Sir, would these be counted as repressed memory cases:

1. London and Washington crafted Kashmir and the Palestinian bones of contentions and both are now constantly blaming Muslims for these?

2. Hundreds of progressive democratic movements were drained in the Mid East and across the world through these past few decades and now the White House is bent upon forcing it down our throats through the Alliance of the Billing?

3. The whole of "west" seems to forget that the oilfields Morales has captured are really in his own country, not somewhere in Texas or in the North Sea?

4. When we sack and elected governemnt in Teheran and place a British colonel's groom's son as the Shah to loot a peoples' wealth for a quarter century we can at best only get Ahmednijan?

The list of such repressed memory cases is almst endless. The question is do you have time or are we just some CIA or, worst sill, a Pentagon funded project fishing for some data on these poor Muslims?

Please don't mind me, I am just reflecting how the world looks at most things American and British in these interesting times.