Cultural Memory

It occurred to me last night while I was changing yet another nappy, that I seem to have gotten the hang of it fairly quickly. No one really showed us how to change nappies - at the hospital, the nurse just handed me Ben and a big bit of cloth and vanished. Despite it being a fairly simple concept, I figured I would have needed at least someone to take me through the process.

But as I realised, musing on this last night, I've actually seen a lot of nappies being changed in my life. From sitcoms to ads for Huggies and disturbingly life-like dolls, TV alone has told me pretty much exactly what to expect from that end of a baby.

This got me thinking about something I called "cultural memory" (not to be confused with the actual term "cultural memory", which despite reading the Wikipedia page, I still couldn't tell you what it is). Leaving aside the whole genetic/instinctive part, I'm guessing I actually know a fair bit about looking after a baby (feeding, cleaning, storing), despite never having done it or having had it explained.