Eidetic Memory

[Viking]

otherwise known as photographic memory. This seems to be an all to common trope in fiction. I've done some superficial research into the topic and I don't get the impression that there is such a thing as photographic memory. I think all practitioners of improved memory are using memory skills (mnemonics etc.) rather than some sort of super memory.

I've always been skeptical about the entire concept. My experience of memory is that it is a set of stories and relationships rather than fact storage. When I am trying to recall a fact I do so by thinking about facts that might be related, f.eks. in the GOT thread I was trying to remember the name of Myrcella, which I had temporarily forgotten. I tried thinking about Tommen, who's name I had also forgotten, so that didn't work. Then I went through Balon Swann, Prince Doran, Sunspear and when I got to The Water Gardens it popped into my head. Once I thought about Myrcella then Tommen's name came back to me as well.

Has anybody any reason to demonstrate that there is such a thing as eidetic memory or any source I can look at that supports the concept. Right now I'm inclined to declare this myth busted on the grounds of no supporting evidence existing.

[LaCroix]

this reminds me of when someone here said they thought dyslexia didn't exist. of course there are those who have photographic memories. a professor with aspergers i know has this. she has read a book every day since thirteen, sometimes two. she scans the page "like a photocopier" and then "reads it" later--often when she sleeps (lucid dreaming). she worked at an archive in britain for some time, and to this day people will call her up and ask where a certain file might be located. she has said it usually takes a moment for her to "flip" through the pages in her memory before she can find it, but otherwise she has little difficulty with it

[Viking]

this reminds me of when someone here said they thought dyslexia didn't exist. of course there are those who have photographic memories. a professor with aspergers i know has this. she has read a book every day since thirteen, sometimes two. she scans the page "like a photocopier" and then "reads it" later--often when she sleeps (lucid dreaming). she worked at an archive in britain for some time, and to this day people will call her up and ask where a certain file might be located. she has said it usually takes a moment for her to "flip" through the pages in her memory before she can find it, but otherwise she has little difficulty with it

do you have a source for that info? or more interestingly a study on the topic or the person.

[LaCroix]

just what she has explained in person. a google search reveals nothing in particular. she also said various universities (she didn't specify which ones, and i didn't ask) have scans of her brain on file. and no, she is simply not the sort of person who would be lying or exaggerating

[Eddie Teach]

this reminds me of when someone here said they thought dyslexia didn't exist.

It's just an excuse for sloppy spelling. 

[LaCroix]

remember, just because you cannot do it, doesn't mean no one else can. we do not all think the same way, not by a long shot

@wiggin: it's a cruel joke that dyslexia is called/spelled the way it is

[jimmy olsen]

There was an article in National Geographic that talked about this a few years ago. It made it sound like an absolute curse. I'll try to see if I can find it.

[citizen k]

I think all practitioners of improved memory are using memory skills (mnemonics etc.) rather than some sort of super memory.

Savants? They don't use mnemonics.

[jimmy olsen]

Found it.

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2007/11/memory/foer-text

[Brazen]

This autistic artist recreates entire cityscapes accurately from memory. Click through the gallery.

http://www.stephenwiltshire.co.uk/

[The Brain]

I think all practitioners of improved memory are using memory skills (mnemonics etc.) rather than some sort of super memory.

Savants?

PC gone mad.

[Slargos]

remember, just because you cannot do it, doesn't mean no one else can. we do not all think the same way, not by a long shot

Sure. Telepathy, telekinesis, mind control, it's all within the realm of the possible. Remember we only use 3% of our brain, typically. I once spoke to a woman who claimed her dog was her spiritual guardian from Venus, and that she was from another galaxy. It's all within the realm of the possible, nay perhaps even plausible.

[Martinus]

I think all practitioners of improved memory are using memory skills (mnemonics etc.) rather than some sort of super memory.

Savants?

PC gone mad.

[CountDeMoney]

I once spoke to a woman who claimed her dog was her spiritual guardian from Venus, and that she was from another galaxy. It's all within the realm of the possible, nay perhaps even plausible.

Kinda like how Swedes sometimes think they're German, or Canadians think they're Americans but without the air conditioning.

[DGuller]

Remember we only use 3% of our brain, typically.

Not all of us, just the people who believe that myth.