Eidetic Memory

[crazy canuck]

I fail to see the downside, since it's not like the people with eidetic memory are running out of space.

Because at certain point it affects survival negatively. For example, what do you think would be to relive the death of a loved one forever? To constantly have life-like flashbacks while you are hunting or bashing someone's head in?

A good part of getting over something is losing the index address that pointed to that particular memory. That's moving on. It lets us focus on the present.

Why do you assume people do not have control over what they remember?  Your posts suggests that memory is a kind of insanity.

[LaCroix]

How do we know he wasn't just talking shit?

because there are some people who just don't talk shit, and if one researches tesla they would know that he was one of those people. others took advantage of him, but he never did to others. he was a very honest person with innate moral convictions.

besides that, anyone who knew tesla and how he operated could see that he wasn't just bsing. this is a man who created his inventions in his mind down to the most mundane details; he then "ran" the machine and could see when it might break down due to some flaw in the design weeks or months later--and then fix it; all in his head. he could leave an invention running in his mind while working on other projects and then "come back" to it later to see where it stood. rarely did he write down or draw up plans for his inventions, which is why many of his most brilliant ideas remain mysteries to this day

it's also telling in his criticism of edison-

"If Edison had a needle to find in a haystack, he would proceed at once with the diligence of the bee to examine straw after straw until he found the object of his search. ... I was a sorry witness of such doings, knowing that a little theory and calculation would have saved him ninety per cent of his labor."

[Iormlund]

Why do you assume people do not have control over what they remember?  Your posts suggests that memory is a kind of insanity.

Hardly insanity. Whether you remember something or not seems to follow a fairly rational pattern. Moments of shock, for example, are given priority. Whether you tied your shoes correctly this morning is of far less importance and will surely be forgotten sooner than the birth of your first child.

And you do have some control over it. You can use several techniques to exercise your memory.

[Malthus]

Why do you assume people do not have control over what they remember?  Your posts suggests that memory is a kind of insanity.

Hardly insanity. Whether you remember something or not seems to follow a fairly rational pattern. Moments of shock, for example, are given priority. Whether you tied your shoes correctly this morning is of far less importance and will surely be forgotten sooner than the birth of your first child.

And you do have some control over it. You can use several techniques to exercise your memory.

Borges wrote a story about a person with elidic memory called Funes the Memorious:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funes_the_Memorious

It's an interesting read.

[LaCroix]

Why do you assume people do not have control over what they remember?  Your posts suggests that memory is a kind of insanity.

agreed. while undoubtedly there will be those whose "super-memories" can be horrific, that does not mean it is the case with everyone. some are able to greatly benefit from their ability. the professor i mentioned, for example, is a walking history encyclopedia--and i don't mean she just knows facts and nothing else, either

@iormlund- maybe so, but that does not mean moments of shock will always remain at the forefront of the consciousness. it's not as if every single person with vast memories endures a life where they are haunted by every bad thing that has happened to them. some can block it out, to recall later if needed

[Josquius]

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

Wha?
This book thing sounds hard to believe, is the resolution on the letters good enough for them to be picked out at a glance like that?
I mean...when I glance at a book I don't 'see' all the letters/words. I can't read it after looking at it even a few seconds later.
That doesn't so much seem to be photographic memory but...photographic awareness or somesuch.

[jimmy olsen]

the perfect example is nikola tesla, who described his ability brilliantly

How do we know he wasn't just talking shit?

Because he put his method into practice and achieved brilliant things with it?

[Slargos]

mentally disturbed neighbour. long story.

i didn't even read that, i saw you (whether jokingly or not) bring up three magical powers in a thread that had nothing to do with magic

Never. Fucking. Mind.

[Warspite]

How do we know he wasn't just talking shit?

because there are some people who just don't talk shit, and if one researches tesla they would know that he was one of those people. others took advantage of him, but he never did to others. he was a very honest person with innate moral convictions.

besides that, anyone who knew tesla and how he operated could see that he wasn't just bsing. this is a man who created his inventions in his mind down to the most mundane details; he then "ran" the machine and could see when it might break down due to some flaw in the design weeks or months later--and then fix it; all in his head. he could leave an invention running in his mind while working on other projects and then "come back" to it later to see where it stood. rarely did he write down or draw up plans for his inventions, which is why many of his most brilliant ideas remain mysteries to this day

it's also telling in his criticism of edison-

"If Edison had a needle to find in a haystack, he would proceed at once with the diligence of the bee to examine straw after straw until he found the object of his search. ... I was a sorry witness of such doings, knowing that a little theory and calculation would have saved him ninety per cent of his labor."

First of all, Tesla was a Serb, and a rural one at that, so take everything he says with a pinch of salt. And he probably thought camomile tea was a cure for any ailment, and that sleeping with the air conditioner on would give you TB.

[Strix]

I fail to see the downside, since it's not like the people with eidetic memory are running out of space.

The drawback is you could never forget anything. Imagine having perfect recall on every shitty moment in your life?

[Viking]

First of all, Tesla was a Serb, and a rural one at that, so take everything he says with a pinch of salt. And he probably thought camomile tea was a cure for any ailment, and that sleeping with the air conditioner on would give you TB.

I've never seen "rural" been used as euphemism for "Croat".

[Slargos]

First of all, Tesla was a Serb, and a rural one at that, so take everything he says with a pinch of salt. And he probably thought camomile tea was a cure for any ailment, and that sleeping with the air conditioner on would give you TB.

I've never seen "rural" been used as euphemism for "Croat".

It makes etymological sense.

[DGuller]

I fail to see the downside, since it's not like the people with eidetic memory are running out of space.

The drawback is you could never forget anything. Imagine having perfect recall on every shitty moment in your life?

I'd probably be desensitized to it.  I do remember many shitty moments in my life, but after enough recalls, I just meh at them.

[jimmy olsen]

So, any one read the National Geographic article I linked? What did you think?

[Razgovory]

the perfect example is nikola tesla, who described his ability brilliantly

How do we know he wasn't just talking shit?

Well, you don't really.