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ThatDamnedPanda -> RE: Photographic memory... (10/21/2009 11:32:47 PM)
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quote:
Are you only considered as having a photographic memory if you remember everything you read and see?
No, but that's the common misconception of photographic memory. I don't think there really is a universally accepted definition of photographic memory - it's generally defined as an ability to recall, with exceptional accuracy, large amounts of highly detailed information. The way they test is relatively simple; you stare at a complex image for about 30 seconds or so, and after a certain period of time elapses, are tested to see how much detail you recall.
There's actually some debate whether true photographic memory, or eidetic memory, even exists. Some cognitive scientists adamantly dispute that it does, and maintain that there never has been a documented case of photographic memory. They claim that what we commonly mistake for eidetic memory is often just an exceptionally good memory supplemented by mnemonic techniques and an extraordinary ability to organize information, or more probably, specific types of information - like chess grandmasters who display an amazing ability to memorize the layout of a chess board, but are unable to memorize a sheet of text or series of numbers. There does, however, seem to be more widespread agreement that "sporadic eidetic memory" (where for some reason, certain memories are recalled photographically) is a documented occurrence. I believe there are indications that some individuals are more prone to sporadic eidetic memory than others, and are likely to experience it with greater frequency than most people.
Even if it does exist, true eidetic memory is almost certainly extremely rare. What we laypeople typically call photographic memory is nothing more than an exceptionally good memory. Some people's memory is a lot better than others. Those people typically tend to score higher on exams. I was one of those; the reason i know a bit about eidetic memory is that I was once thought to have it, and was tested for it. I had an IQ of 147, and could recall great amounts of information flawlessly - for example, when i first moved to Minneapolis, I knew where almost every street in the city was within a few months, because every time I drove by a street sign, i would memorize it. And once I memorized it, i never forgot where that street was. Then when I'd look something up on a map, I'd automatically memorize where those streets were in relation to the streets I was now seeing on the map, and within a month or two I knew where literally almost every street in the entire city was, simply by remembering where they were in relation to each other. But when i was tested, it was found that I just had a very good recall combined with an innate ability to organize the stored information.
It pops up in weird ways - if you hand me a sheet of paper, and there's a single typo on that sheet, I'll know it within a couple of seconds, almost every single time. But it often takes me several minutes of line-by-line reading to actually find the typo. I know it's there the instant I glance at it, because something in my mind immediately sees that some detail is not properly organized, but I don't know what it is until I look at every piece of information, one by one. For some reason, that doesn't work when i'm reading a computer screen, though - i can't do this trick when reading a website. But hand me a sheet of typewritten text, and I'll spot it every time. Used to drive some of my co-workers nuts; they thought I was just being obtuse - "there's a typo on here." "where?" "I don't know yet. But I know there's one here someplace."
The point of all this? It's extremely unlikely that any of us here are eidetic. Some of us may have exceptionally good memories, but the only thing that sets them apart from the memories of other people is that by random chance, they just happen to be more detailed. Some people with ADD and/or ADHD may present characteristics that are typically associated with eidetic memory because their brains have a unique and highly efficient mechanism for organizing certain types of complex information, but as far as i know, there's no more direct relationship than that between eidetic memory and ADD/ADHD.
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