<p>Just Curious..Anyone here have a photographic memory or knows someone who does?</p>
<p>Do you train your mind in any specific way?</p>
<p>I know someone who does. She was born with it.</p>
<p>My brother has a photographic memory. He's always had it but the only thing he uses it for is to memorize anime comic books. He's one of those natural-genius types which is SO OBNOXIOUS.</p>
<p>i dont know anyone, but my dad said he had a friend in high school with it</p>
<p>::is jealous::</p>
<p>i dont really understand the concept though... like can these people open a page, mentally snap a picture of it without actually reading the text, and then read the text in their mind at a later time (aka, is it literally a photographic memory) or is it like u have to actually read the words to have it stored in mind?
sorry if that question was dumb... im just really curious</p>
<p>One of my friends does...really envious of her. For her, she just needs to read the text once and then she can remember everything on that page.</p>
<p>I don't know how it works with other people, but my brother just has to read a page two or three times and then he's got it all in his head. If he's consciously trying to remember something, then he only has to read it once.</p>
<p>" I don't know how it works with other people, but my brother just has to read a page two or three times and then he's got it all in his head. If he's consciously trying to remember something, then he only has to read it once."</p>
<p>That's a lot like what I have. Compared to some of my friends, I don't study a lot, and sometimes I get to the point where during the test, I can close my eyes and actually envision a paragraph in my head and read it inside my head. I unconciously memorize stuff all the time, even random numbers of things. I really don't know how people "train", and I don't even know if this has anything to do with it, but my parents brought me up reading a LOT. I've been reading for as long as I can remember.</p>
<p>You know how school counselors always talk about the "three" differen ways of learning-I'm a visual learner. I don't think it is possible for someone to glance at a page and then recall everything on it hours later-but it *is*possible to glance at a picture and be able to recall minor details sometime later, so I guess that's what you would call a phtographic memory too.</p>
<p>Photographic memory is a beautiful talent that some people have. I have met only one person that can look at a block of text once and then repeat it from memory. It's VERY difficult to do naturally, but it can be learned to a certain point. But whenever you see people looking at large amount of text one time and memorizing it, that's just natural talent.</p>
<p>Photographic memory is different from being a quick learner or having a good memory. If I read a portion of a biology or math text, I can usually memorize a god amount of what I saw- I can't do the same thing for historical texts with names and dates. My memory is pretty selective, and some things take more rehearsal for me than others. True photographic memory I believe is not so selective and they can remember pretty much anything. If I remember correctly, there's actually a memory olympiad.</p>
<p>If you want to learn more about super smart people with photographic memories, look up some savants, or people like Kim Peek.</p>
<p>Hey biomaster..you really the biomaster, because biology is my passion to an extent were I'm obsessed.</p>
<p>seasonsofluv, that's kind of what I do. Only I can't do it as much as you. Sometimes during a test, I can read my notes in my head. Like you, I've been reading ever since I can remember (I remember showing off my library card to the kids in kindergarten.)</p>
<p>I <3 bio. Last year I would spend my spare time studying for the SAT II just because I thought it was fun. I was so sad when I took the exam though :(. But then I got to take the AP exam this past May. I'm saving the best for last in terms of classes, so I'm not taking the course until senior year.</p>
<p>But no, I don't have a photographic memory.</p>
<p>My friend can remember textbook excerpts and things that her teachers say. She said she hears our American Studies teacher's voice during tests. That kinda freaked me out :P.</p>
<p>I hate to be a downer but.....</p>
<p>THE POPULAR NOTION OF PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORY DOES NOT EXIST!</p>
<p>There is a term used in psychology called "eidetic" memory, which is memory marked by a a very high level of recall. This is usually what people mean when they say photographic memory. Few people have eidetic memories and most lose them with age. Strictly speaking, even people with eidetic memories are unable to transfer the image they've seen into long term memory. There are a handful of notable exceptions where individuals truly had remarkable memories, such as Shereshevskii in russia and the idiot savant Kim Peek. Shereshevskii could essentially recall anything he ever experienced. However, no one else has come close Shereshevskii. (unless someone here has?) And even Shereshevskii practiced memory techniques.</p>
<p>People which have remarkable memories (like those people that memorise the digits of Pi) usually rely on mnemonics or other learned techniques, not some innate memory ability from their genes. These learned memory techniques may not always be learned purposely, but rather as an indirect result of academic studies. However, the distinction should be made, that it is a learned ability, not a natural talent. Studies show that individuals of exceptional intelligence score only marginally better than individuals of average intelligence. To make a practical generalization, memory is a learned ability, not an innate one.</p>
<p>Also, don't confuse fast reading comprehension, with remarkable memory. The eidetic memorist would have the image of the words in his mind, which he could then read later in his "mind's eye". The speed reader simply reads and comprehends the words very very fast. There's also synesthesia which relates to memory...but I won't get into that.</p>
<p>EDIT: For a one of the best books on memory try "Your Memory" by Kenneth Higbee! It rules!!!.....if memory serves correctly....</p>
<p>anyway, I hope I've been the informative geek I strive to be :-)</p>
<p>^very interesting!</p>
<p>Our valedectorian (i used to be frineds with him in grade5-6), he says that when he sees a passage, he doesn't see it as words, sentences, etc.. he ssays that he sees them as pictures.. pictures that joins up like a puzzle. That's how he memorizes.. he thinks of how his jigsaw puzzle in which place, what position, etc.. And he's considred a GENIUS. (intel maths, chem, bio, etc.. olympiads, blah blah)</p>
<p>Pictures lol weird</p>
<p>I'm pretty sure a lot of mathematicians could do it. Like Von Neumann: he could look at a page of phone numbers once and recite it at will. There were others of course.</p>
<p>if i take a test, and it asks a question like "where did the crusades happen?", if i actually read the textbook 1 or 2 times, i can remember in my mind what the page looks like, every picture, and which paragraph or what part of the page it's on. </p>
<p>its sometimes annoying, becuase if i need to look up a fact, i know what the page looks like, but not the page number or where it is. =</p>
<p>is that anything close to eidetic/"photographic" memory? or am i just weird?</p>
<p>oh, i get that "voice-in-the-head during a test" too. lol</p>
<p>i'm also a speed reader, but it was a developed skill. i've read books all my life, but it was the TV that made me a speed reader. my family either would be loud or would want the noise level really low, so we've been watching tv with closed caption ever since i was little. growing up, i had to read a couple of sentences per scene of a show or movie, so i think that's what i think happened. heh</p>
<p>closed captions woot woot (im deaf)
it makes u a better reader</p>
<p>really?? i take ASL in school!!</p>
<p>yeh there is really no such thing as 'photographic memory' technically. But you can have the ability to memorize stuff insanely fast! Most people who have that kind of ability have IQ's of 150+</p>