photographic memory

Yes, I know that.

Both acctually, eidetic memory is being able to memorise something and then project it onto a wall, or the place where it was originaly (we could all do this when we were little) the thing is that only 1 in 1000 people retain this ability as they get older, but when you “project” the image onto something its still coming from your mind and so if you close your eyes you’ll still be able to see it.

Mystery

uhm, i think my somewhere around 148. It’s pretty pointless though. Can anyone classify my type of memory? I can’t remember this one park but i know it’s got a big sign with a green squirrel and i can recall it mentally. Also, i know there’s a missing bolt in an archway beam from my high school. i remember exactly what a crushed cookie under my foot looked like from two years ago. my friend had beans in their breakfast a year or so ago. I remember words people say and when i refer to them they don’t remember it. that sometimes goes a long with a short 2 or 3 second clip. It’s a pretty good hear or photographic memory, but it’s of the most useless things (at least academic wise). it rarely catches on to something useful. earlier this week i headed to a meeting but i went to the wrong place. after a few minutes of wondering where everyone was, click i remembered a whole entire email and knew where it was. and then i forgot everything in the email except where it was.
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hhhmmm…well its hard to classify memory types because everyone has a mister of different types. I guess visual memory could be your strongest.

Mystery

Does anyone here have photographic memory?
Yep im one of the ppl w/ a photigraphic mem. If i look at a diagram or a page with notes on it and if its highlitghted, ill remember it easily. This ‘skill’ i guess some would call it is very useful in one of my calsses im taking right now…exercise science. We learnt about the many bones of the body. I learnt all of them by just highlighting the bones and giving them a quick glance.

Do you think its real?
It iS real, many ppl esp. in school will tell ya that.

Do you think its possible to devope it?
I think that ‘trying to develop’ thsi skill is just called memorizing. The more one tryies to ‘develop’ this skill, the more the person learns to memorize thinsg a diff way. I think its something ppl have naturally.

Do you know how to develope it?
(refer to above answer :razz: )

I developed it with playing cards putting them all on the ground and then visualize them one by one and at first u can only do an x number of them but when u practise u can soon do it with several playing decks.
Also with numbers…you visualize them and soon the line of random numbers you can see in your head and that way memorize gets longer and longer. But when you dont practise it anymore after a long time the talent also fades away, for me that is :smile:

practising memory - u can do it by putting cards on the ground . Its essential that u ve a pair of each card. U mix all the cards. put them on the ground and pick one of the cards, and then try to predict where the second card from a pair is. U should play it with sb - its kinda competition between u and ur mate. When uve found the pair, u put it on the side, and then u ve other chance to find other pair of cards. But if u didnt find a pair, its ur mate’s turn to try to find it…
its fun, and developes ur mamory a lot

hugs

Ok, so Mystery, r u going to realize ur project? if so, so what should i do and what should i record… gimme a sign

hug

Hello,
I think I know what you mean. When I was youger (16 or less, I’m 18 now), I’d only have to read a chapter once and get an A is on the test. I had near perfect visuation of what the text was trying to say. i think all it took was for me to be able to block everything else out going on around me, like you said, and be engaged in enormously intense focus. I wouldn’t call it a photographic memory though because I would forget it within a week. But that doesn’t happen that often anymore anyway, which I attribute to varying levels of serotonin, epinephrine or some other catecholomate.
I’d like to relearn some of my skills. I actually discovered this home study coars promising to triple your reading time called the raster master. Which ones had you looked into? I agree that attending a coarse would be the most sutible coarse of action to regain an ability. Can you tell me the name of one that doesn’t let you leave or your money back. Tonight, I’m thinking of joining a meditation couse for the first time. I think that should help too.
And yes, I think a photographic memory can be developed just like anything else. It just takes practice. Certain people have the advantage of being born with genes that manifest early in life. I think brain metabolism due to diet has a lot to do with it too. Please keep in touch- Miguel Gonzalez

Woah! Blast from the past, I started this topic in 2004 o_O

melgonz, sounds like you had a very good visual memory. Tell us if this course you’re undertaking has had any sort of impact.

My first idea of “burning” images wasn’t really effective, really all it did was burn the images temporarily into the eye, although it might be possible to keep these images the more you do it, it might be harmful to the eye.

My theory at the moment is that there is a possible way to “trigger” a photographic memory, maybe only temporarily.

I haven’t gone into this for a while, I’ve been quite busy with other things. I’ll post my findings sooner or later.

Mystery

I have very good memory, both visual and audio, but I wouldn’t call it photographic. I can usually read something a few times or write it once and remember it for a pretty long time. It’s how I manage to get all A’s in things like AP European History, where all you do in class is take notes. I can usually picture the shape of the words on the page, and then zoom in on whatever part I’m wondering about. I also used to be able to recite large sections of my notes out loud, although it’s been so long since I’ve done it that I have no idea if I still can.

Ok now here is the sad part I am 14 yrs old and my parents won’t allow me a proper I.Q. test but I’ve topped every other test I’ve done off the charts sort of stuff the Good part is I can read at 1256 wpm but with an accuracy of 92%, I can do Incredible sums in my head remember Number plates from what Ive seen the past day, I have both types of Photo graphic memory and have on occasion been able to recall exact images (usually for personal enjoyment), I can read peoples thoughts through body language and tone of voice. I can out do my teachers in there own Phd subjects, now the reason I am telling you all this is becoz i seek a teacher somebody who can teach me something new, I haven’t learnt anything since yr 4 except how too speed read.

IQ tests aren’t accurate, they don’t mean anything, and most people agree on this these days. There’s something new for you =P

Also, don’t get me wrong, but it sounds like you’re exaggerating a bit. I can read people’s thoughts through text =P

Also, I’ve given up on school anyway, the system doesn’t work for me, and some other people, but nobody sees that. My only advice is do what I do, learn something you want to learn, by yourself.

I’m also pretty sure there is only 1 type of photographic memory…and it is…photographic memory :wink:

Well, I won’t punch anymore holes in your post. It does indeed sound like you have a good memory for numbers, but anybody can recall exact images sometimes, this isn’t a photographic memory. Photographic memory IS being able to recall the EXACT image of ANYTHING at any given time.

For example there was a girl at my school who remembered pi to 400 decimal places. She didn’t memorize the numbers themselves, she had an image of all the numbers in her head and was able to “read” off this image. Although she didn’t have a perfect photographic memory, it was quite close.

Mystery

read the earlier posts and find out how you can recall both photo like memories and the information from something the reason is, is becoz its impossible 2 remember words or symbols as it comes from 2 oppisite sides of the brain so u can merely remember the meaning of what was written so the only time you can conjure up words in your head is through a perfect photographic memory, not a simple informational one. Now if you read my post again u will also see that i wrote I can read peoples thoughts THROUGH body language and tone of voice, so it is obvious u do not possess a photographic memory or you would have remembered wouldn’t u. ur arguments r failing. I asked somebody 2 teach me something, y? becoz I hav learnt all i deem worthy and i want 2 learn from expierience the one thing i lack. When u can teach me sumting new let me know.

Well, I fail to see your point, if there is one. Also, of course I don’t have a photographic memory, otherwise I wouldn’t of started this thread to try and find out ways to induce it.

You also, in both posts, haven’t contributed anything to the acctual discussion. If you do have a photographic memory, then can you explain in more detail what it’s like, what do you do to remember things? Is it good for only short or long term memory? Anything else you want to add? Like maybe you’ve thought of something that could help us?

Mystery

PS: Maybe you could learn to spell.

of course photographic memory is real, but to have true photographic memory i think its something you are born with.

like those guys that can look at 20 decks of cards that are all out of order, and then repeat the exact order that every card was in the whole 20 decks 2hrs later.

you can enhance your memory, but the type of memory that would be termed “photographic” is not a skill you can learn.

Even if it’s not possible to acquire full-fledged photographic memory, improving mental imagery with exercises like the one described on that webpage might be helpful in various ways, such as visualizing images as you perform WILD. I think I’ll try to develop this skill over the next month and see what happens.

Interesting topic. :smile:

LucidTheClown, there are a number of different ways in which someone can remember things. Being able to remember a deck of 20 cards doesn’t necessarily mean they will be able to remember the order in which some dominos have been layed for example.

Also, from what I know photographic memory is something we’re ALL born with. But the ability fades away, only a small percentage of people keep it.
Which means two things:

  1. Since we’re all born with it, we can all have it.
  2. There’s a chance that the people that lose the ability can regain it again.

Mystery

I seem to have a generally photographic memory. I say generally because things usually stick, right away, as I experience them. I don’t study for tests unless I missed the material in class, because it doesn’t re-inforce anything I haven’t already retained. However, I do succumb to false memory syndrome every once and a while (as do we all), so I don’t think anyone can have a truely photographic memory, not in a long term sense anyway.

mystery, how can they prove that photographic memory is something that we are all born with?

i know what your saying with the types of memories. someone might have an uncanny ability to remember all kinds of statistics from sports, batting averages high scores all kinds of things from every player, and then not be able to memorise the decks of cards.

memory recall can be increased but i think that those types of photographic memories are just a skill that your born with. maybe it is forgotten by most like you said, but i find that very hard to believe and hard to prove, if its true.

Okay, this is kinda off-topic, yet still on-topic: Does anyone flashback or have memories in sepia tone? :eh: