Photographic memory is a myth — here’s what research really says about remembering...

Michie said:

Hollywood loves a superpower. Not all involve capes or cosmic rays. Some are cognitive: characters who can remember everything. In movies and on TV, viewers repeatedly encounter those with extraordinary minds who glance once at a page, a room or a face – and later recreate every detail with surgical precision.

You see it everywhere: “Suits,” “Sherlock” and “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” Even in children’s literature there’s fifth grader Cam Jansen, who activates her photolike memory by saying “Click!”

Most recently, it appeared in the television series “The Pitt,” set in a hospital emergency department. When the digital patient board suddenly went offline, medical student Joy Kwon saved the day by effortlessly reciting from memory every lost detail – names, rooms, doctors, conditions, vitals. It’s a gripping moment. The stakes are high, recall is perfect, and the implication is clear: Some people have minds that function like high-resolution cameras.

The idea of photographic memory is simple and powerful: Experience is captured objectively, stored completely and retrieved perfectly. See it once, keep it forever.

There’s just one problem. There’s no scientific evidence it exists.

Your memory doesn’t record, it reconstructs​

Continued below.

Photographic memory is a myth – here’s what research really says about remembering

Hollywood loves a character who has the perfect total recall of a photographic memory. But this idea is a fantasy. It’s not how memory works – for good reason.

theconversation.com

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"I have a perfect memory—except, I can't remember the password to access it!"

Good article!

There was a period of time, Middle and High School, when my photographic memory did serve very well, I got extra credit in Lit class, on test day, by a half-hour or so earlier, reading poetry and "memorizing it" —pages of it— and then when the bell rang, pulling up sheets of note paper and writing it down furiously before I forgot it. My memory still (at 70) does have words that jump out at me (unconsciously or not), particularly puzzling or misspelled words, that I can remember if it was left page or right, and approximately where on the page it sits, to reference later. (Or at least I have the habit of assuming I can find it, but obviously it has become much less reliable).

My daughter reads paragraphs at a time, not needing to move her eyes to follow the lines. My oldest sister —at least when she was young— read whole pages at a glance, and retained at least as much of what she read as most people do. All three of us, when we were kids, had dreams that would unfold on a page as we wrote the words about it, dialogue and narrative.

But the article is, unhappily, supported by experience, in that my wife could sincerely remember things in great detail that had not happened, including the very words used, and, as the saying goes, even remember [bad] things I had not done yet!

The bible says, "he gave gifts to man"

Sometimes people have abilities, given by God, "gifts"
not to be confused with the gifts of the spirit,
these gifts are in your soul, and anyone can have them christian or not,
i believe photographic memory is a gift, but is not about remembering everything,
i think it kind of works, like when you really 'store' something in this memory, it can fade away with time and stay in the background,
but, you could remember little details, precisely, even 30 40 years after you saw/heard that.

These gifts, i believe some people have gifts of intelligence, maybe they end up as scientists, or musical,
some say they are sleeping and have a dream, and quickly when they wake up start writing that 'inspiration' they had.
or even athletic, some people have great control over their bodies.

Gifted people should remember God gave them those abilities and not get too proud.

I used to be in a local Toastmasters Club. We had a member who had low level autism if I remember rightly. But she had a phenomenal memory for dates in her own life. Her mother used her to check warranty dates on items she might have purchased as she would remember every detail of the purchase including the date.

She wanted to become a spokesperson for people with autism. Whether she did or not I don't know as I lost touch when I left Toastmasters and that particular club has closed down.

In 2018 a local interviewer named Andrew Denton interviewed this young lady and her mother.

Andrew Denton interviewed Australian author and motivational speaker Rebecca Sharrock, who has Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM). This rare condition allows her to recall precise, vivid details from nearly every day of her life.The InterviewProgram: Andrew Denton's Interview (Channel 7)Guest: Rebecca SharrockSubject: Rebecca discussed her life with HSAM—frequently described as a "perfect memory for dates"—and how she experiences the world. Because her brain permanently catalogs every event, she emotionally relives her past exactly as if it were happening today, and she associates every memory with a highly specific calendar date.For a fascinating look at the inner workings of an extraordinary memory, you can watch Rebecca Sharrock detail how her brain catalogs the calendar of her life:

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She could also quote the Harry Potter books word for word. If someone started reading a passage from any of them, she could immediately pick up on it and start reciting the next words.

In another Toastmasters Club there was a lady with some health problems and she also had Aspergus syndrome. Apparently it is difficult for people with Aspergus Syndrome to do public speaking and to be honest she did struggle with it.

But she could play the piano to concert standard.

Sometimes these disabilities come with unexpected gifts.

Speaking for myself, I always remember what I don't forget!!