His experience of the world most likely helped his memory, because the next time he tasted chocolate, all the other sensations connected would come back. He might see a number 5, and then feel sandpaper, taste chocolate, and hear Mozart. also showed strong signs of ‘fivefold synaethesia’, in which his senses were connected to every other.

In fact, when reporters followed up on the story of S., they found that his relatives would describe him as “forgetful.” While he was a phenomenal mnemonist, he did not have photographic memory. Since then, he has memorized complex math formulas and large poems in foreign languages.īut the picture painted of S.

recalled the entire speech of the meeting word by word. was attending a work meeting and told off by a coworker, Alexander Luria, for not taking any notes. Shereshevsky, more commonly known as S., became famous for his ability to recite and remember long strings of numbers at a time. While no marriages have tainted the reputation of Solomon Shereshevsky, his legitimacy as “The Man Who Could Not Forget” has been doubted and tested over the years. And although scientists have looked far and wide for a similar case that matched Elizabeth’s – it’s never been found. They never participated in any further tests of Elizabeth’s memory. His one test made headlines, but then something strange happened. When Stromeyer showed Elizabeth the second image of 10,000 dots, she could see the three dimensional image, supposing that she had remembered the first 10,000 dots. When you place both of these images together, they form a 3 dimensional image. The next day (to ensure the dots were stored in her long-term memory), he showed her another 10,000 dots. What backed up this claim? Stromeyer had Elizabeth look at an image of 10,000 dots. Stromeyer was a Harvard scientist, and in 1970, he made claims that Elizabeth had a photographic memory. Take the story of Charles Stromeyer III, and his student Elizabeth. Most stories of people with photographic memory come with some sketchy details. People With a “Photographic Memory” Elizabeth Stromeyer Most adults who have been labeled as having an eidetic memory also use mnemonics and other devices alongside their enhanced natural abilities to remember imagery. Up to 15% of children have an eidetic memory, and this number shrinks when talking about adults. When it comes to eidetic memory, there is one group of people that can reasonably claim to have it. Is Photographic or Eidetic Memory Something You Are Born With? There are people who have entered the World Memory Championships claiming to have eidetic or photographic memory…but none of those contestants have ever taken home the prize. None of the winners have ever claimed to have photographic or eidetic memory. Every year since 1993, there is an event called the World Memory Championships. Sounds cool, right? It almost sounds too cool to be true. They can read a page of the dictionary, word by word, without any error. At a moment’s notice, a person with photographic memory can recall the image with perfect accuracy. Photographic memory, however, the ability to see an image or a page of text and automatically store it into short-term or long-term memory with great detail. This ability only lasts for a few seconds, before the brain decides to send the image to short-term memory storage or disregard it. This image “stays” in a person’s memory without the help of mnemonic devices or other tools to help recall details or the arrangement of items in the image. What most people associate with photographic memory is often eidetic memory.Įidetic memory is the ability to see an image for only a few seconds after it’s removal and be able to recall the image and its details vividly. Photographic MemoryĮidetic memory and photographic memory are often considered to be interchangeable terms, but they describe two different abilities. While there are tales of people who have photographic memory, or perfect long-term memory, they haven’t been scientifically tested in a way that proves their abilities. This is the big question, isn’t it? The short answer is no, photographic memory is not real. (Many X-Files fans claim that Fox Mulder has a photographic memory.)īut this astounding ability seems so out of reach – because as far as the science goes, it is out of reach. Are photographic memories real? People commonly believe photographic memory to be an ability to look at whatever is in front of them, close their eyes, and immediately recall every detail.

Didactic vs eidetic memory