Wednesday, 20 January 2016

A Narrative On Photographic Memory

By Melissa Russell


Imagine being able to see a certain image for the briefest of moments but still being able to remember all the little details years later. That's what having photographic memory is like. It's more than just memorizing something - that takes time and a whole lot of effort. It's being able to recall details of images and conversations without even batting an eyelid.

Doesn't it sound amazing? If you've ever watched the series Suits, then the star Mike Ross would be the perfect example. He doesn't use memorization devices or techniques - he doesn't need to. It's not memorizing and then reciting; it's recalling straight from memory without the effort of even thinking.

While there are many who have claimed to have this, there's only one person who has made even the skeptics believe themselves to be wrong. Her name is Elizabeth, and all the tests conducted worked in her favor. The others have been categorized as simply being good at memorization.

Children have been seen exhibiting this ability much more often than adults, though there are some grownups who do possess memory that is far more impressive than most. It is only more common in children because of the difference in thought processing. As children grow older, they tend to lose this ability because they begin to think more abstractly.

Those who had it and then lost it are usually the ones who have the most significant contributions to the dialogue over whether it's a gift or a curse. Each side has its fair points, however. Each advantage has an equal and corresponding disadvantage, so it's a perpetual debate.

For example, study time is significantly reduced because all it takes is a few read-throughs of notes and it's stuck there for the duration of the test. Unfortunately, that probably means the number of freeloading classmates increases as well. Suddenly, everyone wants to be your friend because they want to cheat off of you.

Second, yes it's true that they can relive the good memories whenever their heart desires it. Like the first time they drove that brand new car and the feeling of exhilaration they had at their newfound freedom. But that means remembering (even though involuntarily) the bad memories too - like that time they crashed the brand new car at a stoplight and had to pay for repairs. There's no option to filter out the memories they don't want to remember.

It's likely that a lot of praise will be in the equation - for doing well in school, for being exceptionally observant, for being so good at judging and remembering people. But with that comes an equally heavy amount of pressure. As mentioned earlier, these memories can't always be accurate. Mistakes can still be made and when they do, the disappointment - both from the person and those around them - is more palpable and crushing.

There will always be and upside and a downside to the seemingly good things, such as eidetic memory. Those who have it don't have a choice and have to learn to deal with it - both the good and the bad. What matters is what they do with the cards they've been dealt with.




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