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The eidetic memory, photographic memory, or absolute memory, is the faculty to remember a large quantity of images, sounds, or objects in every detail. It would give an individual the ability to maintain, for a short time, an almost perfect memory of an image presented for about 30 seconds, as if the image were still there. As with any other memory, the intensity of the memory would depend on several factors such as the duration and frequency of stimulus exposure, conscious observation, the relevance of the person, and so on.
However, its very existence – hypothetical – is controversial, as is the question of whether, in the hypothesis that it exists, whether it belongs to the innate or the acquired. The photographic memory is more of an explicit or declarative memory in the short term. Once assimilated by the brain, this translates into our ability to hold information for a short time ranging from 0.5 seconds to 10 minutes. If we consider hypermnesia, the photographic memory can also be attached to the long-term memory.
How it Works ?
Although the memories are interconnected, they involve several regions of the brain that divide into two hemispheres, themselves fragmented into lobes. Visual perceptual memory develops at the level of the occipital lobe.
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There are several stages of memorization :
- The encoding is a learning phase for recording information from the senses.
- The storage is a phrase storage and consolidation in the period to retain and reactivate an acquaintance.
The recall, also called recovery, is a phase of search and restitution of a memory. Our memory is mostly semantic : we focus more on the meaning of things rather than the sensory elements. Seeing a dog for example, we remember the animal without having memorized details of its physical characteristics. Thus, it is difficult to draw memory later, unless you have been warned in advance that it would be necessary to do so. We can also activate words to remember scenes. This allows us to have a strong impact on our memories. Synonymous with photographic memory, eidetic memory or absolute memory
The eidetic memory allows some people to visually represent a memory, with a photographic precision. Often referred to as a precious gift, the absolute memory is about remembering a large amount of information with special attention to detail. It is mainly present in children and would disappear later, in adulthood. Some people with autism, however, develop an incredible ability to render whole documents without being wrong. This is especially what allows to speak of photographic memory.
To conclude, whether called absolute or photographic, eidetic memory is the ability to recall in a few moments information, even if it is complex to assimilate.
The visual memory, known as photographic, makes it possible to retain images to understand and find information: whether it is a painting, a map, a landscape or even a face. How does this visual memory work? How to exploit it best by anchoring images sustainably?
Visual Memory
Visual memory is a subcategory of perceptual memory, soliciting the area of the visual cortex of the occipital lobe of the brain. Its importance is considerable: it accounts for 80% of all information transmitted to the brain. The iconic memory is its subsystem, used for encoding, the first step in the process of memorization. It allows in particular to integrate and retain visual information, such as colors, images, faces but also symbols and the environment in general.
When Do You Use Visual Memory?
The visual memory stimulates several neural networks as mentioned above. It allows images to anchor permanently in our memory. In the age of social networks and technology, we are evolving in a society that tends more and more to the visual. We constantly use your visual memory: by finding a place where you have gone only once or by remembering the face of a person for example. The importance and power of this memory should not be neglected, especially in learning.
Is It a Short or Long Term Memory?
Visual memory is a short-term memory, allowing to retain and reuse the visual information of everyday life, and this for a brief moment. The short-term memory makes it possible to keep information between 0.5 seconds and 10 minutes. Subsequently, this information can be forgotten or stored in the long-term memory that allows for knowledge over a long period, or even for life.
How Do I Know If I Have Visual Or Auditory Memory?
Both visual and auditory memories are part of perceptive memory, specific to the five senses. Each of us has a privileged memory that is more developed and effective. It’s important to know what your dominant memory is to identify what are the best memorization strategies for you.
You have a visual memory if:
- Your memories come back to you by closing your eyes.
- Your memories are images (rather than dialogues or music).
To boost your visual memory, write what you want to remember, whether it’s a class, an address, a phone number, etc. You can proceed in the form of lists, diagrams, drawings, tables, changing the colors or highlighting your notes, always spacing the writing well to ventilate the reading.
You have a hearing memory if:
- Your memories are accompanied by sounds.
- You remember conversations more than clothes.
- You associate a sound environment to each situation.
To boost your auditory memory, say out loud what you want to remember, whether it’s asking the other person to repeat words, asking questions, or reading a text aloud.
Note that it is always better to solicit all forms of memory to retain more information and make the most of your cognitive abilities.
Photographic Memory
In phenomenology (science of essences), the eidetic reduction is a method allowing the philosopher to go from the consciousness of things to the pure essences in order to reach an intuition of the eidos, the necessary structure of the thing. This operation transforms perception or experience into a schematic object, called essence. By eliminating all that is contingent and accidental, we will retain only what is essential. If the links between this method and the actual functioning of eidetic memory remain to be confirmed, we can nevertheless see a possible similarity in the faculty of concentration of information in that it has more intrinsic.
Absolute memory is defined as the ability to remember a large amount of information in an extremely high degree of detail. This memory would be especially present in the child. She would then disappear in adulthood, but not always.
In psychology, the eidetic image corresponds to the ability for certain individuals to represent themselves visually and with an almost photographic accuracy, a scene or objects recently perceived. A few rare autistic scientists, particularly those with Asperger syndrome, have developed a formidable ability to reproduce without error the content of documents, such as treatises on wave mechanics, memoirs on entomology or, more prosaically, indicators of bus or railway, while these texts may have been traveled at a speed that prohibits the traditional reading. This is why we often talk about photographic memory.
Finally, whether absolute or photographic, eidetic memory rests in many cases on the ability to fix in a few moments information that is initially complex, be it an image, a text, a text or an image. a sound, a precise geographical situation, etc.
