There's a lot of debate about whether or not there really is such a thing as a photographic memory. To make matters worse, expert often confuse claims of photographic memory with those of eidetic memory. Because the term "photographic" is something of a misnomer, people who have the ability to clearly remember small details are being confused with those who claim to have total recall of a span of more than two or three minutes.



The test for eidetic memory was devised to test the concept of a photographic memory, in that a person is given 30 seconds to scan an image. The image is then removed and the person attempts to recreate the image in their mind and relate what they see.

Few people have been able to repeat this image with clear detail, and the image fades over time. after a few minutes, no one has been able to offer much more than a rough outline of the image. It's this sort of test that's used as the basis for the claim that there's no such thing as photographic memory.

There are numerous people that have show photographic memory to be not only possible but real despite these expert's conclusions. That people have enhanced memory capability to the point they are able to remember things longer than others do is the basic theory. They don't really take a picture with the mind.

Expanding Memory Traits

Most people who are thought of as having a photographic memory are children. Younger people often recall things they've seen or experienced in extremely vivid detail. As we age, unfortunately, the memory process is disrupted, and older images are replaced with new ones on a regular basis.

It is believed that adults have so many interruptions in their daily lives to collect effectively information in their "mind's eye" to be able to store enough detail in their memory.

There are numerous resources that can help individuals capitalize on their memory abilities and train themselves to have a virtual photographic memory. Memory course have been around for several years to help people with recall of important information such as names and dates, and through this training develop what is sometimes termed as a photographic memory.

People who claim to have eidetic memories (the ability to recall images in detail after seeing it no more than once), are very rare. People with photographic memories are able to recall detail information, as though they were looking at a picture. Their expanded memory abilities are what permit them to form an image of that information.