People with Photographic Memory

People with Photographic Memory
Author: Greg Frost

People that possess eidetic memory or photographic memory, are able to remember with great accuracy a huge amount of information, images or sounds. Whilst many have claimed to have this gift, it is found in less than 5% of children, most of whom lose the ability as they mature.

Rumor has it that monks in the Middle Ages enhanced their memories by creating pictures to store and use knowledge. Many famous people are also purported to be in possession of this skill, including Mozart and Monet, but this cannot be proven. There have been some individuals who earned a place in the Guinness Book of Records for having uncommon memory abilities, and individuals suffering from memory disabilities have been shown to have photographic memories.

Kim Peek (born in 1951) suffers from congenital brain abnormalities, as he was born with macrocephaly, cerebellum damage and agenesis of the corpus callosum. As a result of the absence of nerves connecting the hemispheres in his brain, it Speculation has it that the neurons make alternative connections, allowing for an improved memory capacity. Peek has been known to memorize things since he was 16 months old, and is able to read a book in an hour and remember 98% of its contents. He is able to memorize information in various subjects ranging from music to sports and history. He can also recall more than 10,000 books from memory.

Orlando Serrell (born in 1968) is an acquired savant, and was an normal kid at birth. He suffered from physical trauma to the left of his head when he was 10 years old, causing him to suffer from a prolonged headache. When the headache eventually dissipated, he realized an improved ability in performing calendrical calculations. For example, he is able to tell you which day of the week you were born on given your birth date. He is also able to correctly recall the weather and every single movement he has engaged in for any given day.

Nikola Tesla was an inventor born in the Austrian Empire in 1856. He is famous for his contributions to electricity and magnetism, and is referred to by some as a “mad scientist”. He was also deemed as the man who invented the 20th century. Tesla was able to memorize complete books, and read many works throughout his life. In his autobiography, he shared that he suffered from many illnesses, including hallucinations. His visions were often connected to ideas that he came across, and was able to involuntarily picture it in great detail. This is similar to modern day synesthete.

There have also been many fictional characters found in books and comics portrayed as having a photographic memory. This include Jason Bourne (The Bourne Identity), Data and Kes (Star Trek), Malcolm (Malcolm in the Middle) and Superman.

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Greg Frost is a leading innovator in the memory field, and he specializes in helping people improve and develop their photographic memory. To find out more on how to deal with memory loss, learn advanced memory techniques, and have all your questions regarding memory answered, visit this site: www.photographic-memory.org