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"Photographic Memory"...

BurlyShirley

Rex Grossman Will Rise Again
Jul 4, 2002
19,180
17
TN
You know what pisses me off to no end? Anytime Im having a conversation with some pseudo-intellectual, typical slacker college student... and we get on the subject of studying... they always claim to have this "photographic memory" which somehow apparently makes them smarter and better than other students without even trying.
WTF does this even mean?
Isn't every memory that everyone has basically "photographic"? I mean if I go back and try to remember something, I can clearly "see" the visions of whatever it is in my head. Am I somehow special because of this? How else would you possibly remember something?
 

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
54,232
20,015
Sleazattle
Tell them that the sense of smell is actually better at triggering memories, then wipe your asscrack with a finger then rub their upper lip with it.
 

binary visions

The voice of reason
Jun 13, 2002
22,092
1,132
NC
No, all memories are not photographic.

A real photographic memory is generally someone who can see something once and remember it. Jenn can do this - she'll see a number (for instance, a serial number - long nonsensical number) and she'll be able to recite it back.

I can see things that I've studied but I can't just glance at a number or something once and be able to recall it with any clarity later.
 

Drunken_Ninja

Turbo Monkey
Aug 25, 2002
1,094
1
Hangin' with Riggs and Mertah
my roomate has a photo graphic memory. he uses it as an encyclopedia for movie names and actors and their ages at the time the movie was made. fvckin erie. he can watch a movie for 4 seconds tell you what it is and what year it was made in then proceed to tell you the make and model and year of every car in it.
 

BurlyShirley

Rex Grossman Will Rise Again
Jul 4, 2002
19,180
17
TN
No, all memories are not photographic.

A real photographic memory is generally someone who can see something once and remember it. Jenn can do this - she'll see a number (for instance, a serial number - long nonsensical number) and she'll be able to recite it back.

I can see things that I've studied but I can't just glance at a number or something once and be able to recall it with any clarity later.
I guess the rest of us just have hazy, videographic memories then.

I still contend that 99% of people who claim this skill are full of crap.
 
No, all memories are not photographic.

A real photographic memory is generally someone who can see something once and remember it. Jenn can do this - she'll see a number (for instance, a serial number - long nonsensical number) and she'll be able to recite it back.

I can see things that I've studied but I can't just glance at a number or something once and be able to recall it with any clarity later.
Photographic's a bad choice of words.

I hold that we're fundamentally wired to process visual information, so a lot of memory is visual. I can "see" a page when I'm remembering something I have read. Couldn't re-read a book that way, though - I think that post-processing dumps information considered extraneous.
 

berkshire_rider

Growler
Feb 5, 2003
2,552
10
The Blackstone Valley
I still contend that 99% of people who claim this skill are full of crap.
While this may be true, I have this trait for some things. I can remember exactly every mtb trail I have ever been on, the holes of every golf course I've played and also have the ability to remember how to return to every destination I have ever been to, even if only haven been there once.

It didn't work so well back in college when reading text books. Maybe cheap beer and vodka stifled this trait. :nerd:
 

BurlyShirley

Rex Grossman Will Rise Again
Jul 4, 2002
19,180
17
TN
It took me 3 years to memorize my bank account number.
Sometimes I still peek.
I just about have my CC number memorized for online purchases... but the other day it started cracking right down the center so I have to get a new one. :banghead: Had it for at least a couple years.
 

Riding

Monkey
Dec 19, 2006
545
0
Millis, MA
While this may be true, I have this trait for some things. I can remember exactly every mtb trail I have ever been on, the holes of every golf course I've played and also have the ability to remember how to return to every destination I have ever been to, even if only haven been there once.

It didn't work so well back in college when reading text books. Maybe cheap beer and vodka stifled this trait. :nerd:
I don't think that's photographic memory. Photographic memory is being able to remember something you don't understand. I have an excellent memory, but it's far from photographic. I can remember almost anything I have figured out. And once I understand it, I can extrapolate additional information. But when I read books, look at diagrams, etc. I don't remember it until I actually do it.

This is what makes me good at Math/computers but terrible in history or english.

I have a friend who has a photographic memory, it's frustrating, because he can debate any subject that he has read about, but when you try to reason with him about something, he can't understand the reasoning sometimes because it's all about what he has read(sees) and not what he understands.


BTW, welcome back. Hope Aruba was relaxing!
 

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
54,232
20,015
Sleazattle
It took me 4 years to figure out my cell phone number. I'm a concept guy. I could sleep through physics class and ace a test because it wasn't about remembering things but understanding things. I could bust my ass studying for a history test and get owned because I can't remember dates. I still can't remembery anyone's birthday other than my own. I know the approximate time but the exact date eludes me.
 

BurlyShirley

Rex Grossman Will Rise Again
Jul 4, 2002
19,180
17
TN
It took me 4 years to figure out my cell phone number. I'm a concept guy. I could sleep through physics class and ace a test because it wasn't about remembering things but understanding things. I could bust my ass studying for a history test and get owned because I can't remember dates. I still can't remembery anyone's birthday other than my own. I know the approximate time but the exact date eludes me.
I do pretty well at history and english type stuff, and also with conceptual things like chemistry and biology, but I did have to work pretty hard to understand alot of the calculus this semester. Thank god that's over... now if only she would post the ****ing grades sometime. Got a "B" at worst, but I still wanna see it.
My true deficiencies lie in technology though. I've mentioned before, I cannot program a VCR, set a digital watch, anything like that. I have no idea why. I can rebuild my fishing reels from the cogs with out a manual, tear down and rebuild an MTB no problem... set a digital watch or Car CD player? Hell to the no.
 

sneakysnake

Monkey
Apr 2, 2006
875
1
NC
The "photographic memory" which most of us have the ability to use is actually called the method of loci. This gives most of us the ability to look back at past experiences that we've had...for example, if you look back on a book that you've read and you can remember where something was written on a page but can't remember exactly what it said. True "photographic memory" means that you can think back on the book you've read and see the page as if you've taken a picture of it...many times being able to recite the text written on the page.

Photographic memory would be like what BV was Jenn could do.
 

Damo

Short One Marshmallow
Sep 7, 2006
4,603
27
French Alps
I have a sh1te memory. Gets me in trouble all the time.

My saving grace is I'm a kiwi: Everyone gets called 'mate'! Easy.

I still remember my first bank account number from when I was 13, I remember all my old phone numbers.

I think the advent of mobile phones and their ability to store numbers and information made memory obsolete. How fvcked would you all be if you lost your mobile phone? I don't even know my own number! I have it stored under 'm' for 'me'...
 

thebornotaku

Monkey
May 19, 2008
359
0
Northern Bay Area
lol photographic memory.

My mom's got crazy good photographic memory, she will notice slight adjustments (if she's looking for them).

My memory is much more numerical, I'm really good with dates, phone numbers, etc.
 

HAB

Chelsea from Seattle
Apr 28, 2007
11,580
2,005
Seattle
I have a sh1te memory. Gets me in trouble all the time.

My saving grace is I'm a kiwi: Everyone gets called 'mate'! Easy.
I have gotten very, very good at addressing people in a way that seems somewhat personal without using their name. I suck at names.



What's even worse is when I don't even recognise the face of someone I'm apparantly supposed to know. About a week ago I had some chick call me by name on the street, and then start up a conversation, and I swear I had never seen her before. If I didn't know how much my memory sucked, I'd swear I had a stalker.