Removing original research. I can't find a single study about autism and eidetic memory. |
Flyer22 Frozen (talk | contribs) That is not a good way to structure this article. Per WP:Lead, the lead is the overview. The title should be clear what the section is about (distinguishing). And claims from low-quality sources like this should be given WP:In-text attribution. |
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'''Eidetic memory''' ({{IPAc-en|aɪ|ˈ|d|ɛ|t|ɪ|k|}}) or '''photographic memory''' is an ability to vividly recall images from [[memory]] after only a few instances of exposure, with high precision for some time after exposure without using [[mnemonic]]s;<ref name=brit>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/180955/eidetic-image "Eidetic image", Encyclopaedia Britannica'']</ref><ref name=twenty/> the terms ''eidetic memory'' and ''photographic memory'' may also be distinguished, with the latter being considered a myth.<ref name="Slate">{{cite web|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2006/04/kaavya_syndrome.single.html|title=No one has a photographic memory.|work=Slate Magazine}}</ref> Eidetic images occur in a small number of children and generally are not found in adults.<ref name=brit/> The word ''eidetic'' comes from the Greek word [[wikt:εἶδος|εἶδος]] ({{IPA-el|êːdos|pron}}, ''[[eidos (philosophy)|eidos]]'', "seen").<ref name="AHD">{{cite web|url=http://www.bartleby.com/61/91/E0059100.html|title=Eidetic|work=[[American Heritage Dictionary]], 4th ed.|year=2000|accessdate=2007-12-12}}</ref> |
'''Eidetic memory''' ({{IPAc-en|aɪ|ˈ|d|ɛ|t|ɪ|k|}}) or '''photographic memory''' is an ability to vividly recall images from [[memory]] after only a few instances of exposure, with high precision for some time after exposure without using [[mnemonic]]s;<ref name=brit>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/180955/eidetic-image "Eidetic image", Encyclopaedia Britannica'']</ref><ref name=twenty/> the terms ''eidetic memory'' and ''photographic memory'' may also be distinguished, with the latter being considered a myth.<ref name="Slate">{{cite web|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2006/04/kaavya_syndrome.single.html|title=No one has a photographic memory.|work=Slate Magazine}}</ref> Eidetic images occur in a small number of children and generally are not found in adults.<ref name=brit/> The word ''eidetic'' comes from the Greek word [[wikt:εἶδος|εἶδος]] ({{IPA-el|êːdos|pron}}, ''[[eidos (philosophy)|eidos]]'', "seen").<ref name="AHD">{{cite web|url=http://www.bartleby.com/61/91/E0059100.html|title=Eidetic|work=[[American Heritage Dictionary]], 4th ed.|year=2000|accessdate=2007-12-12}}</ref> |
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==Overview== |
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⚫ | Eidetic memory is the ability to recall visual information in great detail after only brief exposure to the material. ''[[Scientific American]]'' stated that the popular culture concept of "photographic memory," where someone can briefly look at a page of text and then recite it perfectly from memory indefinitely, is not the same as eidetic memory and has never been demonstrated to exist.<ref>[http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/i-developed-what-appears-to-be-a-ph/ "Does Photographic Memory Exist?"]</ref><ref>[http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2006/04/kaavya_syndrome.single.html "Kaavya Syndrome: The accused Harvard plagiarist doesn't have a photographic memory. No one does."]</ref> "Eidetikers", as those who possess this ability are called, report a vivid after image that lingers in the visual field with their eyes appearing to scan across the image as it is described.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200603/the-truth-about-photographic-memory|title=The Truth About Photographic Memory|website=Psychology Today|access-date=2016-04-30}}</ref> Contrary to ordinary mental imagery, eidetic images are externally projected, experienced as "out there" rather than in the mind. Vividness and stability of the image begins to fade within minutes after the removal of the visual stimulus.<ref name="plato.stanford.edu">{{Cite web|url=http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/mental-imagery/quasi-perceptual.html|title=Mental Imagery > Other Quasi-Perceptual Phenomena (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)|website=plato.stanford.edu|access-date=2016-04-30}}</ref> |
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An eidetic image is a "vivid afterimage that lingers in the mind's eye for up to a few minutes before fading away." It is not the same as the popular concept of photographic memory, since eidetic imagery is generally only seen in young children, is not extremely detailed, and doesn't work for things like text.<ref name="Slate"/> |
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⚫ | "Eidetikers", as those who possess this ability are called, report a vivid after image that lingers in the visual field with their eyes appearing to scan across the image as it is described.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200603/the-truth-about-photographic-memory|title=The Truth About Photographic Memory|website=Psychology Today|access-date=2016-04-30}}</ref> Contrary to ordinary mental imagery, eidetic images are externally projected, experienced as "out there" rather than in the mind. Vividness and stability of the image begins to fade within minutes after the removal of the visual stimulus.<ref name="plato.stanford.edu">{{Cite web|url=http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/mental-imagery/quasi-perceptual.html|title=Mental Imagery > Other Quasi-Perceptual Phenomena (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)|website=plato.stanford.edu|access-date=2016-04-30}}</ref> |
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Eidetic memory has been found in 2 to 10 percent of children aged 6 to 12 and is virtually nonexistent in adults. It has been hypothesized that language acquisition and verbal skills allow older children to think more abstractly and thus rely less on visual memory systems. Extensive research has failed to demonstrate consistent correlations between the presence of eidetic imagery and any cognitive, intellectual, neurological or emotional measure.<ref name=twenty>{{cite web|url=http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=7176716|title=Behavioral and Brain Sciences - Abstract - Twenty years of haunting eidetic imagery: where's the ghost?|publisher=}}</ref> |
Eidetic memory has been found in 2 to 10 percent of children aged 6 to 12 and is virtually nonexistent in adults. It has been hypothesized that language acquisition and verbal skills allow older children to think more abstractly and thus rely less on visual memory systems. Extensive research has failed to demonstrate consistent correlations between the presence of eidetic imagery and any cognitive, intellectual, neurological or emotional measure.<ref name=twenty>{{cite web|url=http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=7176716|title=Behavioral and Brain Sciences - Abstract - Twenty years of haunting eidetic imagery: where's the ghost?|publisher=}}</ref> |
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⚫ | A few adults have had phenomenal memories (not necessarily of images), but their abilities are also unconnected with their intelligence levels and tend to be highly specialized. In extreme cases, like those of [[Solomon Shereshevsky]] and [[Kim Peek]], memory skills can reportedly hinder social skills.<ref>{{cite news| last =Barber| first =Nigel| title =Remembering everything? Memory searchers suffer from amnesia!|newspaper =Psychology Today| publisher =Sussex| date =December 22, 2010| url =http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-human-beast/201012/remembering-everything| accessdate = July 10, 2013}}</ref> Shereshevsky was a trained [[mnemonist]], not a eidetic memoriser, and there are no studies that confirm whether Kim Peek had true eidetic memory. |
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==Views== |
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Photographic memory, or the ability to recall visual information in great detail after only brief exposure to the material has never been demonstrated to exist.<ref name="Slate"/><ref name="scientificamerican">{{cite web|url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/i-developed-what-appears-to-be-a-ph/|title=Does Photographic Memory Exist?|work=Scientific American}}</ref> |
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The American [[cognitive scientist]] [[Marvin Minsky]], in his book ''[[Society of Mind|The Society of Mind]]'' (1988), considered reports of photographic memory to be an "unfounded myth."<ref>{{cite book |title=Society of Mind |last= Minsky |first= Marvin |authorlink=Marvin Minsky |year=1998 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |page=153 |url=http://books.google.com/?id=LO_LAUFpJ3cC&dq=society+of+mind&q=photographic#search_anchor |quote=...we often hear about people with 'photographic memories' that enable them to quickly memorise all the fine details of a complicated picture or a page of text in a few seconds. So far as I can tell, all of these tales are unfounded myths, and only professional magicians or charlatans can produce such demonstrations. |isbn=978-0-671-65713-0 }}</ref> Furthermore, there is ''no'' scientific consensus regarding the nature, the proper definition, or even the very existence of eidetic imagery, even in children.<ref name="plato.stanford.edu"/> |
The American [[cognitive scientist]] [[Marvin Minsky]], in his book ''[[Society of Mind|The Society of Mind]]'' (1988), considered reports of photographic memory to be an "unfounded myth."<ref>{{cite book |title=Society of Mind |last= Minsky |first= Marvin |authorlink=Marvin Minsky |year=1998 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |page=153 |url=http://books.google.com/?id=LO_LAUFpJ3cC&dq=society+of+mind&q=photographic#search_anchor |quote=...we often hear about people with 'photographic memories' that enable them to quickly memorise all the fine details of a complicated picture or a page of text in a few seconds. So far as I can tell, all of these tales are unfounded myths, and only professional magicians or charlatans can produce such demonstrations. |isbn=978-0-671-65713-0 }}</ref> Furthermore, there is ''no'' scientific consensus regarding the nature, the proper definition, or even the very existence of eidetic imagery, even in children.<ref name="plato.stanford.edu"/> |
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Scientific skepticism about the existence of eidetic memory was fueled around 1970 by Charles Stromeyer, who studied his future wife, Elizabeth, who claimed that she could recall poetry written in a foreign language that she did not understand years after she had first seen the poem. She also could, apparently, recall random dot patterns with such fidelity as to combine two patterns into a stereoscopic image.<ref>{{cite journal | author=Stromeyer, C. F., Psotka, J. | title=The detailed texture of eidetic images | journal=Nature | volume=225 | pages=346–349 | year=1970 | doi=10.1038/225346a0 | pmid=5411116 | issue=5230}}</ref><ref name="other quasi-perceptual">[http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/mental-imagery/quasi-perceptual.html Thomas, N.J.T. (2010). Other Quasi-Perceptual Phenomena.] In [http://plato.stanford.edu/ ''The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.'']</ref> She remains the only person documented to have passed such a test. However, the methods used in the testing procedures could be considered questionable, (especially given the extraordinary nature of the claims being made)<ref name="Blakemore">Blakemore, C., Braddick, O., & Gregory, R.L. (1970). Detailed Texture of Eidetic Images: A Discussion. ''Nature, 226,'' 1267–1268.</ref> as is the fact that the researcher married his subject. Additionally, that the tests have never been repeated (Elizabeth has consistently refused to repeat them)<ref name="Slate2006"/> raises further concerns. |
Scientific skepticism about the existence of eidetic memory was fueled around 1970 by Charles Stromeyer, who studied his future wife, Elizabeth, who claimed that she could recall poetry written in a foreign language that she did not understand years after she had first seen the poem. She also could, apparently, recall random dot patterns with such fidelity as to combine two patterns into a stereoscopic image.<ref>{{cite journal | author=Stromeyer, C. F., Psotka, J. | title=The detailed texture of eidetic images | journal=Nature | volume=225 | pages=346–349 | year=1970 | doi=10.1038/225346a0 | pmid=5411116 | issue=5230}}</ref><ref name="other quasi-perceptual">[http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/mental-imagery/quasi-perceptual.html Thomas, N.J.T. (2010). Other Quasi-Perceptual Phenomena.] In [http://plato.stanford.edu/ ''The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.'']</ref> She remains the only person documented to have passed such a test. However, the methods used in the testing procedures could be considered questionable, (especially given the extraordinary nature of the claims being made)<ref name="Blakemore">Blakemore, C., Braddick, O., & Gregory, R.L. (1970). Detailed Texture of Eidetic Images: A Discussion. ''Nature, 226,'' 1267–1268.</ref> as is the fact that the researcher married his subject. Additionally, that the tests have never been repeated (Elizabeth has consistently refused to repeat them)<ref name="Slate2006"/> raises further concerns. |
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⚫ | A few adults have had phenomenal memories (not necessarily of images), but their abilities are also unconnected with their intelligence levels and tend to be highly specialized. In extreme cases, like those of [[Solomon Shereshevsky]] and [[Kim Peek]], memory skills can reportedly hinder social skills.<ref>{{cite news| last =Barber| first =Nigel| title =Remembering everything? Memory searchers suffer from amnesia!|newspaper =Psychology Today| publisher =Sussex| date =December 22, 2010| url =http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-human-beast/201012/remembering-everything| accessdate = July 10, 2013}}</ref> Shereshevsky was a trained [[mnemonist]], not a eidetic memoriser, and there are no studies that confirm whether Kim Peek had true eidetic memory. |
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== Trained Mnemonics == |
== Trained Mnemonics == |
Revision as of 06:43, 10 May 2016
Eidetic memory (/aɪˈdɛtɪk/) or photographic memory is an ability to vividly recall images from memory after only a few instances of exposure, with high precision for some time after exposure without using mnemonics;[1][2] the terms eidetic memory and photographic memory may also be distinguished, with the latter being considered a myth.[3] Eidetic images occur in a small number of children and generally are not found in adults.[1] The word eidetic comes from the Greek word εἶδος (pronounced [êːdos], eidos, "seen").[4]
Eidetic memory or photographic memory
Eidetic memory is the ability to recall visual information in great detail after only brief exposure to the material. Scientific American stated that the popular culture concept of "photographic memory," where someone can briefly look at a page of text and then recite it perfectly from memory indefinitely, is not the same as eidetic memory and has never been demonstrated to exist.[5][6] "Eidetikers", as those who possess this ability are called, report a vivid after image that lingers in the visual field with their eyes appearing to scan across the image as it is described.[7] Contrary to ordinary mental imagery, eidetic images are externally projected, experienced as "out there" rather than in the mind. Vividness and stability of the image begins to fade within minutes after the removal of the visual stimulus.[8]
Eidetic memory has been found in 2 to 10 percent of children aged 6 to 12 and is virtually nonexistent in adults. It has been hypothesized that language acquisition and verbal skills allow older children to think more abstractly and thus rely less on visual memory systems. Extensive research has failed to demonstrate consistent correlations between the presence of eidetic imagery and any cognitive, intellectual, neurological or emotional measure.[2]
A few adults have had phenomenal memories (not necessarily of images), but their abilities are also unconnected with their intelligence levels and tend to be highly specialized. In extreme cases, like those of Solomon Shereshevsky and Kim Peek, memory skills can reportedly hinder social skills.[9] Shereshevsky was a trained mnemonist, not a eidetic memoriser, and there are no studies that confirm whether Kim Peek had true eidetic memory.
Views
The American cognitive scientist Marvin Minsky, in his book The Society of Mind (1988), considered reports of photographic memory to be an "unfounded myth."[10] Furthermore, there is no scientific consensus regarding the nature, the proper definition, or even the very existence of eidetic imagery, even in children.[8]
Scientific skepticism about the existence of eidetic memory was fueled around 1970 by Charles Stromeyer, who studied his future wife, Elizabeth, who claimed that she could recall poetry written in a foreign language that she did not understand years after she had first seen the poem. She also could, apparently, recall random dot patterns with such fidelity as to combine two patterns into a stereoscopic image.[11][12] She remains the only person documented to have passed such a test. However, the methods used in the testing procedures could be considered questionable, (especially given the extraordinary nature of the claims being made)[13] as is the fact that the researcher married his subject. Additionally, that the tests have never been repeated (Elizabeth has consistently refused to repeat them)[14] raises further concerns.
Trained Mnemonics
To constitute photographic or eidetic memory, the visual recall must persist without the use of mnemonics, expert talent, or other cognitive strategies. Various cases have been reported that rely on such skills and are erroneously attributed to photographic memory.
An example of extraordinary memory abilities being ascribed to eidetic memory comes from the popular interpretations of Adriaan de Groot's classic experiments into the ability of chess grandmasters to memorize complex positions of chess pieces on a chess board. Initially it was found that these experts could recall surprising amounts of information, far more than nonexperts, suggesting eidetic skills. However, when the experts were presented with arrangements of chess pieces that could never occur in a game, their recall was no better than the nonexperts, suggesting that they had developed an ability to organize certain types of information, rather than possessing innate eidetic ability.
Individuals identified as having a condition known as Hyperthymesia are able to remember very intricate details of their own personal life, but the ability seems not to extend to other, non-autobiographical information.[15] They may have vivid recollections such as who they were with, what they were wearing, and how they were feeling on a specific date many years in the past. Patients under study, such as Jill Price, show brain scans that resemble those with obsessive–compulsive disorder. In fact, Price's unusual autobiographical memory has been attributed as a byproduct of compulsively making journal and diary entries. Hyperthymestic patients may additionally suffer from depression stemming from the inability to forget unpleasant memories and experiences from the past.[16] It is a misconception that hyperthymesia suggests any eidetic ability.
Each year at the World Memory Championships, the world's best memorizers compete for prizes. None of the world's best competitive memorizers has a photographic memory, and no one with claimed eidetic or photographic memory has ever won the championship.
Notable claims
With the questionable exception of Elizabeth, a 2006 article in Slate magazine claimed that, of the people rigorously scientifically tested, no one claiming to have long-term eidetic memory had this ability proven.[14] There are a number of individuals whose extraordinary memory has been labeled "eidetic," but many use mnemonics and other, non-eidetic memory-enhancing exercises. Others have not been thoroughly tested.
See also
- Ayumu – a chimpanzee whose performance in short-term memory tests is higher than university students
- Exceptional memory – scientific background to the research into exceptional memory
- Funes the Memorious – short story discussing the consequences of eidetic memory
- Hyperthymesia – a condition characterised by superior autobiographical memory
- Synaptic plasticity – ability of the strength of a synapse to change
References
- ^ a b "Eidetic image", Encyclopaedia Britannica
- ^ a b "Behavioral and Brain Sciences - Abstract - Twenty years of haunting eidetic imagery: where's the ghost?".
- ^ "No one has a photographic memory". Slate Magazine.
- ^ "Eidetic". American Heritage Dictionary, 4th ed. 2000. Retrieved 2007-12-12.
- ^ "Does Photographic Memory Exist?"
- ^ "Kaavya Syndrome: The accused Harvard plagiarist doesn't have a photographic memory. No one does."
- ^ "The Truth About Photographic Memory". Psychology Today. Retrieved 2016-04-30.
- ^ a b "Mental Imagery > Other Quasi-Perceptual Phenomena (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)". plato.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2016-04-30.
- ^ Barber, Nigel (December 22, 2010). "Remembering everything? Memory searchers suffer from amnesia!". Psychology Today. Sussex. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
- ^ Minsky, Marvin (1998). Society of Mind. Simon & Schuster. p. 153. ISBN 978-0-671-65713-0.
...we often hear about people with 'photographic memories' that enable them to quickly memorise all the fine details of a complicated picture or a page of text in a few seconds. So far as I can tell, all of these tales are unfounded myths, and only professional magicians or charlatans can produce such demonstrations.
- ^ Stromeyer, C. F., Psotka, J. (1970). "The detailed texture of eidetic images". Nature. 225 (5230): 346–349. doi:10.1038/225346a0. PMID 5411116.
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Thomas, N.J.T. (2010). Other Quasi-Perceptual Phenomena. In The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
- ^ Blakemore, C., Braddick, O., & Gregory, R.L. (1970). Detailed Texture of Eidetic Images: A Discussion. Nature, 226, 1267–1268.
- ^ a b Foer, Joshua (April 27, 2006). "Kaavya Syndrome: The accused Harvard plagiarist doesn't have a photographic memory. No one does". Slate. Retrieved December 16, 2012.
- ^ "People with Extraordinary Autobiographical Memory". Psychology Today.
- ^ "When Memories Never Fade, The Past Can Poison The Present". NPR.org. 27 December 2013.
External links
- Photographic Memory on tvtropes.org, including a list of examples in popular culture