Cooper’s memory, instead of eidetic, is another case of Hyperthymesia. It appears that photographic Memory is still within the realm of science fiction for now. Most photographic memories only last a few months at most, as they are not relayed to long-term memory. Only one case of its existence was recorded in scientific literature, and the research has some holes in it.Įven those who do believe photographic memory exists, concede that individuals with photographic memories may not retain memories for a long period. Even using a more restrictive definition of time and capacity, there is no scientific evidence to backup the existence of a photographic memory. The act of remembering everything ever heard, seen, or smelled forever is not possible, according to scientists. The research on this phenomenon is even less than on eidetic memory. Merriam Webster’s definition: “ Photographic Memory : an unusual ability to remember things completely and exactly as they were seen, read, etc.” Photographic memory is the ability to recall an image for a much longer period. The amount of research in this field is limited and 'The Truth' out there may prove to be different some day, but so far eidetic memory is found in 2 to 10% of children from age 6 to twelve, but not in adults.Īuthor Andres Hudmon suggests that “ Children possess far more capacity for eidetic imagery than adults, suggesting that a developmental change (such as acquiring language skills) may disrupt the potential for eidetic imagery.“ /what-is-eidetic-memory/ Perhaps individuals with eidetic memory are able to retain memories of images in short term memory for a much longer period of time that the average Joe. According to / “Short-term memory has a fairly limited capacity it can hold about seven items for no more than 20 or 30 seconds at a time.” Image Source : /photographic-and-eidetic-memory/Ĭontrary to Beasley’s statement, current scientific consensus says the length of time any memory stays in short-term is 20 to 30 seconds.

However, in the case of an eidetic memory “ the information is relayed to the short-term memory banks for storage, allowing it to be recalled for days, weeks, or months when it will be discarded or relayed to long-term memory ,” according to Nicoleīasley writing for /advice/memory/. For most of us, these images are retained only for a few short seconds before being discarded.

Photographic memory vs eidetic memory