Eidetic memory
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Photographic memory, eidetic memory, or total recall, is the ability to recall images, sounds, or objects in memory with great accuracy and in seemingly unlimited volume.
It is said that many famous artists and composers, like Claude Monet and Mozart, possibly had eidetic memory. However, Dr. Marvin Minsky, in his book The Society of Mind, claims to have been unable to verify claims of eidetic memory (see sections 15.3 & 15.6) and considers reports of eidetic memory to be an "unfounded myth".
The Guinness Book of Records nevertheless lists people with extraordinary memories. For example, Hideaki Tomoyori correctly recited the first 40,000 decimals of pi in March 1987, and on November 3, 1994, Tom Groves memorized the order of cards in a randomly shuffled 52-card deck in 42.01 seconds.
Mathematician John von Neumann is said to have had total recall.
There have been some cases where young children have demonstrated the ability to focus on a picture and then recall it with perfect clarity minutes later. However, these skills are usually lost as they grow older.
Many believe that autistics frequently display this ability, as well as those with similar conditions like Asperger's syndrome.
Autistic savants are a rarity but they, in particular, show signs of spectacular memory; one notable example is Kim Peek, who can recall about 9600 books from memory.
Eidetic memory in fiction
This is a partial list (fictional characters with eidetic memory appear in parentheses):
- "Funes, the Memorious", a short story written by Jorge Luis Borges (Funes)
- Starman Jones, a novel written by Robert A. Heinlein (Max Jones)
- Beyond This Horizon, a novel written by Robert A. Heinlein
- Stranger in a Strange Land, a novel written by Robert A. Heinlein (Valentine Michael Smith, as well as Fair Witnesses Anne (no last name) and James Cavendish).
- The Dark Crusader, a novel written by Alistair MacLean (John Bentall)
- Digital Fortress, a novel written by Dan Brown (David Becker)
- The Book of the New Sun, a series of novels written by Gene Wolfe (Severian)
- My Idea of Fun, a novel written by Will Self
- For Kings and Planets, a novel written by Ethan Canin
- Small Gods, a novel written by Terry Pratchett (Brutha)
- Red Dragon, a novel written by Thomas Harris (Will Graham)
- Quantum Leap, a television program created by Donald Bellisario (Samuel Beckett)
- Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, a television program created by Gene Roddenberry(The Cardassians)
- Star Trek Voyager, a television program created by Gene Roddenberry (Kes, Seven of Nine)
- Good Will Hunting, a film directed by Gus Van Sant (Will Hunting)
- Palace and The Eyes of God, novels written by Katharine Kerr and Mark Kreighbaum (Vida L'Var)
- The Chosen, a novel written by Chaim Potok (Daniel Saunders)
- Fillmore!, a Disney cartoon show. (Ingrid Third)
- 2010: Odyssey Two, a novel written by Arthur C. Clarke (Dr. Silvasubramanian Chandrasegarampilai). Note that in the film 2010: The Year We Make Contact this skill of Dr. Chandra is not presented in a clear manner as it is presented in the book.
- Seven Days, a science fiction television series produced by UPN based around the premise of time travel. (Frank Parker The Crononaut.)
- Monk, a story about Adrian Monk, a homicide detective who is able to use his oustanding memory to recount crime scenes with detail and use it to solve seemingly absurd homicides and murders.
- The Ukiah Oregon series of novels by Wen Spencer. Ukiah Oregon is a private investigator who is revealed to be of part-alien ancestry.
- The Cam Jansen Mysteries, a series of novels for children authored by by David A. Adler. (Cam Jansen)