ImprovingWorkingMemory.com

On the hit television show Psyche on the USA Network, the lead “psychic” investigator is able to act like he is a psychic simply based on his powers of memory. He views a scene and, hours and days later, can recall even the smallest detail that was in the scene. Many people believe that having this type of a memory is something that you have to be born with. In the beginning of the show, however, you learn that the main character consciously developed his memory when he was very young to be as sharp as it is now.

Eidetic Memory

The proper name for the skill that the investigator on Psyche has is called eidetic memory. You, however, have probably heard it referred to as photographic memory. A photographic memory is defined as the ability to remember images, objects, or sounds with extreme accuracy. There are a number of children who have the ability to look at a picture and who are able to repeat back, with perfect accuracy, all of the different things in the photo. Some scientists have debated whether or not a photographic memory can exist in adults, as their brains often work slower than a child’s does, but there have been many famous adults who have been able to prove that they have a photographic memory, thereby making those theories moot.

Close to Photographic

While it is possible to get a photographic memory, it is a skill that is extremely time consuming to develop. Someone who is trying to develop a photographic memory will have to spend great chunks of time during the day studying in order to get a photographic memory. Getting a nearly photographic memory, however, is often good enough for most people and is much easier to accomplish. In order to achieve this, there are a number of exercises you can work on every day.

Exercises for a Photographic Memory

Those searching who want to develop a photographic memory would do best to begin with some simple exercises. To start with, walk outside and look at one specific scene; it may be a particular building or a nature scene. Stare at it for ten minutes or so and then walk back inside and write down everything you remember. Once you believe that you have written down everything you have seen, walk back outside and look at the scene again. What did you miss? What did you remember? Then start the entire exercise over again. This helps your brain find the things that you have missed in the picture that you are looking at.

Working and Concentrating

The key to getting a photographic memory, or one that is nearly photographic, is to constantly use your brain. The more you use it, the better you will be able to remember things, and eventually you will begin to see that your memory gets closer and closer to photographic. Just keep in mind that it takes a great deal of effort, time, and practice in order to achieve that level of memory, so if you really want it, you must be willing to work for it.

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Tags: how to get a photographic memory, photogenic memory, photographic memory