Photographic memory does not exist, scientists say
Washington: The idea of photographic memory – that the human brain can capture and recall images with perfect, camera-like accuracy – is wishful thinking, researchers say.
According to a report in Science News, there is no scientific evidence that true photographic memory exists, despite its popularity in fiction from Sherlock Holmes to medical drama The Pitt.”A lot of people believe that our memory acts like a video recorder, that it exactly captures reality, it holds on to it perfectly,” said Gabrielle Principe, developmental psychologist at College of Charleston. To debunk it, she asks students to draw a penny from memory. None can do it accurately.
Scientists say human memory does not work like a recording device. It is a reconstructive process, shaped by search cues, knowledge, mood and goals, meaning the same event is recalled slightly differently each time.
The closest phenomenon is eidetic imagery – the ability to briefly “see” an image after it is removed from sight. It is rare, found mostly in children, and usually disappears by adolescence. Even those images fade quickly and contain distortions.
Researchers note that forgetting is not a flaw. If brains retained everything, we would “live in a very cluttered place,” said Simona Ghetti of UC Davis, and would struggle to prioritize important memories.
