Eidetic memory

Eidetic memory (/aɪˈdɛtɪk/ eye-DET-ik), also known as photographic memory and total recall, is the ability to recall an image from memory with high precision—at least for a brief period of time—after seeing it only once and without using a mnemonic device.

This article is about the precise recall of memories. For other uses, see Perfect recall. For the video game developer, see Eidetic, Inc. For the 2011 documentary, see Photographic Memory (film). For Sri Lankan action thriller short film, see EIDETIC (2016 film). For the method in phenomenology, see Eidetic reduction.

Although the terms eidetic memory and photographic memory are popularly used interchangeably, they are also distinguished, with eidetic memory referring to the ability to see an object for a few minutes after it is no longer present and photographic memory referring to the ability to recall pages of text or numbers, or similar, in great detail. When the concepts are distinguished, eidetic memory is reported to occur in a small number of children and is generally not found in adults, while true photographic memory has never been demonstrated to exist.

The word eidetic comes from the Greek word εἶδος (pronounced [êːdos], eidos) "visible form".

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