Is eidetic memory genetic or learnt?
EIDETIC MEMORY IN adults is very rare and thought to be inherited. Although sometimes referred to as ‘photographic memory’, this term is inaccurate because human brains are not like cameras and eidetic images are not really like photographs. Even so, when eideticers are briefly shown an unfamiliar picture they report ‘seeing’ a detailed mental image and can recall such tiny details as the number of windows in a street or petals in a flower. Also their eyes move as though they are scanning an image. Oddly, this extraordinary ability is not correlated with other memory skills nor with IQ. Between 2 and 10 per cent of young children experience eidetic imagery, but it tends to fade from about the age of six as they learn more efficient ways of dealing with information and develop verbal and autobiographical memory.
There are many claims, but no good evidence, that eidetic memory can be trained or taught.