# Photographic Memories?



## Ickathu (Feb 13, 2012)

So, as you may or may not have guessed by the title, I was wondering if there are any BLDers who have photographic memories? i.e., look at something for a few seconds and then the image is memorized. If someone did have a photographic memory, would they be great at blind? Look at 6 sides for 1 second each and you can just refer to that during execution. 6 second memo is pretty fast...
Anyway, I know a kid, and he (probably) has a photographic memory. He's only 5 now, but he could almost completely read when he was 4 - his parents would show him a word on a card, tell him what it said, and then several hours and even days later they could show him the card and he knew exactly what it said immediately. (Meanwhile my 6 year old brother is barely just now learning how to read.)
So, as he is only 5, he is a little too young for me to start teaching him... I think... But I was thinking that maybe when he got older I could teach him normal 3x3, and then the basics of blind. Maybe my idea is completely wrong, but I think having a photographic memory and a fast turning speed would result in a really fast BLDer...

What do you guys think?


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## aronpm (Feb 13, 2012)

Ickathu said:


> Look at 6 sides for 1 second each and you can just refer to that during execution. 6 second memo is pretty fast...


This is a terrible way to memorise the cube. It requires too much post-memo processing of the memorised material.


> Anyway, I know a kid, and he (probably) has a photographic memory. He's only 5 now, but he could almost completely read when he was 4 - his parents would show him a word on a card, tell him what it said, and then several hours and even days later they could show him the card and he knew exactly what it said immediately. (Meanwhile my 6 year old brother is barely just now learning how to read.)


That's not "photographic memory"; it's called the-fact-that-some-people-learn-things-faster-than-others.


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## Owen (Feb 13, 2012)

4 months isn't that impressive, considering some the the users here. http://www.speedsolving.com/forum/showthread.php?23413-How-old-were-you-when-you-learnt-how-to-read

The flash card thing is interesting though.


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## cmhardw (Feb 13, 2012)

As a general rule, what most people refer to as "photographic" memory is a complete myth. There does exist eidetic memory, however.

Memorizing a Rubik's cube in less than 8 seconds by someone with eidetic memory would not really give them much of an advantage over the current world class people. For argument's sake let's say that someone with perfectly efficient eidetic memory could memorize a Rubik's cube in 2 seconds (1 second glance at UFR sides, 1 second glance at DBL sides) they would still need to be a world class speedsolver to beat the current record times. Assuming they equalled the solving speed of the world class BLD cubers now, then that would be an improvement of around 5-8 seconds.

In short, most BLD cubers think that photographic memory is a total myth. Competitive memory experts generally also claim that photographic memory is a myth, with Joshua Foer being one example. Josh spends a good bit of time talking about exactly this issue in his book "Moonwalking with Einstein". He gives several examples of people with eidetic memory, either through autism or stroke, or through birth, but this is extremely rare and is usually accompanied by deficiencies in other areas. However, the exaggerated claims of what people typically associate with "photographic" memory he also dismisses as myth.


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## RNewms27 (Feb 13, 2012)

I remember events and can playback like a video in my thoughts, but I usually can't do it on command. I have to think of it multiple times before I can do so and sometimes I can't do it. I'm also sure everyone can do it.

Even if you saw the pieces quickly you would still have to process how to solve it.


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## Ickathu (Feb 13, 2012)

Meh. Bummer. Oh well...
Oh yeah... Same kid...
So he's over at my house playing with my little bro and I'm solving 5x5. He comes over and watches for a minute, and then I solve it. He wants to know if he can try. So I turn it ~5 times, both inner and outer layer turns. That doesn't sound like much but generate a 5x5 scramble and only do the first 5 moves... Yeah, especially for a then barely 4yo... So anyway, I hand him the cube and he starts turning it. I turn away for a second, and then he starts shouting in my ear that he did it. I turn around and kind of stare at him for a few seconds... Then my jaw fell off and hit the floor. lol. Anyway, so I do another couple turns on it again - without him watching - and then he solves it again... I had forgotten about that. It's not blind related, but it was pretty cool.


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## Cubenovice (Feb 13, 2012)

Ickathu said:


> So, as he is only 5, he is a little too young for me to start teaching him... I think... But I was thinking that maybe when he got older I could teach him normal 3x3, and then the basics of blind.



5 years for regular 3x3x3 is not too young at all.
And you may even argue that BLD is easier to teach than regular solving


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## Tim Major (Feb 13, 2012)

In psychology a week ago, our teacher asked everyone to think of something. 24 kids in the class, 24 items. Everyone said their item once, and we had to memorise it in order. Class average was 18.2 (based on trust, so it's probably lower due to the competitive nature). I got 18, using a story, meanwhile my friend got 24 with no method. This friend, I taught him how to solve a rubik's cube during recess, which goes for 15 minutes. He memorised all the algorithms first or second try, and the next day, I had my cube again, and he did his first solve. He memorised 40 digits of pi in about 20 minutes, and can still recite then months later with little to no practice. Same with the periodic table. I've just accepted that he has an insane memory, especially compared to mine. He sees or hears things once and he remembers it forever. Our teacher went through Loci, but it doesn't work for my friend. He's much better at just random memory. I tried writing them down now and got 22, so I added two on the end to make it 24. Read through them once, quickly, wait a minute, then recall them. Post your results in a spoiler (all words) and how you got it (any method). Just curious as the class ranged from 12-24 correct with varying results.


Spoiler



Cucumber
Book
Accordion
Fish
Mango
Phone
Kitten
Xylophone
Dog 
Soccer Ball
Tusk
Apple
Cup
Guitar
Pencil Case
Clock
Pen lid
Lemon
Sloth
Syringe
Sphere
Box
Table
Bird


After doing that, read this.


Spoiler



We also checked which words were correct. Everyone got the last 3, most people got the first 3, everyone got syringe. Words at the start and end are when you remember the most, which is why they're the most expensive slots in tv show breaks. Words like syringe are memorable, out of the norm. Everyone also got clock right, because the teacher misheard so it had to be repeated. Cup was one of the least memorable, only a few students got it. I think everyone got xylophone too. Anyway, post your results in a spoiler. Just curious. I expect people good at BLD to ace this, but I'm interested in hearing from everyone.


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## ressMox (Feb 13, 2012)

No one has really been proven to have a truly eidetic memory. Some people can recall things better then others, but not at the level that you are thinking of. The closest thing to "total recall" would be savantism, but I think that is too rare to even use as an example, and most savants are only savants when it comes to a specific thing. Some people use visual cues to help them remember things, but that's the thing, these are just cues that are used because it is too difficult to visualize every turn made on the cube. To use a visual method or any method for BLD you would not only have to remember it, you would have to remember the positions in a format that can be easily processed and allows you to jump quickly from step to step.


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## JasonK (Feb 13, 2012)

My results:


Spoiler



table bird sloth syringe mango phone accordion book pen-lid apple cup guitar lemon kitten xylophone dog soccer ball sausage (no idea where sausage came from)
so 18/24

Just straight-up image pairs: read two words, associate them together, go to next two words. Did this very quickly (a couple of seconds per pair), if I'd taken a bit longer I could have used a journey/story and got more of them. Pretty happy with this - haven't really done it before.


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## Florian (Feb 13, 2012)

My Results


Spoiler



cucumber
book
accordion
fish
mango
phone
kitten
xylophone
dog
soccer ball
tusk
syringe
sphere
clock
cup
box
pen lid
pencil case
guitar
lemon


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## AbstractAlg (Feb 13, 2012)

I've read it straight forward, and got 14.

anyway, I think bld cubers don't have to be aces at this game, because bld solvers (yeah, that's us), we remember letters, words, symbols that are used so many times, common phrases, almost the same words that we use every time we practice bld solving. that's why this is also new to us as is for every person out there. also, some people are more accurate with sound/image/number list than word list. if you could do a massive research and conduct the experiment with 50-100 persons that don't do bld, and the same number of bld solvers, that would give you results that are legit. like this, it is just a game of memory.

speaking of photographic memory, my buddy has it, and he can memorize cube and solve it in 4mins with Fridrich. memo takes up to 2mins. So yeah... you get a conclusion. :fp


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## Stefan (Feb 13, 2012)

AbstractAlg said:


> speaking of photographic memory, my buddy has it, and he can memorize cube and solve it in 4mins with Fridrich. memo takes up to 2mins. So yeah... *you get a conclusion*. :fp


 
I do, but it's probably not what you think.


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## Ickathu (Feb 13, 2012)

Stefan said:


> I do, but it's probably not what you think.


What does that mean?


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## chris410 (Feb 13, 2012)

A friend of mine has a memory that is unlike anything I have ever encountered, he can read back the page of any book he reads word by word and he can recite the words from any point and backwards as well. He is the only person I have come across who has that ability and he cannot explain how he does it. Yet, he says he does not have "photographic/eidetic" memory.

I think everyone has a memory where you can see an image or "experience" in great detail. The problem with "photographic memory" and BLD cubing would be the tracing. As soon as a move is made the mental image of the cube needs to be adjusted hence, I do not believe it would work for BLD where the paths of movement come into play. (I am starting to learn BLD so by no means am I an expert) I think the people who are world-class at BLD can create the Edge/Corner paths and commit them to memory very quickly and execute the solve with precision. That being said, I think people who can solve the big cubes are blessed with great memory even though they use a system to store the information. The fact that they are able to recall and execute is IMO extremely impressive. 

Going back to memory, I think emotion has a lot to do with it. When I was in college I could recall pages of my Calculus examples so during tests, I was able to re-write some examples to help me on some tests. However, it seems that any time I am able to see an image with great detail that some emotion was tied to it. I cannot simply look at something random and recall everything in great detail however, there are times where some emotion causes me to create an image and recall with great detail. I think EVERYONE has this ability and could probably recount something similar to this. Personally, I do not believe I have any form or "photographic/eidetic" memory simply because at times I can recall words/images/etc...with great detail. I think it has more to do with my brain being focused on committing something to memory which is triggered by an emotional response to something.

Whether or not photographic or eidetic memory exists is beyond anything I know however, I think everyone has a certain degree of photographic/eidetic memory which is tied to some event/emotion which causes our brain to recall something in great detail. The people who can recall images in great detail such has the artist who was flown over New York city and was able to draw the city from memory is using some portion of the brain that most of us have yet to unlock. However, I would venture to say that having the ability to draw the image is where the true gift lies since most of us could recall and image and not draw it.

Link to the artist: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...aws-18ft-picture-New-York-skyline-memory.html


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## radmin (Feb 13, 2012)

Two of the six people in this article have "powers' that deal with memory. Both are autistic.

http://www.cracked.com/article_19661_6-real-people-with-mind-blowing-mutant-superpowers.html


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## toastman (Feb 14, 2012)

Tim Major said:


> Read through them once, quickly, wait a minute, then recall them. Post your results in a spoiler (all words) and how you got it (any method). Just curious as the class ranged from 12-24 correct with varying results.





Spoiler



Cucumber
Book
Accordion
Fish
Mango
Phone
Kitten
Xylophone
Dog 
Soccer Ball
Tusk
Apple
[MISS] Cup
Guitar
Pencil Case
Clock
Pen lid
[MISS] Lemon
[MISS] Sloth
[MISS] Syringe
[MISS] Sphere
[MISS] Box
Table
Bird



How I got it



Spoiler



This is a technique that I use to remember lists (but not for BLD). You basically chain the images together, so you get 2 "shots" at it. 
A cucumber pierces a book.
A book is played like an accordion.
An accordion is played by a fish
A fish is eating a mango
A novelty telephone is shaped like a mango etc.

I hurried at the end (I'm actually in a training seminar right now), but I should have counted the number of items and realised I was missing a chunk or 5 or 6. If I'd remembered any of them, I'd have likely gotten 2-3 more.



Also, who in the class said "cucumber"? Pervert!


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## Tim Major (Feb 14, 2012)

toastman said:


> Spoiler
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
I'm surprised you missed the one starting with sy, everyone in my class got it due to it's nature. We made a graph of the results and we could explain why some were highly memorable and some were low. The results made perfect sense.


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## Cool Frog (Feb 14, 2012)

Spoiler



cucumber, book
accordian, fish
mango, phone
xylephone, kitten
dog, soccer ball
tusk, apple
sloth, syringe
sphere, cube
table, bird
guitar, cup
pencil case, clock
lemon , pen cap


Memo sub 1 minute..

No particular order however I probably could put them in order just too lazy.

My personal favorite was...


Spoiler



xylephone kitten, I imagined a xylephone and I was playing it with kittens, blood was everywhere



On this topic I took an aptitude test a while ago that determined "memory"

they made you look at a white frame that has ~30 or so objects in it for about 5 minutes.

they then turn the page and you tell them what change, It could be anything from the rulers numbers chaning to the pencil turning 45% or them replacing a cucumber with a rod. they had like 50 or so pages that they turned. I actually thought I did quite bad since I got ~5-10 wrong (seemed easy enough)

I scored in the 95% of everyone that got tested there (Quite a large number of people from an institute that has been open for 20 years or something)


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