Are some people born with photographic brains...or does it have to be learned & developed?

Question

To me this seems a lot like clairvoyance or remote viewing....that someone's brain can hold a picture of something so clearly that they can read it. Is this paranormal?

http://youtube.com/watch?v=nFGG6zWByhM

Answer 1

You're born with it and develop it throughout the years

Answer 2

Is this paranormal? I'm thinking the question applies to the posted video.

This is a little less straight forward than it seems.

First there is no more reason to believe that this known performer of magic tricks has a photographic memory than there is reason to believe that he accomplishes the trick with ESP. Not having performed the test under controlled conditions make it a performance not an experiment.

Derren Brown, a self professed skeptic of the paranormal (link below), chooses to attribute his tricks to things more acceptable to the skeptics like a photographic memory.

He has never been tested in a controlled scientific method to determine if he has a photographic or eidetic memory.

It is possible that he has an exceptional memory (eidetic memory) but there is no evidence in support of his claim and it is not required to perform his tricks.

You can improve your memory like any other human ability. Only one person in history (still controversial) has ever demonstrated having a photographic memory (eidetic memory is different but also very rare) so no one knows if you have to be born with it or if it can be learned.

One could safely say that since science has observed (in cases more rare than any psychic phenomena) very few cases of eidetic memory and perhaps 1 case of a photographic memory and science has no explanation for how this ability might require the human brain to work that it could be considered paranormal.

Psiexploration

Answer 3

look,

it is very much inborn but for making the most of it u shd know to use it well

Answer 4

It's genetic.  Have you seen Rainman?  There are people who are actually capable of storing information in a very efficient and accessible manner.

That doesn't mean you can't develop this into a magic trick.

Answer 5

It is genetic

Answer 6

I didn't click on the link, but my husband and brother both have photographic memories.  For instance my husband can take a look at a picture for less than 5 seconds, and fully recall all details in the picture, and even the hard to see ones in the background.  Which is probably why he had such high clearance in the military....but he can't remember to drop the library books in the passenger seat of the van off at the library if I don't nag him about it for hours over a three day period.

Conspiracy?

I have heard though that you can train your mind.  I did a couple of courses that did save me in high school for exams....thank God.

Answer 7

its something you have to be born with you cant learn it

Answer 8

There's nothing paranormal about extremely good memory. Neurologists have been able to study examples of people with such memory skills (see Kim Peek), and there does seem to be a biological component to that. However, there are also memory techniques that anyone can learn, and with patience and dedication they can do amazing feats as well. This is in part how Derren Brown does his amazing tricks. See his book below.