Can one acquire 'photographic memory' when not born with it ?

Question

Can one acquire 'photographic memory' when not born with it ?

Answer 1

There are programs that are supposed to help you enhance your memory, but I don't think you can train yourself to acquire a photographic memory.

EDIT - Having a photographic memory doesn't make life easier. My dad and I both have photographic memories. And trust me, you see some things in life that you wish you could forget and not be able to recall so clearly.

Answer 2

I think you are just born that way.  You may be able to get it though if you were in some sort of accident or something.  It isn't good to have a photographic memory.  It makes life easier.  But who wants life to be so easy as to never have to work for anything?  If I had that, I would be really lazy.

Answer 3

I checked this topic on the internet. Most sites are promoting a program, or books. But there are a couple of websites that had some good information. For starters, this ability is usually seen among young people. Probably because their minds aren't already overloaded with information. Do you mean photographic as in "taking a snapshot of everything in a room" for instance? If you mean "how can I remember everything for a final exam?" that's a different thing.

To remember large quantities of information, you need to learn mnemonic skills. Mnemonic skills teach you how to tag something to a person, place or thing, or a name. I studied that in a psychology course. Our prof gave us a memory test before we studied the chapter. We were tested again after reading the chapter on various memory aids and our scores were considerably higher.

Check it out. There are plenty of books, probably even in your local library on how to improve your memory.