i know i should be in the students section, but maybe you guys have more experience and can answer me this question,,,,, i am in NS and i asked a girl in my class her study technique (because she has the best grades in the class) and the only thing she told me was that she used her photographic memory... i didnt want to question her any longer because she is kind of mean..... but what does photographic memory means? how can i use it??? can i really use it??? does it really work??? ,,,,
You just described me. I can tell you what page it is, what is says exactly as written, what section it is etc. It does exist, when I have to answer a test question and start to second guess, I rewind my brain and I recall where I read the info. It is something you are born with and it doesn't mean that the person who has this kind of memory is intelligent. You can create a photographic memory by highlighting sections with different colors and your brain will recall info by colors. I don't know how to explain it, I hope it makes sense lol. There are so many other studying techniques, you don't need photographic memory to succeed. Honestly photographic memory is like memorizing, but the goal is to learn And not memorize.
And you describing you, just described me... When I can't recall an answer, I close my eyes and can see the page, and what column it was in, and then I can see the whole page..
all I can think of right now is this old old song called hotel california
"some dance to remember, some dance to forget"
Regarding a kinda mean classmate or coworker....insecure, jealous, fearful. Needs to be the best and brightest because it makes her feel special and safe.
Wouldn't recommend looking to her for study advice and don't let her know your grades when you start getting A's..she will be ticked offfff!
I am one of those nurses with an eidetic memory or how it's referred to at times is eidetic imagery. I was born with it and it doesn't make me any different then anyone else. So ... when I need to remember something sometimes I'll look up and my eyes go to the left and there it is ... imagery.
In school I used it mainly to remember long mnemonics that I would create to help with the large amounts of material. You know when they assign to read 24 pages in one night from the 12" by 16" hard cover "let me get my magnifying glass" font type text book.
I would make up a unintelligible sentences, write them down on flash cards, and then when I needed it I could envision the cards with the letters in my mind. My fellow students would ask me how I could remember so much material and I would tell them to just imagine it ... yea; ah hah, sure thing. I wasn't aware that it was something different from other people until I took an advanced psych course and we were studying the subject.
There was this one time when I started a defense class and we were paired with another person. The sensei said to stand back to back with our partners. Then the instructor went around and asked each person to describe what the other person was wearing and other things that were remembered. I could envision this person and was able to tell the instructor what color the socks were, how many buttons were on his shirt, eye color, every detail ... the instructor was shocked. I could actually picture this guy in my head as I had seen him when I first was introduced to him.
Research suggests that there is no real IQ difference from people with eidetic imagery and others. Some people are smarter then others in every aspect of the human experience be it eidetic, gender, age, culture, etc...
I *think* (just my interpretation from the limited info you gave) that she was being flip and didn't want to discuss with you her study habits. Many people have documented photographic memories but from how you said it happened I interpreted it to be a quip not the truth of the situation.
And you describing you, just described me... When I can't recall an answer, I close my eyes and can see the page, and what column it was in, and then I can see the whole page..
I kind of do this too but I don't really think I have a photographic memory. I can't "see" the page word for word but I remember where in the text, how the page was laid out, pictures that were inset on the page. I wonder if there are degrees or if it's just how some people's memories work. I have always been very visual. If I see something in writing I (and then write it myself a few times) and I've got it. Used to irritate my A&P study partner off to no end.
Sorry didn't realize that word was a no-no. I fixed it.
Wow! I want that nmemonics book! I will have to look for one. This is also how I studied but had to make up my own. Sometimes the nursing instructors I had would give us some too.
My husband has a photographic memory, but seems he is able to turn it on and off when he wants. And, yes, he is a straight A student. Always has been I guess (according to his school report cards.) I am so jealous!
Wow! I want that nmemonics book! I will have to look for one. This is also how I studied but had to make up my own. Sometimes the nursing instructors I had would give us some too.
My husband has a photographic memory, but seems he is able to turn it on and off when he wants. And, yes, he is a straight A student. Always has been I guess (according to his school report cards.) I am so jealous!
Yes, it is a great book if thats how you learn. I don't remember the name of it because i gave it way to my friend who was going in nursing school. I got it at barnes and noble. it is one you would easily over look because it has like cartoon characters and SUPER colorful. It looks like a children's book on the cover. "Never judge a book by its cover" so true :)
I have a cousin that has it. She considers it a curse however, rather than a blessing.
Mine not quite photographic but very powerful. ADHD. Gift and curse. ADHD'ers have among the highest IQ's on the planet, but we're too lazy to use our brains!
You see a lot real smart people are also kind of bizarre. They usually have poor executive function AEB poor frontal lobe activity on PET scans but higher activity in gray matter where memory is stored so you get people that are "Smart but weird." I'm one of them!
I think maybe there are different degrees and types of photographic memory, I too can "see the page", I can also remember every single word of conversations, picture exactly where everyone was standing and who said what which my husband HATES (you stood in that corner and said HFUFUFYU and I answered back KJIGIVUFUfgy, then you said IGUIGGGY, etc.) lol, I can also "see" the steps to procedures after I have done them once, but tell me your name and I will forget it 2 seconds later (I guess there's just not enough room in there lol)
I've always been this way, but there ARE books that will teach you how to visualize. (most of them are metaphysical though) Maybe you could buy one and try it out, if nothing else it will teach you to relax and meditate
When I can't recall an answer, I close my eyes and can see the page, and what column it was in, and then I can see the whole page..
CT Pixie, BSN, RN
3,723 Posts
And you describing you, just described me...
When I can't recall an answer, I close my eyes and can see the page, and what column it was in, and then I can see the whole page..