A few years back, 60 minutes did one of the most interesting stories they have ever done before about people who can seemingly remember every day of their life in vivid detail. It was a story on what is called Hyperthymesia, is described as “the condition of possessing an extremely detailed autobiographical memory. People with hyperthymesia remember an abnormally vast number of their life ... Individuals with hyperthymesia can recall almost every day of their lives in near perfect detail, as well as public events that hold some personal importance”.
There are only a handful of people that are actually verified to have this, what I would call, superpower. In the videos I have posted of part one and part two of the interviews below, you can see to what extent these amazing people can remember. For some reason the first thing that comes to mind when I think about them is Hannibal Lecter in “Silence of the Lambs” talking about not being trapped in his cell because he has his memories.
To an extent these people could close their eyes and remember every moment of a vacation or lying on the hot sand by the ocean, in vivid detail. They could go on a vacation in their minds multiple times a day without ever leaving their room. This is truly a power many of us wish we could have. Their experience and what they pull out of life, potentially has much more value than what most of us experience on a daily basis. Doing something small but enjoyable can be experienced over and over again. However, that being said, it could be a double edge sword.
Although they don’t go over it in the interview, what if one of these people had a tragic occurrence in their life, for example they lost a child. They essentially would be haunted by that memory everyday an unable to move past it like the majority of us can. Perhaps there is a reason why we shouldn’t remember everything that happens to us. Maybe we evolved in order to forget things because the majority of life is tough.
Would you want the ability to remember like these people, or do you think it would be too much of a burden? I personally think these people have superhuman abilities and would love to see what a study of them would reveal about their brains. Maybe in the future with some sort of computer assistance, we too would be able to attain such powers.
Im torn between it being a good thing or not to remember everything. There are a lot of painful things that are just better to forget or supress into ones subconscious.. but on the other hand, remembering important things that most people can't is definitely a super power lol great post! Really makes ya think :P
you're using too much hard disk space of your brain if you remember everything.
Only some things I can remember, most I forget lol.
Very strong memory .. !! Can be something people want but can also be a very hateful thing, but all back again personal respectively.? If something positive smells of course people will love to have a very strong memory, but if it tends to remember the dark time "like torture or other" then this can also have an impact on the psychological person itself and this can make the person crazy because The trauma he experienced in the recall of powerful memories that always haunt him.
Wild - thanks for the amazing post!
my novel, A Familiar Rain, deals with reliving the past and features a character with autobiographical memory.
all of the sorrows and trauma we usually get over by forgetting, these folks still can recall. It could torment them. I’m not sure if this is a blessing or a curse.
I need to put in more work on my post
thank you for this post. It gave me a great idea for another brain related post that I thought of today. Wouldn't have put it on steemit without seeing this!
wish I had such memory..a good read. Brain power is amazing
I wouldn't want to have an eidetic memory. Seems it could almost be a curse. I have ptsd and I thank God every day that I can't remember any of trauma that caused it.
I know someone who says they can remember their birth!
In the last half of the second video, the subjects state that their minds don't feel cluttered or that their memories are rushing back at them constantly; but instead their memories are organized.
This is very interesting! Imagine if everyone was able to unlock this power and how much more productive we could all become.
In India we have a meditation technique by which you can see your past and recall all the things that has happened into your life.
A truly interesting read. I love the show 60 minutes. I have to wonder what profession these handful of people with this "Superpower" as you put it have. It would be interesting to see if their ability to hold memory in fact was the driving factor in their choice of profession. This reminds me of the movie with youth that worked at Harvard and had a brilliant mathematical mind but was a simple janitor, lol, I can't remember the movie. Thanks for sharing
I remember when I didn't by BTC. I remember when I didn't buy steem.
Hrmmmm.
I don't think these things are traumatic or not traumatic based on remembering the details. The event still happened to you and had some impact even if it's buried in the subconscious.
To me it seems remembering the details could only help, it sort of gives more dexterity if you want to cope and sort it out.
The massive scope of life is already enough without perfect memory. I find it hard to fathom how many songs, books, ideas, etc I've consumed in my life. The brain is a powerful thing.
meep
Well, that would be super-frustrating.
Thank god my memory sucks. I have nothing worth remembering
Incredible!!
Muy buena la lectura
Oh, my. I don't think I could mentally tolerate the intensity of remembering every single day. These people are amazing, living with this ability. Does this mean they use a much greater portion of their brains?
I think I would like to able to remember a lot more, or be able to recall what I needed. It may be in the future that we have Augmented Intelligence (humans with enhanced minds).
Blockchain Brain? I personally like the brains ability to filter/forget, I need some room for new stuff!
When my mother saw this episode of 60 Minutes, she really wanted me to get in contact with the researcher conducting this study. Watching the videos, my memory is no where near as keen as the featured individuals, but it is probably closer than 99.9% of other people. I definitely have a photographic memory, especially for autobiographical events. I fully relate to how isolating having a memory like this can be. It is rather haunting at times; it makes letting bygones be bygones difficult, and it makes the best times in life seem as though they are staring me in the face (which makes bad times seem worse). A lot of people just don't understand it, and it is easy for them to accuse me of being self-centered. I find holes and inaccuracies in what people say. If one has a memory like this, it is important to understand that most people do not. From what I just wrote, it seems like having a superior memory is negative; it isn't. I've made a lot of money in private investigation with my "talents." I'm also the top pick in any trivia games!
As a graphics designer having such a strong photographic memory would be extremely helpful for designing. Great post!
I am happy how it is right now. Super human is too much for me. :-)