Can you train a photographic memory?

[grl]

Can you learn and train / improve a photographic memory? or is it something that you either have the ability to do or don't?

How do you know if you do?

[Brutha]

The term photographic memory is a bit difficult because most people don't know how the memory of people with a so called photographic memory works.

The world memory championship gets normally won by people who developed their memory through training instead of by people with inherent abilities.

[Karanime]

Isn't it just being able to look at things and recall them to the very last detail?

Even if it isn't, how do you do THAT? I'd love to be able to look at a photograph and draw it from memory.

If I could think in that much detail, you have any idea how awesome that would be? I could manifest, like, anything!

More info, please!

/<3

[Ashton Cartwright]

There was a really good book called Read Em And Reap by an ex FBI agent, and it taught how to be more observant, and to record what you observed mentally. Was pretty cool :-)

[Curtis2011]

Originally Posted by grl

Can you learn and train / improve a photographic memory? or is it something that you either have the ability to do or don't?

How do you know if you do?

Traditional "photographic" memory is impossible. This is the type of memory where someone wants to be able to look at something for one second and instantly have it permanently recorded into their memory. Impossible.

However, you can train "eidetic" memory, which just means "the ability to recall images, sounds, or objects in memory with extreme accuracy and in abundant volume."

This is possible. BUT, just like training your muscles to bench press 350 lbs, you have to train starting from where you are now (ie 100 lbs) and train up before you can do the "heavy lifting" of memorizing 1000's of numbers or definitions, etc.

I have not completed the Phenomenal Memory course (at Mnemonics, Memory strategies, Brain power, Improve your Memory, Memory skills, Memory improvement, Memorization techniques, Memory development, Memory Loss) because frankly, it is quite difficult. However, by Lesson 6, the last lesson I completed, I had already gained memorization ability greater than I had ever had before.

If you want to improve your memory, go with the Pmemory system. Everything in their website about memory is true. You will know it is true by the time you finish Lesson #1.

[Mike Hunt]

hi, just wondering has anyone tried Zox Pro? It claims the following:




Unlock your built-in photographic
memory

Photograph' books at over 25,000+
words per minute (over 100 times the
average reading speed)

Store every single word in your long
term memory for LIFE, so you simply
cannot forget it

Dramatically reduce stress

Become much more effective, organized, and efficient.


I've searched but I can't find any independent reviews of it. By the way, I'm in no way affiliated with this program. Just looking for some feedback, that's all..

[Brutha]

Photograph' books at over 25,000+
words per minute (over 100 times the
average reading speed)

Store every single word in your long
term memory for LIFE, so you simply
cannot forget it

There nobody on earth with that kind of memory. Not even the speed reading savants archive either that speed or that kind of recall.
If a person claims that kind of memory they should compete in the memory championships and blow everyone away but they don't.

Isn't it just being able to look at things and recall them to the very last detail?

For those detailed painting the looking isn't something that can happen in a minute.

[Curtis2011]

Originally Posted by Mike Hunt

Photograph' books at over 25,000+
words per minute (over 100 times the
average reading speed)

Store every single word in your long
term memory for LIFE, so you simply
cannot forget it

I have taken a speed reading training course.

I have two things to say about it:

1. Everyone should take a good speed reading course. It did change how I read entirely. I now read everything much faster, mostly because I can now read without pronouncing the words in my head (read solely by looking at the words and not by speaking them in your mind).

2. Most claims of speed reading courses are, at the same time, ridiculous. They SAY that you can read 25,000 words per minute, but in practice all that really ends up as is that you flip through pages and don't really read the material at all. They say "it is all in your subconscious memory" but in reality, if you were tested on any exact facts from the reading, you will not be able to answer them. All you get is a general idea of the text, if that.

So, speed reading is a good thing to learn, but most courses I have heard of exaggerate their claims to far beyond what is possible. I think they would be more trusted if they merely advertised what is actually possible, rather than some retarded "25,000 words per minute" estimate.

[SatvikBeri]

Originally Posted by Curtis2011

I have taken a speed reading training course.

I have two things to say about it:

1. Everyone should take a good speed reading course. It did change how I read entirely. I now read everything much faster, mostly because I can now read without pronouncing the words in my head (read solely by looking at the words and not by speaking them in your mind).

2. Most claims of speed reading courses are, at the same time, ridiculous. They SAY that you can read 25,000 words per minute, but in practice all that really ends up as is that you flip through pages and don't really read the material at all. They say "it is all in your subconscious memory" but in reality, if you were tested on any exact facts from the reading, you will not be able to answer them. All you get is a general idea of the text, if that.

So, speed reading is a good thing to learn, but most courses I have heard of exaggerate their claims to far beyond what is possible. I think they would be more trusted if they merely advertised what is actually possible, rather than some retarded "25,000 words per minute" estimate.

On that note, an excellent free way to learn to speed-read is Free online speed reading software | Spreeder.com . Just grab a couple books off of Project Gutenberg and paste them in.

I find that this is actually more effective than standard speed-reading training, because the speed of the words is totally out of your control once you start (and you don't have to move your fingers all the time, which hurts my hands)

[Brutha]

@Curtis: What kind of speed reading course have you taken?
Can you quantify your present reading speed?
@SatvikBeri: How fast are you reading at the moment.

I'm working on an online speed reading system myself that not only trains speed but comprehension as well. Any kind of feedback about what works would be very valuable.

[AtomicAnt]

I think a great deal of it can be trained. Certainly law enforcement people can remember details of any people they see much better than the average citizen; it's part of their training.

[SatvikBeri]

Originally Posted by Brutha

@Curtis: What kind of speed reading course have you taken?
Can you quantify your present reading speed?
@SatvikBeri: How fast are you reading at the moment.

I'm working on an online speed reading system myself that not only trains speed but comprehension as well. Any kind of feedback about what works would be very valuable.

500 WPM at full comprehension, up from 300 WPM 6 weeks ago. I've probably put about 8 hours into Spreeder. I did already know some basic speedreading techniques, like using your fingers and focusing on the middle of the page.

I still subvocalize, though.

[Curtis2011]

Originally Posted by Brutha

@Curtis: What kind of speed reading course have you taken?
Can you quantify your present reading speed?
@SatvikBeri: How fast are you reading at the moment.

I'm working on an online speed reading system myself that not only trains speed but comprehension as well. Any kind of feedback about what works would be very valuable.

I took a speed reading course taught by some dude who was advertising it to kids on our campus. We met for something like 4 hours a week for 6 weeks, or something like that.

I think at the end of the several-week training I maxed out at like 800 words per minute-ish, but I never really continued training myself after that.

However, I did retain the ability to read without sub-vocalizing, which is basically what the training was all about (that, and using your fingers to read, lol).

One strange thing I have noticed though, is that if I skim my eyes across a sentence faster than I could ever sub-vocalize it, sometimes my brain still sub-vocalizes it almost as an inner echo of what it was saying, without me even trying to sub-vocalize or sometimes even being aware of it happening until it is done. It's as if my whole reading process has just naturally sped up, which I guess is the whole point of "speed reading" in the first place.

[mindset]

Originally Posted by grl

Can you learn and train / improve a photographic memory? or is it something that you either have the ability to do or don't?

How do you know if you do?

I've been wondering the same too! I guess it takes a lot of talent, skill and concentration to be able to do so. But I believe it can also be developed through extensive training over a period of time...just as long as you put your heart and mind to it. I'd probably have that skill if I train myself for 10 years. LOL..

[wido1982]

Check out 'Memory in a month' from Ron White. He holds the world record for euh ... remembering a lot of things. Don't know the exact term for it

It's a 1 month program that only takes 10 to 15 minutes a day. I highly recommend it!

[JasonC]

[QUOTE=Mike Hunt;589976]hi, just wondering has anyone tried Zox Pro? [QUOTE]

I've been practicing ZOX for quite some time now off and on for a year, but several months ago I decided to really get into it much more so than before. I personally believe that photographic memory is absolutely real, but is 'lost' over time (like after 5 years of age).

I've come across 3-5 year old children who would be able to hear a story once, and recite it literally word for word. Also, one of my friends was able to do that when she was 6, and her parents thought she would grow up as a genius, but she eventually 'lost' the ability.

ZOX claims that this 'ability' gets lost due to school, where children learn to read one letter/word at a time. Supposedly, this dormant part of us can be reawakened over time, and I am putting it to the test to see if this is true.

My results haven't been all that fantastic, but I do notice a lot of subtle things. The method works very much like photoreading (in fact photoreading is based on subliminal dynamics, of which ZOX is an online version of it).

In anycase, they have this one dictionary drill (which photoreading also has). It involves first mentally photographing the entire dictionary. Afterwards, I would have to close the dictionary, and then think of a word and it's location in the dictionary. Then I'd look it up to see if it was located in the spot that I imagined. In the beginning, my 'success ratio' was like 1 or maybe 2 out of 10 words. Often times, it was 0. Lately, I've been getting more accurate hits: 5 out of 10 words.

My results aren't magical like on the zox website, but they are definitely improving slowly over time. The course has led me to see how much psychological junk I must clear before I can expect to get better results, because emotional issues often get in the way of success.

I also attended a live seminar with Shannon (the guy who runs the Zox site) and had a very unique experience: After mentally photographing a book (i.e. literally just flipping pages while in a certain relaxed state), I took a test, involving 'true/false', multiple choice and short answers.

For the entire test, I had to just go with my first instinct. Before I would answer the questions, I would go with the first image that came to mind. I got all the short answers wrong, yet when I went back into the book, I noticed 2 of my answers were VERY closely related to the actual answers.

I also had an experience where I mentally photographed an NLP book, and the same day I unconsciously noticed I was doing an NLP pattern which I haven't used in a long time.

A lot of people reading this would probably think that both Zox and photoreading are scams, but I believe they both work. Read about Vearl McBride who managed to get similar results independently:

Multi-Language Rapid Reading, or, The Tower of Babel Revisited.

He was a professor who got strikingly similar results and wasn't out to try to make a business out of it. He took speed reading, and sped it up like crazy (as did Richard Welch, the founder of mental photography). In the process, he came across some unorthodox methods for learning via speed reading. You can read about it here:

Amazon.com: Damn the school system--full speed ahead! (An Exposition-university book)…

And this led me to think: Perhaps there is something to this.

There are youtube videos of 1 year old babies who are able to read:

YouTube - Smart Baby Reading at 12 Months (Part 2)

This method of reading is based on Glenn Doman's work which reveals how the right brain has an incredible ability to store information. This is interestingly the same part of the brain that is used with speed reading and Zoxing, and memory.

Zox (or photoreading), interestingly, does not even feel like reading. It uses a completely different approach to reading that it's as if there is no 'reading' done in the traditional sense. In the same way, 1 year old babies are not learning to read the traditional way either. It would simply cause them stress and to hate reading altogether.

Anyway, I digress... I do hope this is interesting. I will share any updates with Zox when the time comes.

[Leesah]

Originally Posted by Curtis2011

I can now read without pronouncing the words in my head (read solely by looking at the words and not by speaking them in your mind).

Um...wow. I literally can't imagine how that could be done! (trying now and.. no, lol). Sounds very interesting.

[yemmar119]

[QUOTE=JasonC;622874][QUOTE=Mike Hunt;589976]hi, just wondering has anyone tried Zox Pro?

I've been practicing ZOX for quite some time now off and on for a year, but several months ago I decided to really get into it much more so than before. I personally believe that photographic memory is absolutely real, but is 'lost' over time (like after 5 years of age).

I've come across 3-5 year old children who would be able to hear a story once, and recite it literally word for word. Also, one of my friends was able to do that when she was 6, and her parents thought she would grow up as a genius, but she eventually 'lost' the ability.

ZOX claims that this 'ability' gets lost due to school, where children learn to read one letter/word at a time. Supposedly, this dormant part of us can be reawakened over time, and I am putting it to the test to see if this is true.

My results haven't been all that fantastic, but I do notice a lot of subtle things. The method works very much like photoreading (in fact photoreading is based on subliminal dynamics, of which ZOX is an online version of it).

In anycase, they have this one dictionary drill (which photoreading also has). It involves first mentally photographing the entire dictionary. Afterwards, I would have to close the dictionary, and then think of a word and it's location in the dictionary. Then I'd look it up to see if it was located in the spot that I imagined. In the beginning, my 'success ratio' was like 1 or maybe 2 out of 10 words. Often times, it was 0. Lately, I've been getting more accurate hits: 5 out of 10 words.

My results aren't magical like on the zox website, but they are definitely improving slowly over time. The course has led me to see how much psychological junk I must clear before I can expect to get better results, because emotional issues often get in the way of success.

I also attended a live seminar with Shannon (the guy who runs the Zox site) and had a very unique experience: After mentally photographing a book (i.e. literally just flipping pages while in a certain relaxed state), I took a test, involving 'true/false', multiple choice and short answers.

For the entire test, I had to just go with my first instinct. Before I would answer the questions, I would go with the first image that came to mind. I got all the short answers wrong, yet when I went back into the book, I noticed 2 of my answers were VERY closely related to the actual answers.

I also had an experience where I mentally photographed an NLP book, and the same day I unconsciously noticed I was doing an NLP pattern which I haven't used in a long time.

A lot of people reading this would probably think that both Zox and photoreading are scams, but I believe they both work. Read about Vearl McBride who managed to get similar results independently:

Multi-Language Rapid Reading, or, The Tower of Babel Revisited.

He was a professor who got strikingly similar results and wasn't out to try to make a business out of it. He took speed reading, and sped it up like crazy (as did Richard Welch, the founder of mental photography). In the process, he came across some unorthodox methods for learning via speed reading. You can read about it here:

Amazon.com: Damn the school system--full speed ahead! (An Exposition-university book)…

And this led me to think: Perhaps there is something to this.

There are youtube videos of 1 year old babies who are able to read:

YouTube - Smart Baby Reading at 12 Months (Part 2)

This method of reading is based on Glenn Doman's work which reveals how the right brain has an incredible ability to store information. This is interestingly the same part of the brain that is used with speed reading and Zoxing, and memory.

Zox (or photoreading), interestingly, does not even feel like reading. It uses a completely different approach to reading that it's as if there is no 'reading' done in the traditional sense. In the same way, 1 year old babies are not learning to read the traditional way either. It would simply cause them stress and to hate reading altogether.

Anyway, I digress... I do hope this is interesting. I will share any updates with Zox when the time comes.

hey JasonC, thanks for the input..any progress on the Zox Pro programme since your last post?

I have been reading up on a lot of these courses ( Zox pro, pmemory, photoreading etc. ) and what i have seen is that the claims from zox pro seem the most outlandish as compared to the others..

photoreading - helps you skim through the entire book, helping you find what you need..

Pmemory - helps you remember facts and dates and phone numbers etc..

and Zox pro - ''claims'' you can achieve 100% comprehension in a fraction of the time it would take you to actually read the book. (obviously once you have reached master level)

what i currently need right now is a system like the zox pro..that talks about comprehension rather than a system that just helps you memorize facts or help you skim through a material.

i know reaching those claims would take a large amount of practise...but so far...have seen some positive results?

you had mentioned using NLP techniques just after mentally photographing the book...but also u mention you had read this book earlier...

have you had the same experience with a book you havent read earlier?

thanks

[ultimate]

i wonder if practicing
looking at an obect, looking away, closing your eyes and remembering what u can.
Keep doing and it may multiply the neural connections in your brain to be able to do this all the time. Like a habit

[quiethumir]

Originally Posted by Mike Hunt

hi, just wondering has anyone tried Zox Pro? It claims the following:




Unlock your built-in photographic
memory

Photograph' books at over 25,000+
words per minute (over 100 times the
average reading speed)

Store every single word in your long
term memory for LIFE, so you simply
cannot forget it

Dramatically reduce stress

Become much more effective, organized, and efficient.


I've searched but I can't find any independent reviews of it. By the way, I'm in no way affiliated with this program. Just looking for some feedback, that's all..

I have zox pro. So far it hasn't worked for me. I need to train more. Everybody is different.

It seems like it is possible because of the power of our subconscious mind.

[Solipsist]

Just as a direct response to the question...

I have a cousin who used to smoke everyone in Pinochle. And I mean, everyone. When I asked her how she did it, she said she trained herself to have a photographic memory.

Just throwin' that in.

[Brutha]

I have a cousin who used to smoke everyone in Pinochle. And I mean, everyone. When I asked her how she did it, she said she trained herself to have a photographic memory.

Being able to remember what cards went over the table in a game isn't the same thing as being to remember arbitrary information.

I'm also able to remember 200 moves of a Go game if you ask me immediately after the game.
Of course you can call those game feats photographic memory but they don't work outside of material that has the structure of the game.