Main content

Does photographic memory exist?

Some people seem to have the power to remember events, documents or landscapes with almost perfect recall, which is widely referred to as having a photographic memory.

Most people are great at remembering key points from important events in their lives, while the finer details - such as the colour of the table cloth in your favourite restaurant or the song playing on the radio while you brushed your teeth - are forgotten. But some people seem to have the power to remember events, documents or landscapes with almost perfect recall, which is widely referred to as having a photographic memory.

Crowdscience listeners Tracy and Michael want to know if photographic memory actually exists and if not, what are the memory processes that allow people to remember certain details so much better than others?

Putting her own memory skills to the test along the way, presenter Marnie Chesterton sets out to investigate just what’s happening inside our brains when we use our memories, the importance of being able to forget and why some people have better memories than others.

Produced by Hannah Fisher and presented by Marnie Chesterton for the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service.

Contributors:
Stephen Wiltshire
Annette Wiltshire
Dr Farahnaz Wick
Professor Craig Stark

[Image credit: Getty Images]

Available now

35 minutes

Last on

Mon 16 May 2022 19:32GMT

Broadcasts

  • Fri 13 May 2022 19:32GMT
  • Sat 14 May 2022 01:32GMT
  • Sun 15 May 2022 01:32GMT
  • Mon 16 May 2022 03:32GMT
  • Mon 16 May 2022 04:32GMT
  • Mon 16 May 2022 08:32GMT
  • Mon 16 May 2022 12:32GMT
  • Mon 16 May 2022 19:32GMT

Podcast