Photographic memory

[Salahudeen]

Is there any way to get one?? I remember a reading a thread ages back on LI about an online ebook that taught you how to acquire one. But I can't find that thread now :raging: Someone posted links to the material as well.

[IAmZamzam]

I don't think you can learn to be an eideteker either in imagination or in memory. I am somewhat of an eideteker in both, although I guess that doesn't qualify me to know for sure. You'd have to consult someone who knows about the brain, but I'm pretty certain that you have to be born with the ability. It matters little in the end since there are sufficient enough pnemonic systems out there. I think entire books have been written on the subject of memory-improvement, but not on altering your fundamental neurological hard-wiring.

[glo]

I can't imagine that you can acquire a photographic memory either - either you have it or you don't.

But I remember sister Skye telling us that having a photographic memory isn't necessarily a good thing - you may continue to see things in your mind, which you would much rather forget ...

[~Raindrop~]

^^ tell me about it :exhausted

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[Woodrow]

A photographic memory does not equate to intelligence or knowledge. It is quite common in low IQ people who often remember everything they see, hear or do, but have no concept of what it means. Far better to have a limited memory, but understand and be able to use what you do remember.

Many highly intelligent people have very poor memories, stories about absent minded professors are very common.

Although I did meet one genuine genius with a photographic memory. He was in college with me in my undergraduate days. The little rascal was only 12 or 13 years old. He went on and got his MD when he was about 18 if I remember right. But, he could not practice medicine as he was too young to be licensed. Last I heard he had given up medicine and became a Banker.

[IAmZamzam]

Far better to have a limited memory, but understand and be able to use what you do remember.

Indeed. It's much comparable to the logic which defies the "wisdom comes with age" fallacy, if you think about it.

Many highly intelligent people have very poor memories, stories about absent minded professors are very common.

Nor does one have to have a very poor memory, even if highly intelligent, to be absent-minded. Just ask anyone who knows me.

[syilla]

i think you need to be a dyslexia...if you want to have one :X or i could be wrong...huhu

[Sampharo]

But, he could not practice medicine as he was too young to be licensed. Last I heard he had given up medicine and became a Banker.

Studying all that time for an MD, then becoming a licensed loan shark. That's sad. imsad

[zakirs]

Last I heard he had given up medicine and became a Banker.

Studying all that time for an MD, then becoming a licensed loan shark. That's sad.

Not sad, infact he must be helluva rich now.

[Woodrow]

Not sad, infact he must be helluva rich now.

Well quite possible he is at least 60 years old now and last time I saw him he was about 20 at most. At that time computers were just becoming a business tool and Programming was very difficult and a job. in high demand with high pay. The little rascal saw an add for a programmer. He had never taken a single programming class nor even seen a computer. He spent the night in the university reference library reading all available about programing, the next day he took the screening test for the programing job and scored the highest of all applicants. The job was with a bank that was in the process of trying to computerize all of the banks functions. He was hired on a one year contract during which he was to develop a system of storing all of the banks records and develop and automated system to perform the common daily calculations. He completed the asignment in a month and the bank paid him the agreed years salary for the job and gave him a rather large bonus for doing it so fast. That was his starting point into the banking world.

[Khaldun]

:sl:

I think what you are after is the memory scholars of old had.

It is reported that Imaam Shaafi'ee had to cover up a page when he would be memorising so that he would not memorise the wrong page by mistake.

He also took the book of Imaam Maalik, al-Muwatta, and memorised it in one night, Imaam Maalik said you memorised a book that took me 20 years to write.

Imaam Zuhri had to put cotton in his ears if he ever went to the market so that he wouldnt memorise peoples conversations by mistake.

Imaam Abdullaah bin Mubaarak was asked do you memorise hadith? Where upon his skin colour changed and he replied no, I look inside [the book] and whatever I wish stays with me.

Imaam Ahmad bin Hanbal memorised at least one million hadith by heart.

Imaam Bukhaarees memory was so sharp that when the people in Baghdaad tried to trick him by mentioning hadiths with mixed up chain of narrators he ended up correcting them.

So what gives these people this amazing ability? Well obviously it is a blessing and a test from Allah, to see if they are grateful [i.e use it for good] or ungrateful. One of the main ways to improve ones memory is to stay away from sin, I realise people might think yeah yeah we already know that! But honestly try it and you will soon see that things will improve.

Also keep repeating whatever you want to memorise, it was narrated that a scholar from the past once sat and repeated a few couplets of arabic poetry, an old lady sat abit far from him but she over heared him and after awhile she said enough! Even I, an old lady has memorised it by now. But the scholar didnt pay attention to it rather he carried on. After a few days he met the lady again and asked her to repeat the couplets to him she replied I have forgotten it whereupon the scholar said this is the difference between you and me. [i.e he kept repeating it so it stayed with him]

Photographic memory is a blessing from the all-Mighty, yet if you do not have it, that doesnt mean you cant improve your memory or make the most of what you have.

Make dua that Allah grants you a strong memory.

Also chewing gum helps.

[Woodrow]

:sl: Akhi,

Without quoting your entire post I believe this sums up what we should desire and try to achieve

:sl:

I think what you are after is the memory scholars of old had.


Photographic memory is a blessing from the all-Mighty, yet if you do not have it, that doesnt mean you cant improve your memory or make the most of what you have.

Make dua that Allah grants you a strong memory.

Also chewing gum helps.


Imaam Ahmad bin Hanbal memorised at least one million hadith by heart.

With proper usage a photographic memory is not needed. But we should strive to improve what we have and use it for a blessed purpose. A misused memory is a wasted memory.

[cat eyes]

i think i have photographic memory:p well heres my inspiring story once i was in this shoe store and i saw these really cool shoes i liked with a brand name written on them in funky writing i didnt have the money to buy them so i said to the sales assistant i will come back 2morow if there still here so i came back and they were not there:'( and the lady said she'd have a look in the stock room she asked me could i remember what they looked like and this photographic image came in my mind of the shoes and i was able to explain to her in detail and she was stunned lol just goes to show we will remember things when we want something bad enough;D you probably think this is useless information but i thought id share my fascinating story with you :p so when you are ever struggling with your studies think of how sister cat eyes really wanted those sparkling shoes. :wub:

[IAmZamzam]

All right, first, no you don't have to be dyslexic to be an eideteker. (I much prefer the proper terms "eidetic" and "eideteker" because "photographic" is misleading in that makes the matter sound so starkly black-and-white, as though anyone literally has a P-E-R-F-E-C-T memory. It gives people an oversimplified and possibly exaggerated notion of the thing. Plus, "eidetic" describes the condition when it applies to memory as well as when it applies to imagination. For example, I have a certain degree of both.)

Second, it has nothing to do with staying away from sin either. It's something you're born with whereas sin is a result of moment-by-moment choice instead of inherent neurological make-up.

[OurIslamic]

No on ecan "gain" a photographic memory. It is a gift or a curse, many have different opinions regarding it. You can increase your ability ot notice more if you practice constantly by looking at something for a few seconds, then trying to remember what you saw. Keep on doing that 10-15 times a day and in no time, you'll notice more and more.

[Khaldun]

:sl:

I beg to differ. As Muslims we believe that everything we get is from Allah and if Allah blesses someone he should use that blessing for good but if he is ungrateful and decides to sin instead no doubt Allah the Most High will take away this blessing. Furthermore all the Imaams from the past all gave the advice to their students to stay away from sin since this would keep your memory sharp.

Sin weakens your memory

[Alim Apprentice]

I'm no medical expert, though I'd like to think photographic memories can occur under extreme mental duress.. perhaps a traumatic experience? Or, a strong emotional attachment? An example of the latter would be somewhat close to what sister Cat eyes experienced with her shoe incident.

[IAmZamzam]

I beg to differ. As Muslims we believe that everything we get is from Allah and if Allah blesses someone he should use that blessing for good but if he is ungrateful and decides to sin instead no doubt Allah the Most High will take away this blessing. Furthermore all the Imaams from the past all gave the advice to their students to stay away from sin since this would keep your memory sharp.

You are severly misunderstanding and misapplying both of those notions here.

I'm no medical expert, though I'd like to think photographic memories can occur under extreme mental duress.. perhaps a traumatic experience? Or, a strong emotional attachment? An example of the latter would be somewhat close to what sister Cat eyes experienced with her shoe incident.

My father is a medical expert and I've just asked him and he said no: "It appears to be inborn."

[Ansariyah]

I never forget the perfumes I smelled as a young child n I smelled manyy. I smell it in public n it takes me back exactly to the moment/day I smelled it, wat went on, who wore the perfume. How Bizarre.

[Ramadhan]

I read somewhere that smell connects fastest to the parts of brain that store memory.
That's why it is often that you immediately transported to a certain place in a certain time when smelling a certain smell.

[Ramadhan]

Here's an explanation on smell and memory:

http://health.howstuffworks.com/smell3.htm

Smell and Memory

A smell can bring on a flood of memories, influence people's moods and even affect their work performance. Because the olfactory bulb is part of the brain's limbic system, an area so closely associated with memory and feeling it's sometimes called the "emotional brain," smell can call up memories and powerful responses almost instantaneously.

The olfactory bulb has intimate access to the amygdala, which processes emotion, and the hippocampus, which is responsible for associative learning. Despite the tight wiring, however, smells would not trigger memories if it weren't for conditioned responses. When you first smell a new scent, you link it to an event, a person, a thing or even a moment. Your brain forges a link between the smell and a memory -- associating the smell of chlorine with summers at the pool or lilies with a funeral. When you encounter the smell again, the link is already there, ready to elicit a memory or a mood. Chlorine might call up a specific pool-related memory or simply make you feel content. Lilies might agitate you without your knowing why. This is part of the reason why not everyone likes the same smells.

Because we encounter most new odors in our youth, smells often call up childhood memories. But we actually begin making associations between smell and emotion before we're even born. Infants who were exposed to alcohol, cigarette smoke or garlic in the womb show a preference for the smells. To them, the smells that might upset other babies seem normal or even comforting.

In the next section, we'll find out how some people use smell's ability to trigger memory.

[Alim Apprentice]

My father is a medical expert and I've just asked him and he said no: "It appears to be inborn."

Ah, fair enough :) So its an inborn ability to clearly memorize certain events like traumatic experiences? Can you ask him possibilities on why these people can't photographically memorize on whim?

[Danah]

Its always said that if you are memorizing Quran try to use only one Mushaf (copy of Quran) and don't change it, so the style of the Arabic writing and the color of the words and also the places of ayaat will be stuck in your mind. In other word, you will get the image of the page you are memorizing stored in your memory.

Usually I can't memorize from a different Mushaf than the one I always use becuz of the same reason. Even my teacher when she asked us about any Aayah, she always try to remind us of the place of the page that aayah was mentioned, then give us the chance to answer.

:sl:

Also chewing gum helps.

really? I remember our teachers in school told us that chewing gum prevent the brain to focus!!!

[Khaldun]

:sl:

Brother Yahya please tell me how I am misunderstanding and misplacing things?

What I am saying is even though it might be a thing people are born with it is nonetheless a blessing from Allah [if used for good] and we all know that if we are grateful Allah increases us in blessings but if we are ungrateful Allah takes away such a blessing from us. This is basic Islamic knowledge, read up on the story of Saba.

Sister Danah the salaf used to chew gum alot, and Imaam Zuhri adviced people who want to increase in memory to eat raisins.

[Woodrow]

I think we all need to remember that a photographic memory is a gift from Allaah(swt) as such it carries a great responsibility and those who have it may suffer greatly as a result of the burden of responsibility. It is not a wise thing to desire unless one is also gifted with the wisdom to handle the responsibility and to use this great gift to serve and please Allaah(swt)

However, a photgraphic memory is not essential for most of us. Nearly everybody has sufficient memory to do all they need do and also to become hafiz. Best we use what we have to serve Allaah(swt) and not be envious of any who have been given great gifts.

Each of us can improve the memory we have and use our memories in constructive manners that will serve Allaah(swt)

To improve our memories e need first avoid doing what destroys memory. Alcohol, drugs. guilt, wasted trivial pleasres in other words avoid sin.

Now to go on and see what can improve memory. Proper diet, proper care of our bodies in terms of rest, exercise, cleanliness and diet. Add to that we can exercise our memories by engaging in memory related activities, such as studying to be Hafiz.

ODD isn't it, that which are best for us are what Islam tells us to do anyhow. Live the life of following Islam to the best of your ability.

[IAmZamzam]

:sl:

Brother Yahya please tell me how I am misunderstanding and misplacing things?

What I am saying is even though it might be a thing people are born with it is nonetheless a blessing from Allah [if used for good] and we all know that if we are grateful Allah increases us in blessings but if we are ungrateful Allah takes away such a blessing from us. This is basic Islamic knowledge, read up on the story of Saba.

Sister Danah the salaf used to chew gum alot, and Imaam Zuhri adviced people who want to increase in memory to eat raisins.

All right then.

So its an inborn ability to clearly memorize certain events like traumatic experiences?

Well, those things are often said to be burned with unpleasant degrees of clarity into the memories of even ordinary people. Eidetic or "photographic" memory is just an inborn ability to clearly memorize (sometimes unintentionally, just by default, though not always) certain events period--namely sensory ones--and hold onto the sensory information indefinitely. It tends to come for many (like myself) with eidetic imagination as well, which indicates a sharply powerful degree of richness and detail in imagery and realism in one's sensory envisagings. It's like you can almost literally see or hear something. Like I've said, though, the term "photographic" can still give people an unrealistic level of expectation in terms of pure perfection or constancy, which are neurological inhuman absolutes. Wikipedia's entry on being an eideteker

Can you ask him possibilities on why these people can't photographically memorize on whim?

Again, often we have to do it on purpose. Sometimes we just end up doing it anyway, but not always.

[Bdash]

Hi! I read this thread and want to suggest you several techniques and exercises to improve your memory. Here are some of them

ACRONYMS. You form acronyms by using each first letter from a group of words to form a new word. This is particularly useful when remembering words in a specified order. Acronyms are very common in ordinary language and in many fields. Some examples of common acronyms include NBA (National Basketball Associations), SCUBA (Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus), BTUs (British Thermal Units), and LASER (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation). What other common acronyms can you think of? The memory techniques in this section, for example, can be rearranged to form the acronym "SCRAM" (Sentences/acrostics, Chunking, Rhymes & songs, Acronyms, and Method of loci).

SENTENCES/ACROSTICS. Like acronyms, you use the first letter of each word you are trying to remember. Instead of making a new word, though, you use the letters to make a sentence. Here are some examples:

* My Dear Aunt Sally (mathematical order of operations: Multiply and Divide before you Add and Subtract)
* Kings Phil Came Over for the Genes Special (Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Genus, Species)
More techniques you can see >> here

[Salahudeen]

Hi! I read this thread and want to suggest you several techniques and exercises to improve your memory. Here are some of them

ACRONYMS. You form acronyms by using each first letter from a group of words to form a new word. This is particularly useful when remembering words in a specified order. Acronyms are very common in ordinary language and in many fields. Some examples of common acronyms include NBA (National Basketball Associations), SCUBA (Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus), BTUs (British Thermal Units), and LASER (Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation). What other common acronyms can you think of? The memory techniques in this section, for example, can be rearranged to form the acronym "SCRAM" (Sentences/acrostics, Chunking, Rhymes & songs, Acronyms, and Method of loci).

SENTENCES/ACROSTICS. Like acronyms, you use the first letter of each word you are trying to remember. Instead of making a new word, though, you use the letters to make a sentence. Here are some examples:

* My Dear Aunt Sally (mathematical order of operations: Multiply and Divide before you Add and Subtract)
* Kings Phil Came Over for the Genes Special (Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Genus, Species)
More techniques you can see >> here

jazakallaH KHAIR I'll give these a try and buy some raisons also.

[Abdul Qadir]

Is there any way to get one?? I remember a reading a thread ages back on LI about an online ebook that taught you how to acquire one. But I can't find that thread now :raging: Someone posted links to the material as well.

if ur talking about memorizing the quran, this will help inshallah:

Salat and du’a' for memory

improvement




Here we would like to mention one tradition

recorded by al-Tirmidhi in his Sunan, and is

connected to 'Ali, r.a. Once, when he was in the

presence of the Prophet (saws) he complained

about the problem with remembering. The

Prophet (saws) recommended to him to offer a

special Salat and taught him a supplication which

can be recited for improvement of hifz. We are

presenting this tradition in its entirety:





It has been recorded by al-Tirmidhi with

sanad of Ibn 'Abbas that he said: “Once, when we

were with the Prophet of Allah, (saws), 'Ali ibn

Abi Talib came and said: -O prophet of Allah, to

me you are like a father or mother. This Qur`an

is slipping out of my chest so that it is becoming

very hard to me to keep it in my memory.

The Prophet (saws) responded: -Would you

like me to teach you words (a supplication),

which will, by the help of Allah, benefit you and

those whom you teach? That way you will, by the

help of Allah, make lasting in you chest (memory)

what you memorized?

-Yes, teach me, o prophet of Allah – said

'Ali.

-When the night of Friday starts (Lailatul-

Jumu’ah)53, if you manage to get up in the last

third of that night – get up, because that time is

blessed and in it Allah accepts supplications. My

brother Ya’qub told his sons: - I will surely

supplicate to my Lord for you; and he was

intending to do that in the Jumu’ah night. If you

can not get up in its last third, then try in its half.

And if you do not manage even in that part, get



up at the beginning of that night and offer 4

rak’ahs. During the first rak’ah read sura

al-Fatihah and the sura Yasin, during the

second read suras al-Fatihah and al-Dukhan,

during the third rak’ah surahs al-Fatiha and al-

Sajdah, and on qiyam of the fourth rak’ah read

suras al-Fatihah and al-Mulk. Upon completion

of the fourth rak’ah, thank Allah and nicely

express yourself about Him, then bring Salawat

on me and do that nicely. Also, bring Salawat on

other prophets of Allah and seek forgiveness for

believing men and women and your brothers who

surpassed you in religion. At the end, he said:



“O Allah, have mercy on me so that I stay

away from sinning for as long as I live! Have O

Allah, the Creator of the heavens and the earth,

the Glorious and Honorable and Almighty, I beg

you, the most Merciful, calling upon Your Glory

and the Light of Your Face, to oblige my heart to

remember Your Book the way You taught me.

Bless me to read it the way that will please You!

My Lord, the Creator of the heavens and the

earth, You Who are absolute in Your might, I

implore You the most Merciful, calling upon Your

Glory and Light of Your Face, to illuminate with

you Qur`an my sight, to move with it my tongue

and make it easy on my heart. With it make my

chest wide and clean my body. Truly, on the path

of Truth only You can help me and only You are

able to give me the Truth. There is no might no

power except with Allah, the most High, and the

most Glorious!”



“O Abu al-Hasan, you will do that on three,

five or seven Friday (Jumu’ah) nights, and it will

be accepted from you with the permission of

Allah. By the One Who sent me with the Truth,

this has not yet left unaffected any (true) Muslim!

Abdullah ibn 'Abbas narrates: “By Allah,

not five or seven Fridays passed by and 'Ali again

came to the prophet and said: -O Prophet of

Allah, earlier I used to memorize four verses at

once, and each time I wanted to repeat them they

would disappear. Now I memorize more than

forty verses, and when I repeat them I feel as if

the Book of Allah is wide open in front of me.

Also, when I now hear your sayings and pass

them on later, I do not omit one letter from them.”

The prophet of Allah said on that occasion:

110

“You are the believer, by the Lord of

Ka’bah, o Abu al-Hasan!54

54 See: al-Tirmidhi, Abu ‘Isa: Sunan, Dar al-hadith,

Cairo, vol. 5, pp. 563-565, hadith #3570. Sanad (chain of

transmitters) of this hadith is as follows: Al-Tirmidhi

reports from Ahmad ibn al-Hasan, and Ahmad from

Sulaiman ibn ‘Abdurrahman al-Dimishqi, and Sulaiman

from al-Walid ibn Muslim, al-Walid from ibn Juraij, Ibn

Juraij from ‘Ata` ibn Abi Rabah and ‘Ikrimah, and finally

these two from Ibn ‘Abbas. Imam al-Tirmidhi values this

sanad as hasan-gharib.

Analysing the mentioned sanad according to the principles

of the methodology of hadith which deals with the critique

of transmitters of tradition (al-jarh wa al-ta’dil), we

concluded the following:

a) The chain of transmition is connected (muttasil) and

every rawi (transmitter) in it did heard it from the rawi

that had preceded it;

b) The well known authority on hadith Ibn Hajar

al-‘Asqalani, in his famous work Tahdhib al-Tahdhib

and its resume Taqrib al- Tahdhib, gives to the majority

of the mentioned transmitters high marks (thiqatun, hafiz,

faqih), and only to al-Walid he gives a mark saduq,

which is also considered a positive qualification. The

scholars in the field of the science of hadith take the

narrations with such marks as valid evidence for (hasan

narrations). In connection with the mentioned marks and

qualifications consult: Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani: Tahdhib

al-Tahdhib, Dar al-kitab al-islami, Cairo, 1993, and

Taqrib al-Tahdhib, Dar al-kutub al-‘ilmiyyah, Bairut,

1993. The names of rawis in the mentioned works are

listed in alphabetical order.