What Is a Photographic Memory?什么是照相记忆？

玛丽·麦克马洪　张硕/译

According to theories， a person with a photographic memory1 is capable of remembering scenes and events as detailed， precise images. Numerous scientific studies have suggested that the photographic memory is probably purely legendary， as no demonstrations2 of a truly photographic memory have ever been documented. Some people， however， have what is known as an eidetic memory3， a related but somewhat different concept. The terms “eidetic” and “photographic” are sometimes confused， especially in the popular media， and some people may refer to a photographic memory when they really mean an eidetic memory.

以理而论，有照相记忆力的人能以细致精确图像记住场景和事件。然而，无数科学研究表明照相记忆很可能纯属传说，因为没有过任何演示照相记忆的材料。不过，有些人确有所谓“遗觉记忆”。这种记忆与照相记忆有关，但并不相同。“照相记忆”与“遗觉记忆”两种说法有时难以分辨，尤其在大众媒体中，有些人可能在用照相记忆这种说法，实际说的是遗觉记忆。

Proponents of the belief that a photographic memory really does exist say that some people are capable of storing information in the form of detailed images which can be recalled at will4. A person with such a memory， for example， would be able to describe a painting in detail after seeing it once， or be able to recite passages from a book he or she had only seen in passing. People are in fact capable of such feats5， but this appears to be the result of rigorous mental training， rather than an actual photographic memory.

有人支持照相記忆肯定存在的这种看法，他们说，有些人能以细致图像的形式存储信息，而且能够随意调取。譬如，有这种记忆力的人只要看过某幅画一次就能详细描述出这幅画的细节，或者，只要粗略浏览过书中段落就能过目成诵。其实，的确有身怀这种绝技的人，不过这种绝技看起来是严苛训练的结果，并非真正的照相记忆力。

In an eidetic memory， people store visual information with a high level of precision， and this allows them to repeat information in exhaustive detail， but usually only shortly after being exposed to it. Eidetic memory appears to be most common in children， typically fading with age， and some researchers have suggested that this may be because children are more likely to store information in a purely visual way， rather than trying to verbally describe the things they see. For example， someone with an eidetic memory can look at a picture of a dog and later describe it very precisely， but if he or she says “dog” when looking at the image， the level of recall appears to be diminished6.

有遗觉记忆力的人以高精度存储视觉信息，从而能分毫不差地复现所见内容，不过，通常只在看过东西后较短时间内才能做到。遗觉记忆力似乎在儿童身上最为常见，一般随着年龄增长逐步衰退。有些研究人员推测这大概是因为儿童更可能以纯粹视觉形式存储信息，而不是把他们所见用言语表达出来。譬如，有遗觉记忆力的人只要看一张狗的图片，随后就能准确描述这只狗。然而，如果他一边注视这张图片一边说出“狗”这个词语，那么他对狗的记忆似乎就没那么清晰。

In the case of individuals who have an eidetic memory， they appear to store information in fundamentally different ways which facilitate a very high level of recall. This type of memory is not quite the same thing as the famed “photographic memory” which pops up7 periodically in the popular media， not least8 because photographic memories are often attributed9 to adults， and children are actually more likely to have an eidetic memory.

有遗觉记忆力的人似乎以完全不同的方式存储信息，这使得他们的记忆非常清晰。著名的“照相记忆”不时在大众媒体上出现——尤其因为人们经常认为有照相记忆的是成年人，而儿童其实更有可能具有遗觉记忆。

Numerous people throughout history have demonstrated an astounding10 ability to memorize things， from the lines of hundreds of plays to the details of visual scenes which they can later reproduce on a canvas. These individuals have sometimes been said to have photographic memories， but the truth is that they probably trained themselves over the course of years. For professionals who work in fields where a good memory is key， such as actors， painters， and musicians， the development of various memory tricks is vitally necessary to success， and these memorization feats were achieved through hard work and dedication， not memory magic.

历史上无数人展示过令人啧啧称奇的记忆力，无论是记住数百部的戏剧台词，还是在画布上逼真再现先前所见场景细节。有时人们会说，这些人具有照相记忆力，然而事实上这极有可能是他们经年累月自我训练的结果。对某些行业的专业人士来说，记忆力很关键，例如演员、画家、音乐家，掌握各种增进记忆力的技巧对事业成功十分重要，但这些记忆绝技都是通过勤奋和专注而练就，绝非记忆魔法使然。

（译者单位：西北师范大学）