Does photographic memory exist?

Are there really people with photographic memory literally "taking pictures" of information or is photographic memory a myth?

Wouldn’t it be nice if you had a photographic memory? All it would require to memorize something would be just taking a glance at it. Memory like that would surely be a real advantage.

Today and in the past people have showed extraordinary memory performance. If you’ve ever looked at the Guinness Book of World Records, you know that some people are capable of what seem to be astounding feats of memory.

What can be done with memory?

There are chess masters, for example, who are able to glance quickly at pieces on a chess board and then flawlessly reconstruct the positions on a new board. Some can also typically play blindfolded chess against several opponents at the same time, easily memorizing many chessboard configurations.

Others are able to read through a page in a book and then recite the page from memory, or memorize hundreds of names and numbers from a telephone directory.

Impressive as these feats are, scientists attribute them to specialized ways of thinking about the information, not to any kind of enhanced visual memory.

Is photographic memory a myth?

Early experiments on photographic memory were intriguing, but could not be replicated. Scientists who study memory phenomena generally believe that photographic memory does not exist and is only a myth.

While one cannot completely discount the possibility of a photographic memory, since there have been some very rare individuals with truly extraordinary powers of memory. Those examples of outstanding memory that have been studied have all turned out to be due to the use of powerful memory techniques.

The memory stunts are performed using truly effective memory techniques, and anyone who wants to put in the requisite time and energy can develop a powerful memory.

What can you do to develop powerful memory?

It is possible to develop a powerful memory and you can do it by using memory techniques. Since they are very simple everyone can learn them. The memory technique that helps you memorize any length list of words in sequence takes less than 10 minutes to learn.

With memory techniques it is possible to memorize things that would seem impossible to memorize without them. Almost every memory stunt is performed by using them. Harry Lorayne memorized phone book of New York and performed every other memory stunt in his career solely by using memory techniques.

Memory techniques can be applied to any memory task. They can be applied to memorizing numbers, words, names and faces of people, foreign languages, speeches and any other information. They let your mind memorize information much better and faster by doing it in a more structured and systematic way.

Have not been away from home much and now you are heading off to college. You know you have heard of others quitting school, coming back home and just getting a job to ease their minds. Do you want to be the next coming home? The following are some ideas, tricks, and tips just in case you are feeling home sick and ways to cure your self.

Use the email – fast, effective means of communicating with anyone back home. You can write letters everyday to some one different and have email coming to you everyday – keeping you up to date on all the happenings. If you do not have a computer in your dorm, or in your dorm room – check out the library, use a free email account, easy to set up and use.

Call home – calling and talking to whom ever you miss the most will make you feel good inside. Hearing actual words and realizing that you are missed as well, does make you feel wanted and more confident about your self while you have to be away from home.

Sending post cards – allowing yourself to express your need to let someone know you care releases stress with in you alleviating some stress about being away from home.

Have your local newspaper delivered to your dorm room / mailbox at the college. You will be able to read about all the happenings in your hometown, and keep up on current events.

Go home once a month for the first five or six months – just over night on the weekend. You will slowly notice that nothing much will change while you are away at school, and you may even notice that you feel more at home ‘away’ at your dorm as you make friends and new acquaintances. 

Write your feelings down in a journal, expressing every emotion that you are going through at the time. Go back once every two weeks or so and reread what you have written since you have been at college. You will notice that even on the continued ‘homesick’ days, you will not be as sad or depressed as you once were. You will notice your life getting better and you will feel better deep inside.

Visit your hometown page on the web, looking through pictures and reading local news stories will keep you in touch will your feelings for home.

Hang out with new friends that you have made at school – swapping stories of back home, talking about things you did, plan on doing or things going on there will strengthen your bond with your new friend while helping your keep in touch with your feelings for home.

Students that get homesick will generally feel better as time goes on, and as your schedule gets more hectic, you will with for home as a stress relief!

Head colds, headaches, and the flu are common ailments among college students. You should be prepared with any kind(s) of insurance information that your parents have for your medical treatments if ever needed. If you do not have insurance, the doctor’s office will either charge you or ask you to pay with cash. 

Being prepared to go to the doctors’ office is also another subject that needs to be discussed. There are always the questions of your family medical history. You should know about the major illnesses in your immediate family if nothing else, for example your parents, brothers, and sisters. This will give a doctor a better insight in to your medical composure or symptoms to watch for as well.

Over the counter medicine will most likely be available at your campus bookstore, or at many local stores surrounding the campus. Try not to buy only a one time consumption amount – like two head ache pills in a package will cost you almost a dollar and when you buy a bottle of aspirin it will most likely cost you around three dollars for somewhere about fifty pills. You know you will need more in sometime during your stay at the college so it is good to have on hand.

If you have been sick more than three days, and unable to attend classes you should get in touch with classmate or professor, he or she will be able to advise you as how to get caught up in your classes and what steps you should take next. If your symptoms are continuing beyond three days and you have not gone to the doctors, you may want to seek medical advice to ensure you do not have a more serious condition besides those listed above.

Living in the dorms and in a variety of housing for college students – you will be in close contact with a variety of people, with a variety of germs. Never drink after anyone, no matter how well you know them. If you are visiting some one, do not eat anything that you cannot identify or if you do not know where it came from just to be on the safe side. 

Always use your own toothbrushes, returning your items to your room especially if you are sharing a bathroom with a variety of other students. It is a fact that the majority of the germs in a bathroom come from when the toilet is flushed, as gross as that may be.

Just in review, have you insurance cards or at least numbers with you while you are away at school if available – keep your self healthy, and if you do get sick more than three days get in contact with you advisor and a local doctor. It is always better to be safe that to end up missing weeks of school for minor health’s issues that have run wild in your body.

Being prepared is one of the first steps in knowing meeting your goals of succeeding in college. 

Let’s start with just the first semester of school and assume you are going to be living in a dorm room. Some basic items you may want to take with you are:

Shampoo, razors, conditioner, shaving cream, toothbrush, toothpaste, and deodorant. 

After considering any other personal hygiene items that you may like or require you can move on the room items which may include sheets, pillows, blankets, towels, wash clothes, and a robe. You may also want a curtain, many dorm rooms have blinds or other types of drapes but you will have to inquire with your admissions office or take notice when you visit the school. Don’t forget any medications, prescription medication or cold and flu medications for the fall weather!

Personal items such as a radio, alarm clock, television, phone, VCR or DVD items are to make you feel more comfortable and at home – well ok maybe the alarm clock will be a must have!

Many colleges now are including a lap top or a personal computer in the pricing of their tuition – this is another item you can inquire at your admission office with, you may not have to lug your computer to the school if you are going to be issued a new one. You should take some floppy disks to meet your library and research needs, in case you are not always studying in your room. 

What will else may you want or need? Some dorm rooms allow you space to have a small refrigerator, which can be picked up at, your local stores for about $50 to $150 range. You will most likely be able to sell this item easily when planning your graduation to other students on campus. Having a fridge will give you the comforts of cold drinks and snacks instead of having to run across the dorm or campus when you want something. You can also stock the refrigerator on your way to the dorm buy obtaining items at a local store off campus, saving you money from the vending machines. 

Now some of the more important items – for why you are at school you may need: pencils, pens, calculator (and type will depend on your major), notebooks, calendar, binders, back pack (maybe even two if you keep one for books and one for traveling for extra curricular activities) and more than likely you will want a pair of sunglasses for enjoying the sun in your walking to and from classes. Additional items include – ink for your printer, paper, power surge protectors, a desk pad and a mouse pad. Key board and mouse arm rests are another item to consider but you could get by with out. 

If you have favorite software for meeting our word processing needs – take this with you are you never can be sure when that computer will crash. 

One last thing, you may be leaving and it feels like summer but don’t forget all the clothes that you will be needing as the weeks go by and the weather get cold. You will most likely want the majority of all your summer and fall clothes in the first semester of college life.