ABSTRACT
The technical term for the, eidetic is not much better since it ‘simply scientizes the same concept’. Although eidetic memory is rare in adults, it is much more common in children. Early research suggested that around half of all elementary school children possessed some level of eidetic memory. The capacity seems to be ‘widely distributed amongst young children of both sexes, independent of ethnic origin, class or school performance’. S. Rose suggests that the ‘perceptual filtering’ that develops in most of us during puberty was underdeveloped or only partially functioning in the case of Rose reminds us that having an eidetic memory may not be a gift. To be able to synthesise from past events and indeed to forget huge chunks of irrelevant information is essential for effective action and even survival.
