文中某些括号是作意思上的补充。总之，戴上你的安全头盔吧:D
有些词儿我觉得有必要留心下，方便用作关键词来google，所以没译在其中，而是放到这里：
eidetic image 心象
eidetic imagery 心象记忆
photographic memory 照相记忆（我理解是心象记忆中的一种，心象记忆不仅仅是对图象的记忆，包括对声音，听觉，嗅觉等的记忆）
visual imagery 视觉印象
afterimages 残留影象
Is there such a thing as a photographic memory? And if so, can it be learned?
Inthe scientific literature, the term eidetic imagery comes closest towhat is popularly called photographic memory. The most common way toidentify eidetikers (as people with eidetic imagery are often called)is by the Picture Elicitation Method. In it, an unfamiliar picture isplaced on an easel and a person carefully scans the entire scene. After30 seconds have elapsed, the picture is removed from view, and theperson is asked to continue to look at the easel and to report anythingthat they can observe. People possessing eidetic imagery willconfidently claim to still "see" the picture. In addition, they canscan it and examine different parts of it just as if the picture werestill physically present. Consequently, one of the hallmarks of eideticimagery is that eidetikers use the present tense when answeringquestions about the missing picture, and they can report inextraordinary detail what it contained.
在科学文献中，术语“eideticimagery”的含义跟俗称的“photographicmemory”很接近。确认（一个人是不是）“eidetiker（对那些有eideticimagery能力的人的称呼）”最通常的方法叫“Picture ElicitationMethod”。通过这种方法，在画架上放置一幅陌生的图画，让一人仔细地扫视整幅画。30秒后，将图移出那人视线，然后让那人接着边看那画架边描述任何他们（刚在那幅图里）能观察到的细节。拥有“eideticimagery”能力的人将自信满满地声称仍然可以“看见”那幅图。此外，他们可以扫视它而后细查那图上不同的部分，就好像那幅图实际上还在面前一样。因此，“eideticimagery”的一个典型的特点是，当eidetiker们在现场被问及与那幅消失图画有关的问题时，他们可以超量回答出那图所包含的细节。
Eideticimages differ from other forms of visual imagery in several importantways. First, an eidetic image is not simply a long afterimage, sinceafterimages move around when you move your eyes and are usually adifferent color than the original image. (For example, a flash cameracan produce afterimages: the flash is bright white, but the afterimageis a black dot, and the dot moves around every time you move youreyes.) In contrast, a true eidetic image doesn‘t move as you move youreyes, and it is in the same color as the original picture. Second, acommon visual image that we can all create from memory (such as animage of a bedroom) does not have the characteristics of most eideticimages, which almost always fade away involuntarily and part by part.Also, it is not possible to control which parts of an eidetic imagefade and which remain visible. Unlike common visual images created frommemory, most eidetic images last between about half a minute to severalminutes only, and it is possible to voluntarily destroy an eideticimage forever by the simple act of blinking intentionally. Furthermore,once gone from view, rarely can an eidetic image ever be retrieved.
“eideticimage”在几个重要方面上不同于“visual imagery”。第一、一个“eidetic image”并非是个“longafterimage”那样简单，因为“afterimage”会在你移动自己的眼球时移动，并且通常会是相较原象不同的颜色。（例如，一台闪光照相机能引起残像：那个闪光是亮白的，但残象会是个黑点，并且随着你移动自己的眼球，那个点会跟着移动。）与此相反，一个真实的“eideticimage”不会随着你的眼球移动而移动，而且它的颜色跟原象是一样的。第二、一个常见的大家都能从记忆中产生的“visualimagery”（如（心目中）一间卧室的印象）并不具有大多数“eideticimage”所具有的典型特征，它们几乎总是一个接一个地非我们所愿地逐渐消失。同样，并不可能控制一个“eideticimage”的某部份淡化和保持清晰可见。跟通常的由记忆产生的“visual image”不同，大多数“eideticimage”只能持续半分钟到几分钟之间的时间，并且，通过一个简单的有意眨眼动作，是有可能随意且永久地破坏一个“eideticimage”的。此外，一旦从“视野”里消失，“eidetic image”总是能够罕见地被恢复。
Youmight expect that an individual who claims to still see a picture afterit has been removed would be able to have a perfect memory of theoriginal picture. After all, a perfect memory is what is usuallyimplied by the commonly used phrase "photographic memory." As it turnsout, however, the accuracy of many eidetic images is far from perfect.In fact, besides often being sketchy on some details, it is not unusualfor eidetikers to alter visual details and even to invent some thatwere never in the original. This suggests that eidetic images arecertainly not photographic in nature but instead are reconstructed frommemory and can be influenced like other memories (both visual andnonvisual) by cognitive biases and expectations.
你可能料想，那些图画被移出视线之后，声明仍能看到它的人能对图象有完美的记忆力。毕竟，完美的记忆通常意味着“photographicmemory”。然而，事实证明，许多“eideticimage”的精确度远不够完美。事实上，除了常常对一些细节忽略外，更改视觉细节，甚至捏造些原象并不具有的细节，这些对eidetiker们来说并不少见。这暗示着“eideticimage”在本质上定然不是photographic，而是被从记忆中重建起来，并且跟其它的记忆（所有视觉与非视觉方面的）一样，受认知上的偏见和期待的影响。
The vast majority of the people who have beenidentified as possessing eidetic imagery are children. The prevalenceestimates of the ability among preadolescents range from about 2percent to 10 percent. And it is an equal-opportunityphenomenon--there‘s no gender difference in who is likely to be aneidetiker. Although it is certainly controversial, some researchersalso believe that eidetic imagery occurs more frequently in certainpopulations of the mentally retarded (specifically, in individualswhose retardation most likely stems from biological, rather thanenvironmental, causes) and also among geriatric populations. With a fewnotable exceptions, however, most research has shown that virtually noadults seem to possess the ability to form eidetic images.
绝大多数被鉴定为拥有“eideticimagery”的人是小孩。对青春期前的并具有这个能力的个体的概率估计是2%-10%。并且，这是个机会均等的现象--在那些很可能是eidetiker的人当中没有性别上的差异。纵使必然地会有争议性，一些研究者还是相信：“eideticimagery”更频繁地存在于某些智障（特别指，那些障碍多半由生物自身，而非环境导致的）群体之中，并且也存在于老年群体之中。然而,有一些明显的例外,大多数研究调查表明，事实上没有成年人看起来好像有能力去形成“eidetic image”。
Whyshould this be so? No one really knows, although part of the answer maybe related to a rather obscure fact about the development of suchimages. Research has shown that if a person verbalizes during the timehe or she is scanning the original picture, this interferes witheidetic image formation. This utterance could be something as seeminglyinnocuous as covertly saying "Saint Bernard" upon seeing a large dogduring the initial scanning process. So perhaps part of the reason whyit is so rare to find older eidetikers is that adults are much morelikely than children to try to both verbally and visually encode thepicture into memory. If this is true, then it means that adults aremore likely to disrupt the formation of eidetic images and are thusmuch less likely to be identified as having eidetic imagery, even ifthey really do possess the ability.
为何如此？尽管部分答案可能跟一个相当模糊的关于“eideticimage”开发的事实有关，但是并没有人真的知道。研究调查表明，如果一个人在浏览原始图象的过程中用语言来认知它，那么这将干扰“eideticimage”的形成。例如：在最初的浏览过程中，当看到一条巨型犬时，（你的左脑在）暗地里说“圣伯纳德犬”（于是，干扰了“eideticimage”的形成）。所以，关于为何寻得更年长的eidetiker们会是如此罕见的部分原因，或许是因为成人比小孩更可能会尝试从字面上和视觉上将图象编码到记忆中。如果这个原因成立，那么它意味着成人更可能自己中断了“eideticimagery”的形成。因此，成人被鉴定为拥有“eidetic imagery”能力，这种可能性微乎其微，即便他们真的拥有这种能力。
Canyou acquire eidetic imagery through learning? Personally, I doubt it.To my knowledge, however, there have been no attempts to try to teachthe ability to anyone. Although it is clear that eidetic imageryexists, psychologists still do not know why it occurs, what brainmechanisms may be responsible, or why it is found in such a smallproportion of the population. It certainly is a fascinating phenomenon.
你能通过学习来获得“eideticimagery”吗？就个人而言，我对此表示怀疑。然而，据我所知，还没有人试图（做过实验）去尝试将这种能力教给任何人。尽管“eideticimagery”的存在很显然，但心理学家们仍然不知道它发生的缘由，（它是）什么大脑机制产生的，或者为何它在这么小比例的人口中被发现。这无疑是个引人入胜的现象。
以下是跟在文章后的回应中的一条：
Clipped at 08:31 AM on 11/29/08
Wow... I have always been able to see pages that I focus on long after - like years after. I can remember study pages from grade school, and I'm 31 years old. I can remember my friend's dad's credit card number that I memorized by staring at it when I was 12. I only got a 3.9 GPA, but didn't only use my memory - I was in a liberal arts college, so I had to write a ton of papers for my first degree. Memory doesn't help too much on that front.
I also remember what page quotes are on, and whether the quote is on the top, middle or bottom of the page. I also thought this was completely normal, and that everyone could do it until maybe 1 year ago, when my roommate started telling me that what I was doing was unusual.
I'm not sure it's directly related to the eidetic memory, but can you guys read and understand technical material that you have not studied or been taught?
I also use something like the same pattern of visualization to help me with understanding theoretical systems. I am able to hold complex and large theories in my 'mind's eye', and can manipulate them to identify flaws in assumptions, logical connections, etc. Do you find that you can generate these kind of 'conceptual images' as well?
Anyway, it's very cool to hear from other people who have this memory ability. As I said, I only recently realized that there was anything unusual about my memory, and Googled "eidetic" this morning before finding this article.
文章来自：http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=is-there-such-a-thing-as
作者介绍：Alan Searleman, a professor of psychology at St. Lawrence University and co-author of the college textbook Memory from a Broader Perspective, explains.
玉照：
个人站点：http://it.stlawu.edu/~asearleman
本文来自：快速记忆法 http://www.jiyifa.cn/dp-bbsthread-6721.html
