‘Your memory could fill the Albert Hall,’ proclaimed the Observer on 21 March 1971, explaining that ‘a computer to perform even the simpler functions of the human brain would need to be at least as big as the Albert Hall.’ Now we outsource much of our memory to devices that slip in our back pockets, what can an exploration of extraordinary ‘memory athletes’ still tell us about how we remember?
‘Clare’ (a pseudonym) discovered her abilities were exceptional while eavesdropping on a Harvard researcher exploring the power of ‘eidetic’ imagery – perfect visual recall. ‘I think I can do that,’ she said. She was right: Dr Charles Stromeyer’s research showed she could ‘scan a card with 10,000 dots for one minute and recall it a few minutes later in full detail.’ Her ability to recall abstract visual patterns contrasted with the celebrated Russian ‘mnemonist’ Solomon Shereshevskii. Shereshevskii’s spectacularly intense synaesthesia both helped and hindered him in constructing the elaborate mental stories he used to remember ‘almost anything for almost any time’, from Dante’s Inferno to lengthy strings of random numbers.
Lesser, but impressive, homegrown performers included a retired taxi driver who recalled details of every Derby winner since 1780 and completed the Knowledge in 11 weeks (the average is nearer two years), a former Lord Mayor of London who could memorise entire speeches after one read-through and a music hall performer turned council finance officer who retained the smallest details of matches in 22 sports, ‘from soccer and cricket to shove ha’penny and darts’. Shirley Williams, then shadow minister for health, described the advantage her factual recall gave her in debate. ‘Figures seem to lodge somewhere in my memory without effort,’ Williams said, while admitting to ‘an appalling memory for directions.’
Finally, the magazine launched its own quest for ‘a memory in a million’, with mysterious dot and square patterns for readers to test whether they had exceptional photographic recall. If you fancy attempting something similar, the University of Cambridge started an online search for ‘super memorisers’ in May…
