Does anyone have perfect memory

It's possible Mr. Gordon's ability took a big jump around his 16th birthday, but it's also possible he noticed it only then. Gordon might want to have formal testing, to see just how good his memory is and in what areas. Then we can debate the nature-nurture question from harder evidence. This article was originally published with the title "I developed what appears to be a photographic memory when I was 16 years old. Already a subscriber?

Sign in. Thanks for reading Scientific American. Create your free account or Sign in to continue. See Subscription Options. Discover World-Changing Science. Get smart. Indeed, a pulse of nitrous oxide released from plants 14, years ago may have hastened the end of the last glaciation. We tend to think of yawning as a sign of being tired or bored. That probably explains the popular perception that it is a way to get more oxygen into the blood to increase alertness.

However, psychologist Robert Provine at the University of Maryland tested this idea and found people were just as likely to yawn when breathing air high in oxygen.

A closer look at when people yawn suggests another explanation. It turns out that most spontaneous yawning actually happens when we are limbering up for activity such as a workout, performance or exam, or simply when we wake up. That has led to the idea that yawning helps us gear up by increasing blood flow to the brain. However, what we do know is that a number of different factors can affect the power of the placebo effect.

Even in the years since, and even with plenty of additional media coverage, less than people have been diagnosed with the condition. DeGrandis, being one of those people, now participates in ongoing studies by McGaugh and other memory researchers. In his everyday life, he works in marketing—in a job that has nothing to do with his special ability, he says.

He has enjoyed meeting others with HSAM and has been struck by the things they have in common. Research also suggests that people with HSAM tend to have obsessive traits. And while people with superior memories have an uncanny talent for linking dates and events, they do occasionally make mistakes.

People with HSAM are also no better than normal when it comes to remembering things like faces or phone numbers. But there have been a lot of gains, as well.