How many of you have a filmographic memory?

[Perkinsj88]

I have noticed I'm not the only one to have this type of memory, I can "play, pause, and rewind" memories in my head, my absolute earliest at this point is from when I was between 1 and 2 years old. I can "play" my own virtual tour of the house I was in from age 0 to 2. It's very accurate, right down to the carpet color and wallpaper design. I laid out the floor plan for her as well, where furniture was placed, appliances as well, I can't remember bedroom furniture but I do recall which door led to which room. I had my mother confirm all of this. This is likely the most detailed one I have, however many of them exist, most from my childhood, a few in my teen years, and fewer now in adult life. Some I can view on demand whenever I wish, some must have some kind of trigger, such as a smell or specific feeling. Music can act as a trigger too, or actual movies. Basically anything that I was doing during these specific "recording sessions" could be a trigger. I can repeat word for word the conversation I had at the McDonalds drive through that took place roughly 6 hours ago, I remember what the cashier looked like, how messy her hair was, and the smell of the cooking food. I recall wanting to light up my cigarette but forgoing this for the sake of consideration until I exited the drive through pick up area. There was a white Toyota corolla in front of me with Oregon plates and bald rear tires, I remember thinking how unsafe that was and predicted the tires may last until the next piece of loose gravel from the pavement lay in it's path. It was also missing a hub cap on the left front wheel, god I hate hub caps. It had one of those NTW stickers in the lower left corner of the rear window. Then I was distracted by the thought of my own car tires needing replacement soon and proceeded to take my bags of food and leave, well, I failed to leave at first because I left my emergency brake engaged and stalled my car, that was quite embarrassing lol. This triggered video memories of learning how to drive a manual trans. Anyways...the point of this post is I would like to know how many other Aspie's have this filmographic style memory. If you do, please answer the following. Be as descriptive as possible and don't make anything up just to be cool like some of us Aspie's are! =P Yes, that was my attempt at humor!

1. What is your earliest memory?

2.What do you see as your favorite "video" memory?

3. Can you view the earliest and/or favorite on demand or is a trigger required?

4. Do you retain your ability to "record" at your current age?

5. Do you often suffer very short term memory problems? Such as forgetting an item you were asked to pick up at store as soon as you hit the end button on your cell. This frustrates the hell out of me. I can have the list in my hand, but if I don't have a pen to mark things off, I can still forget something. Normally I grocery shop for my wife and daughter because it's easier for me to deal with the social interaction on my own. I generally remember all of the items I wanted, it's the other stuff I forget. Even important stuff like stamps or toilet paper, I need these things too but I don't necessarily have a want for them right then. This could play into the next question I suppose.

6. Do you think you have a "selective" memory? Such as it's selective to your gain. i.e. I often forget I should have washed dishes, which I'm not too upset over because I really didn't want to do them anyways, but the wife breathes fire when this happens. (lol)

 

[Perkinsj88]

I was compelled to add that I also see these "videos" when trying to predict outcomes, such as how my doctor is going to respond to me suggesting I have aspergers syndrome, in doing so I prepare for every situation that could arise (other than him just saying yep..you're right..you're an aspie for sure) lol. So then one more question below. I often compare this to how Sherlock Holmes solves problems, it was much exaggerated for entertainment in the movie but yeah...same idea.

7. Do you see "videos" of possible outcomes of future events?

 

[King_Oni]

1. What is your earliest memory?
I don't know which are earliest to some degree... some are all waaaaaaay back, and have no datestamp to it. Some memories can be put in a timeline by mere deduction. For instance; memories of my grandmothers house... but she moved, so which was earlier... probably the one where she lived the longest amount of years ago. Those memories however require some kind of "outside" assistance to tell me that she lived at that house in between year X and Y. I do however remember most of these things in fairly great detail.

But I don't know if it's exactly filmographic as such. I pretty much managed to memorize a lot of these details in more "rough" outlines. I couldn't tell if my grandfathers car had a dent, but I could probably tell you the brand, type, color and basic information. I remember a lot of license plates and things, phone numbers, and other number strings as such. I remember names a lot as well.

The only thing that's slightly messed up with me is that I'm horrible with faces. That's not just a long memory thing, but I have a hard time distinguishing faces. I've had situations where I was supposed to meet up with a girl, whom I saw the day before, and I could not, for the life of me, remember what she looked like on our next "date". That's how bad I am with faces, heh. A constant factor with faces might be my parents, though they live in the same house. I rarely run into them in the street... so I wouldn't know if I'd be blind for that as well. Deduction and context help me out a lot though. Remembering details such as hair color and all are a good help for me there.

2.What do you see as your favorite "video" memory?
Probably any that go in the adult section of the board, heh. I recall pretty much all of those encounters in great detail. Obviously doesn't help to "get over" certain people if you're being able to relive these things over and over again. But in terms of "favorites"... yes, those x-rated things might sound superficial, but at least they were a lot of fun at the moment, heh.

There is one memory that turned really surreal a few years ago.

I remember being at my grandmothers house as a child... 1 year old aprox. Yellow/brownish wallpaper in the hallway all the way to the living room, grey carpet on the floor in the living room. The hallway had a white fence around a staircase going down in the basement, which was my grandfathers "workshop". The living room had a large square tv, on the right, above it there was a clock. Brown wood, with a lot of intricate woodwork. Brass chains for the weights. Yellowish clockface with detailed, etched clockarms. There was a grey couch at the window, a chair on the left, and a chair on the right, from the same furniture "set". There was no door in the room, just a "hole" to walk through to the hallway. The small dining table had a set of chairs that belonged to it, since they added up stylistically. Round legs with square feet. It was a dark brown, perhaps oak. There were white curtains tucked away to the sides of the window.

That's a small fragment of what I can recall right now, of what I remembered when I was a child and walked into my grandmothers house.

The surreal part of this all is. This memory is of 1983.

Fast forward, 2011.

My former best friend had a new house. That exact same house.

Walking in gave me this really weird "alternate reality" feel. As if my grandparents never existed and I just visited a different family as such.

3. Can you view the earliest and/or favorite on demand or is a trigger required?
I don't have Video on demand, lol. Well, I can try to remember things, but it just seems there's stuff blurred out and some stuff just is fully there. And obviously the harder I try, the more blurry it is.

4. Do you retain your ability to "record" at your current age?
Selectivly. It just happens I can't control what I want... I don't pick up everything, but I pick up some things. I'm actually more someone who "records" noise, rather than the full video thing I guess. Comes with the aforementioned blindness of faces a bit. I can still recall a lot of stuff that has been said and the way it has been said. And a lot of stuff clearly isn't stuff I want to be reminded of, on a daily basis.

5. Do you often suffer very short term memory problems?
Yeah, that's me... quite often. I usually make multiple lists for multiple occaisions. Make list A for store A, list B for a different store. Sometimes I even go as far as count the number of items... and do a mental check out like that. If my list says I have 9 items, and my cart has 8... which one am I missing? It doesn't help if you're not disciplined to just buy what's on the darn list. That messes up the amount of items.

I've found that using my phone for lists when needed helps me since I don't need a pen for that. It becomes a problem if I forget to bring my phone. But it also becomes a problem if you forget the list.

6. Do you think you have a "selective" memory?
Selective in terms of chores... no, not really. But then again, I only take care of my own chores and don't have a family of people that I need to rely on as such (yes, I live at my parents house, but basically I run my own household, as well as they do theirs).

7. Do you see "videos" of possible outcomes of future events?
Well, I do have a lot of dreams that eventually end up being "real". I can't sit down and go "predict" something.. I'm no oracle. I do however ponder a lot of possible outcomes in situations. They're not visual as such... they're more like ideas with no physical form.

To some extent there's some kind of "scripting" going on with me when I have appointments. More the "if this person says this, I'll respond with this and if this is said I'll say this".

 

[Perkinsj88]

Scripting is a good description. I don't claim to have a supernatural ability to predict the future, I just rationalize the outcome with the highest likelihood. I wonder if there's a point when a memory makes a memory.

 

[King_Oni]

Scripting is a good description. I don't claim to have a supernatural ability to predict the future, I just rationalize the outcome with the highest likelihood.

I once tried to explain it to someone as thinking "diagonally". You think both forward and in sideways patterns.

I wonder if there's a point when a memory makes a memory.

A memory is a lasting impression. So in most cases, if a memory becomes a memory it was something worth remembering. I do however think where you have sensory issues and just different neurological wiring, things cause an impression in different ways. I wouldn't be surprised if there's something inherently different neurologically with people that have photographic of "filmographic" memory. I don't want to go as far as "they might all be autistic" or "everyone with said memory has autism", perhaps the line is really thin on that.

 

[Perkinsj88]

We would be labeled paranoid for that assumption, even though, it seems pretty common for autistic folks, and not so much for the NT's. I know for a fact whatever the doctors decide I have is linked to a chromosomal abnormality at my mom's 16 week amniocentesis performed in the year 1988. I'm actually trying to get a copy of those test results for my records/personal research. I've found study's suggesting a link between an extra Y chromosome and Autism, apparently it's not always present. I'm going to pursue knowledge of basic genetics just to satisfy my own curiosity. I know we are well aware how a certain abnormality leads to down syndrome, there has to be something significant among the few with the abnormal Y, perhaps not autism related per-say, but there has to be something only those with Y abnorm's share in.

 

[King_Oni]

Perhaps there's an additional Y chromosome that's not chromesome 21. Cause that's in general the cause of down syndrome. Maybe it's chromosome 20? 22?

Within accordance of being "paranoid"... what if there actually is more research out there and doctors actually know about this and just don't share it with the rest of the world. I'm not one for consipracy theories though... but only a slighty paranoid thought can come up with this, lol.

If I had more stats on this I'd probably look into it more, but I know nothing weird about my mom's pregnancy, except that during labor it was breech birth and I was really difficult to get out (lol... even back then I was clearly a bit oppositional)

 

[Aalo]

I've really never tried to describe this to anyone, but for me it's not really a film to watch, but a recreation of a space I can enter again. To me it has also some sort of 3D effect as well as possibility to rewind and loop. But still, there's not much variety in which position I must see my film.

1. What is your earliest memory?
There's no way I can really tell. I've many memories from childhood, but they're not time tagged in any way and I don't know which was first. But I've managed to locate some to having happened when I was three. Mostly they start at age of four-five.

2.What do you see as your favorite "video" memory?
It's a cinematic experience I got while falling. I can kind of watch it again with different imagined tunes and color modes.

3. Can you view the earliest and/or favorite on demand or is a trigger required?
To me it's mostly triggering thing. Same as recording, see next part.

4. Do you retain your ability to "record" at your current age?
I can't choose which moments of my life are really emotional or else connected on something important, and usually those get recorded. So basically I don't have power over it.

5. Do you often suffer very short term memory problems?
Some. It feels like my mind is overloaded with so much, that not all essential information will stay easily accessible. But I'm some what good at improvising, so it's not always visible for others.

6. Do you think you have a "selective" memory? Such as it's selective to your gain.
I feel like having really well structured memory. So if I left something undone it's sole out of lack of interest. But I'll remember it, oh I will. And sometimes my mind abandons good memories I'd like to have, and there's nothing I can do about it as some cognitive processes happen unnoticed.

7. Do you see "videos" of possible outcomes of future events?
At times I'm good predicting many possible factors about future events, but there's no way I'd ever render a film out of it as there simply is too much details I can't decide in my head. I'm never really indecisive, it's just that I'm in a way perfectionist on accuracy and can't reach to certain level that would satisfy myself.

 

[kimical]

I think I have this, my long term memory is much better than short term.

1. What is your earliest memory? Around four or five. I remember my kindergarten class room quite vividly, as well as the playground.

2.What do you see as your favorite "video" memory? Playing as a kid, I was really good at playing alone and make believe.

3. Can you view the earliest and/or favorite on demand or is a trigger required? Some memories are triggered. Usually by a smell or sound. Some I cherish and remember fondly. Some are triggered that I don't want to be reminded of.

4. Do you retain your ability to "record" at your current age? Yes.

5. Do you often suffer very short term memory problems? I have ADHD and my short term memory is affected by it. If I'm not focused I forget.

6. Do you think you have a "selective" memory? Yes. ADHD works that way. I can remember where everything is on my computer (like the folders in my C: drive) but not my room, lol.

7. Do you see "videos" of possible outcomes of future events? This is where OCD comes in for me. I worry about things excessively. I worry about, "what if I hit someone while driving? What if I have Alzheimer's when I'm old and I don't know who I am? What if I left the oven on?" and I visualize my house burning down. It's terrible.

 

[Perkinsj88]

Perhaps there's an additional Y chromosome that's not chromesome 21. Cause that's in general the cause of down syndrome. Maybe it's chromosome 20? 22?

Within accordance of being "paranoid"... what if there actually is more research out there and doctors actually know about this and just don't share it with the rest of the world. I'm not one for consipracy theories though... but only a slighty paranoid thought can come up with this, lol.

If I had more stats on this I'd probably look into it more, but I know nothing weird about my mom's pregnancy, except that during labor it was breech birth and I was really difficult to get out (lol... even back then I was clearly a bit oppositional)

I was also breach, they had to use forsips to pull me out...now my heads all lopsides XD not really but I do have uneven spots and my right ear is higher than the left

 

[Ylva]

1. What is your earliest memory?

I am not sure of my exact age in each of these memories or their exact chronology, but I clearly remember a lot of scenes from the place we moved away from right after I turned four. I guess I'm two in the one where I drink the bathwater; two in the one where I comment that Santa's boots are exactly like my grandmother's; three in the one where I look out the fourth-floor kitchen window thinking about falling; three in the one where I pick the lock on the door to my room locking myself and my playmate inside (resulting in my mom panicking on the other side of the door, while I casually followed the gist of her instructions to pick the lock back to open); three in the one where my grandmother fell on the asphalt and hit herself (the last spring she was alive); two or three in the one with the giant flying ant (I figured it must be the queen since it was so big) and so on. Not sure about the one where my parents are holding me on the balcony while I'm coughing hard. Determining my age at the time on my presence of mind, the clarity of my surroundings and my ability to walk.

2.What do you see as your favorite "video" memory?

I have worst memories, but no favourite memory.

3. Can you view the earliest and/or favorite on demand or is a trigger required?

Does you asking count as a trigger? My memories seem to be archived by place.

4. Do you retain your ability to "record" at your current age?

If I pay attention to my experiences, I recall them clearly. Nowadays I tune out quite a lot, though. Habit I picked up in primary school.

5. Do you often suffer very short term memory problems?

Yes. I can have cached an entire conversation and the moment there's a distraction, even for a moment, the cache is cleared. I've learned not to ask what we were talking about, but the rest of the conversation (which often skips key words for the much simpler "it") is lost on me.

Still an improvement on my teenage listening skills, where I would think I was listening and still be unable to remember a single word that was said.

6. Do you think you have a "selective" memory?

Yeah… it's the cache. It is self-clearing.

But I really just forget things I stop thinking about. Like last Christmas, I wanted to read this book, having so much time on my hands, and I'd read a bit and I found it fascinating and interesting and I wanted to keep reading it the next day, but forgot to until I went to bed. So I thought I'd read it the next day, and I forgot. After the third day I stopped trying to plan ahead.

7. Do you see "videos" of possible outcomes of future events?

Of course! I thought everyone did that.

Maybe what I should do is to start imagining reading the book…

 

[Spinning Compass]

1. What is your earliest memory? My earliest memory (which exist only in fragments) is of the second house we lived in. It was next to a fire station and next to a Lutheran church. I remember that the doorknobs on the front door of the church were shaped like this ( ) and were silver. For some reason I was fascinated by this church and one day I wandered off. My parents caught me at the door of the church trying to get in. I got a spanking for that, whether it was for wandering away from home without telling anyone or because it wasn't a Catholic church, I never did figure out, probably both. The church, by the way, still exists, but the doorknobs have been changed. The ironic thing is now I go there every Christmas and Easter because I have real good friends who go there. They laughed when I told them this story. I think I was about 4, maybe 5, then. Shortly afterwards we moved and then I started school and I have much more detailed memories at that time.

2.What do you see as your favorite "video" memory? The enormous (1,000 acre) horse pasture and woods I grew up next to. I can still close my eyes and see every part of it as it existed in the 1970's.

3. Can you view the earliest and/or favorite on demand or is a trigger required? I can review on demand. No trigger required. But sometimes something will trigger a long-buried memory. Another thing about my memories is that I will often "record" a seemingly insignificant detail, like the door handles on the Lutheran church. I learned not to talk about such things because they were just too weird, but that is also how I navigate. In addition to street names and numbers I "record" details of the surrounding landscape, sometimes something that most people might not even notice, like the shape of a tree. If there is a power line, what do the towers look like, all these things.

4. Do you retain your ability to "record" at your current age? Absolutely, yes. It helps me a lot in theater when I am learning my parts.

5. Do you often suffer very short term memory problems? Yes, especially when it comes to numbers.

6. Do you think you have a "selective" memory? Yes, somewhat, I am more apt to record something that I am interested in than something I have little interest in.

 

[Autism]

I have noticed I'm not the only one to have this type of memory, I can "play, pause, and rewind" memories in my head, my absolute earliest at this point is from when I was between 1 and 2 years old. I can "play" my own virtual tour of the house I was in from age 0 to 2. It's very accurate, right down to the carpet color and wallpaper design. I laid out the floor plan for her as well, where furniture was placed, appliances as well, I can't remember bedroom furniture but I do recall which door led to which room. I had my mother confirm all of this. This is likely the most detailed one I have, however many of them exist, most from my childhood, a few in my teen years, and fewer now in adult life. Some I can view on demand whenever I wish, some must have some kind of trigger, such as a smell or specific feeling. Music can act as a trigger too, or actual movies. Basically anything that I was doing during these specific "recording sessions" could be a trigger. I can repeat word for word the conversation I had at the McDonalds drive through that took place roughly 6 hours ago, I remember what the cashier looked like, how messy her hair was, and the smell of the cooking food. I recall wanting to light up my cigarette but forgoing this for the sake of consideration until I exited the drive through pick up area. There was a white Toyota corolla in front of me with Oregon plates and bald rear tires, I remember thinking how unsafe that was and predicted the tires may last until the next piece of loose gravel from the pavement lay in it's path. It was also missing a hub cap on the left front wheel, god I hate hub caps. It had one of those NTW stickers in the lower left corner of the rear window. Then I was distracted by the thought of my own car tires needing replacement soon and proceeded to take my bags of food and leave, well, I failed to leave at first because I left my emergency brake engaged and stalled my car, that was quite embarrassing lol. This triggered video memories of learning how to drive a manual trans. Anyways...the point of this post is I would like to know how many other Aspie's have this filmographic style memory. If you do, please answer the following. Be as descriptive as possible and don't make anything up just to be cool like some of us Aspie's are! =P Yes, that was my attempt at humor!

1. What is your earliest memory?

2.What do you see as your favorite "video" memory?

3. Can you view the earliest and/or favorite on demand or is a trigger required?

4. Do you retain your ability to "record" at your current age?

5. Do you often suffer very short term memory problems? Such as forgetting an item you were asked to pick up at store as soon as you hit the end button on your cell. This frustrates the hell out of me. I can have the list in my hand, but if I don't have a pen to mark things off, I can still forget something. Normally I grocery shop for my wife and daughter because it's easier for me to deal with the social interaction on my own. I generally remember all of the items I wanted, it's the other stuff I forget. Even important stuff like stamps or toilet paper, I need these things too but I don't necessarily have a want for them right then. This could play into the next question I suppose.

6. Do you think you have a "selective" memory? Such as it's selective to your gain. i.e. I often forget I should have washed dishes, which I'm not too upset over because I really didn't want to do them anyways, but the wife breathes fire when this happens. (lol)

 

[Autism]

I have the exact same memories.

I still know the exact layouts of every place I have been too, houses I have visited, childhood places. I could drive to those places without any instructions. Can recall very minute details of relative's homes too. Where furniture was placed, what was visible when entering the house and so on.

sometimes I find that odd, but photographic memory seems to walk right beside me.

Sometimes it is fun to recall these details but sometimes when remembering dark times it is not so much fun.

1. What is your earliest memory?

I am not sure of my exact age in each of these memories or their exact chronology, but I clearly remember a lot of scenes from the place we moved away from right after I turned four. I guess I'm two in the one where I drink the bathwater; two in the one where I comment that Santa's boots are exactly like my grandmother's; three in the one where I look out the fourth-floor kitchen window thinking about falling; three in the one where I pick the lock on the door to my room locking myself and my playmate inside (resulting in my mom panicking on the other side of the door, while I casually followed the gist of her instructions to pick the lock back to open); three in the one where my grandmother fell on the asphalt and hit herself (the last spring she was alive); two or three in the one with the giant flying ant (I figured it must be the queen since it was so big) and so on. Not sure about the one where my parents are holding me on the balcony while I'm coughing hard. Determining my age at the time on my presence of mind, the clarity of my surroundings and my ability to walk.

2.What do you see as your favorite "video" memory?

I have worst memories, but no favourite memory.

3. Can you view the earliest and/or favorite on demand or is a trigger required?

Does you asking count as a trigger? My memories seem to be archived by place.

4. Do you retain your ability to "record" at your current age?

If I pay attention to my experiences, I recall them clearly. Nowadays I tune out quite a lot, though. Habit I picked up in primary school.

5. Do you often suffer very short term memory problems?

Yes. I can have cached an entire conversation and the moment there's a distraction, even for a moment, the cache is cleared. I've learned not to ask what we were talking about, but the rest of the conversation (which often skips key words for the much simpler "it") is lost on me.

Still an improvement on my teenage listening skills, where I would think I was listening and still be unable to remember a single word that was said.

6. Do you think you have a "selective" memory?

Yeah… it's the cache. It is self-clearing.

But I really just forget things I stop thinking about. Like last Christmas, I wanted to read this book, having so much time on my hands, and I'd read a bit and I found it fascinating and interesting and I wanted to keep reading it the next day, but forgot to until I went to bed. So I thought I'd read it the next day, and I forgot. After the third day I stopped trying to plan ahead.

7. Do you see "videos" of possible outcomes of future events?

Of course! I thought everyone did that.

Maybe what I should do is to start imagining reading the book…

 

[zoomix]

1. What is your earliest memory?

I'm 45 and I remember sitting in a car seat while my great grandfather drove his silver car to have pictures of me taken with santa at a local mart. I can see the sunlight passing through the trees onto the leaves by the side of the road. I had to be about 17 months old. Anything from that point on I can replay.

2.What do you see as your favorite "video" memory?

Probably the way I can replay deceased loved ones in my head.

3. Can you view the earliest and/or favorite on demand or is a trigger required?

I can play it back on demand. The earliest memory is involuntarily triggered when I see leaves on the side of the road.

4. Do you retain your ability to "record" at your current age?

Yes.

5. Do you often suffer very short term memory problems?

Yes, very much so. I must use a list and read it over and over.

6. Do you think you have a "selective" memory?

No. I can record most everything. Bad memories, even trivial ones, are triggered by any of the senses and could give me panic attacks for days. Even a nightmare I had at 4 years old I can be replayed.

7. Do you see "videos" of possible outcomes of future events?

Yes, I use that to determine a flow chart in my head of interactions I must have with other people I don't know.