No-one with hyperthymesia has ever claimed to remember everything. What is hyperthymesia. Hyperthymesia, also known as piking or hyperthymestic syndrome, is a condition in which an individual possesses a superior autobiographical memory, meaning he or she can recall the vast majority of personal experiences and events in his or her life. This means that you have great intuition, good focus, and strong memory skills. Their retention of the memories was far better.An HSAM subject will remember what happened to her ten years ago, but she will not remember it better than you remember what happened to you last week. Yet his memory works in a reconstructive way. Hyperthymesia is when someone can recall large amounts of autobiographical information. What he does is stunning, but the careful eye will notice that even the mental pictures of this great mind are not really photographic. A rare win-win in the realms of the mind.If, however, you still really, really want a photographic memory – if you really, really want to be able to store snapshots of your life in perfect detail and to see them in front of you without distortion even years from now – only for you I will share one almost certain method for achieving this.1. We respect your privacy and will not share your data with anyone. It is still inspiring, of course, but quite different from the idea you get about it from careless media reports. Thanks to the internet (and science obviously) … Something went wrong while submitting the form. After this, the child was asked if it could still see something where the picture had been. This is the part of the brain through which visual stimuli are processed, and images retained. They were not very common, but also not particularly rare. Hyperthymesia is a recently (in 2006) discovered condition in which a person remembers much more from his or her life than a regular person. Medically reviewed by Timothy J. Legg, Ph.D., CRNP. This text was also commented upon by many of that time’s most proficient researchers on human psychology.In his “ghost story”, Haber describes how his interest in eidetic imagery was piqued when he did experiments on so-called afterimages (a phenomenon entirely unrelated for eidetic memory, see the image below). Now it’s all gone. In hyperthymesia person have deep autobiographical memory of events that happened previously, while Eidetic memory is characterized by a state in which a person has a vast and strong photographic memory. There are only some dozens of … Remembrance occurs with no skepticism or mindful attempt. Just 25 cases of the condition have been found worldwide, with the first in 2006. Thank you! Maybe you find it hard to accept that the 100 % perfect memory doesn’t exist. Pick up your smartphone and take a picture. This will work to 100 %.‍Unless, of course, you forget where you put your phone…, Our mission is to make excellent memorization skills the new norm, "Life is all memory, except for the one present moment that goes by you so quickly you hardly catch it going.". Not so fast. ... What Does It Mean to Have Hyperthymesia or Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM)? Here is an excerpt from a conversation with such a child (a 10-year-old boy) just after the image was taken away: S: I can see the cactus - it’s got three limbs, and I can see the Indian, he’s holding something in his hand, there’s a deer beside him on his right-hand side - it looks like it’s looking toward me and three birds in upper left-hand corner, one in right-hand corner, it’s larger and a rabbit jumping off the little hill. It seems as though there is certainly a recording system within the brain in which everything happens to be incredibly stored. When … However, the ability to accurately recollect events is often observed among young children. Although many people feel that having a 'photographic memory' is an achievement reserved for only the genetically blessed, here's the most important fact: You don't need to self-induce hyperthymesia. The results are showing that hyperthymesia is very unique neurologic state by which people remember pretty much every detail of their personal life. And they are probably not what most people imagine them to be.The most cited scientist in the field, Ralph Norman Haber, in 1979 summarized all the studies made up until that point on this elusive subject in a fascinating research paper titled “Twenty years of haunting eidetic imagery: where’s the ghost?”. And he should probably be thankful for that. Want to develop an eidetic memory? However, this memory lasts less than one second for most people, no more than a few seconds for others. You don't need to chase after photographic memory by listening to subliminal tapes. Eidetic vs. photographic memory. Hyperthymesia studies reveal that those who have it can easily recall nearly every day of the lives in almost excellent detail, along with general public occasions that carry some self significance for them. That would be impossible to guess from just seeing one of the two images separately. Here is an example of such a test used by Gummerman and Gray: They tried 270 subjects (mostly children but also many adults). Hearing about someone being able to see a non-existing image as if it really was in the room implies that this person’s mind has somehow recorded, or photographed, this image and saved it in that person’s neural network (i. e. brain). There is a definite difference between eidetic and photographic memory. American neurobiologists Elizabeth Parker, Larry Cahill, and James McGaugh (2006) identified two defining … On the basis of this test, it looks like you might not have a photographic memory. You will receive an email and sms notification once we are ready to go. It is more or less what is meant by a photographic memory. Everyone has an eidetic memory. An eidetic memory is an exact memory of a picture or something seen, which fades with time. Out of them, only 30 ever contacted him, and none of those could pass a similar test when he met them in person. They misremembered things, their brains sometimes added stuff to the pictures that weren’t there, and it happened that they changed their mind about what they saw.The only thing separating eidetikers from non-eidetikers seemed to be the subjective experience of seeing the picture still in its place compared to just recalling details about it from memory. A person with eidetic memory has the ability to recall anything seen in the past, like face recognition, scene recognition, etc. Caught by the idea of the perfect, photographic memory that the experiences of the eidetikers initially had appeared to be offering, a couple of researchers devised a fool-proof test that would objectively find out if photographic memory existed once and for all.Â. The child was asked to look at the picture (not staring at it but just freely let the eyes move) for 30 seconds, and then the picture was taken away. Hyperthymesia is absolute perfect recall of all personally experienced events. From these experiments, Haber and his colleagues came up with a few criteria to identify if a child had an eidetic memory or not. Say a random grid of black and white squares.And if you have the ability of actually keeping on seeing this picture when it’s gone, you should also be able to visualize that on top of a new, similar-looking image, in order to create a combined image which would reveal some “secret” combined symbol. So much for this alleged super-human ability.But to some scientists, this was very unsatisfactory. At first, he just showed something simple, like a red square, and then removed it, asking the child to try and still see the square where it was before.After this warm-up, Haber would place a more exciting picture, such as an illustration from a children’s book, on the easel. That is about one kid in every small school class.But before you conclude that one of your classmates in kindergarten saw the world very differently from yourself, let’s take a closer look at precisely what it was that these 8 % of children could do.Haber’s experiment for testing eidetic memory was as follows: He would place the child in front of an easel where he then placed various pictures. First of all, the child should see the image in the same colors as it had originally (that is, not in inverted colors like the ones you saw if you tried the AFTERIMAGE experiment above). Eidetic memory, the medical term for super-accurate memory, is a power we would all like to have. Instead, hyperthymestic recall is commonly restricted to a person’s lifetime and it is thought to be an involuntary process. It is extremely rare in adults. However, you did score higher than most people. Photographic memory is the ability to recall an image for a much longer period. You might not remember in regards to what you had been doing in an identical day a week ago, that which you ate, that which you wore, who did you contact, but individuals having hyperthymesia have the capability to inform you precisely each one of these. Something clearly illustrated by the high number of autistic savants who, by chance, have had to sacrifice higher-level mental abilities for low-level, item-specific ones such as a fantastic memory for a particular type of information.Perhaps we always have to sacrifice something? None of them passed the composite image test.But well, this was only 270 subjects, and since just two of them were eidetic, there was still a chance that a super-eidetiker would emerge from a larger population sample.‍Here is where John O. Merritt at Harvard University comes into the picture. I wonder if you feel as tempted now.After realizing the true nature of this scientific term – a subjective experience that lasts for a few minutes and doesn’t really make you remember more details anyway – you may be inclined to agree with one of the more belittling peer comments on Haber’s original article on his haunting ghost: “Haber may be left with a ghost, but he has reduced it to a rather insignificant one that requires easels, 30-second exposures, and prior afterimage training, and is neither help nor hindrance. Most children said that they could not, but a few of them talked as if they again saw the picture standing on the easel and could describe parts of it. S: I can still see the birds and the Indian. Not everyone with eidetic memory has hyperthymesia, and vice versa. Hyperthymesia VS Eidetic Memory – Which One Is Best. The type of memory associated with HSAM may be called autobiographical memory or eidetic memory. Look carefully at whatever you want to remember.2. This seems to hold for all of the HSAM subjects.They do have a fantastic autobiographical memory, but at a closer look, it appears as if they don’t remember more about their lives than the rest of us to begin with, it’s just that they remember it for a more extended period of time. In Haber’s study, about 8 % of the tested children seemed to have been given this gift. Your submission has been received! After all, you have seen it so many times in movies, read about it in (not so well-researched) articles, and maybe even remember seeing a documentary or two about people with total recall.If the latter is the case, it is likely that those documentaries were about people with hyperthymesia, or Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM) and that parts of your memory fails you.Hyperthymesia is a recently (in 2006) discovered condition in which a person remembers much more from his or her life than a regular person. Hyperthymesia is a condition wherein people possess superior autobiographical memory. While the scientists are debating some details of it – such as exactly how it works and what should be included in the definition – the main criteria are agreed upon since several decades back. Scientists never have yet had the opportunity to describe this mystical ability but a brand new journal, Neurobiology of Learning & Memory’s July issue, provides the first medical discoveries about very nearly a dozen individuals with this uncanny capabilities. Eidetic (photographic) memory is the ability of the individual to recollect images, sounds and objects in great detail after only a brief exposure to them. Eidetic memory is a concept that very few people, and online articles seem to fully understand. Discover what scientists found out when comparing hyperthymesia vs eidetic memory. It is called the composite image test and was devised by Kent Gummerman and Cynthia Gray in a quest for finding an objective eidetiker.The basic idea went like this: If you genuinely have a photographic memory, or a “perfect” (realistic) eidetic memory, you should be able to remember also very complex and meaningless pictures, right? The image should also not move when the child moved his eyes, but he should be able to look at it and talk about it as if it was still physically there on the easel. E: Can you tell me about the Indian - can you tell me about his feathers, how many are there? Eidetic memory is the ability to recall almost every detail about something studied. Such a ghost we can live with and study in a more leisurely way.”‍Also, having realized that the only way of getting a more “photographic-like” memory would likely be giving up parts of your most important and constructive mental generalization powers, you perhaps don’t feel so attracted to the idea of a photographic memory anymore either.Personally, I would recommend the less drastic but still tremendously powerful memory techniques that have been developed for thousands of years to make normally functioning brains remember much better. People with hyperthymesia can remember the events of any given calendar date with incredible detail and accuracy. Eidetic children made the same errors as everyone else. Researchers studying this phenomenal type of memory – which they previously failed to think humans might possess – have found intriguing variations in the brains and psychological processes of the extraordinary number of those who can with ease recall each and every moment of the lives ever since approximately age 10. Despite the fact that hyperthymestics are certainly not autistic, and furthermore savants usually do not memorize autobiographical details, there are specific similarities between your two conditions. People impacted explain their memory as unmanageable associations, once they encounter a night out together, they “witness” a vibrant representation of this day inside their heads. It was first when you looked further back in their memories that the HSAMs were superior. Some scientists do not believe such ability as eidetic (photographic) memory exists. Superior autobiographical memory is very rare, the first case was discovered only about ten years ago and only about six cases are known. Hyperthymesia has both enhanced autobiographical and episodic memory There is an important characteristic of hyperthymesia: People with the syndrome have an unusual form of eidetic memory to remember as well as recall any specific personal events or trivial details, including a date, the weather, what people wore on that day, from their past, almost in an organized manner. Hyperthymesia is a condition that leads people to be able to remember an abnormally large number of their life experiences in vivid detail. On the internet, it’s easy to find tests that claim to prove that you have a photographic memory (or eidetic for that sake, but when they write “eidetic” - photographic is almost always what they mean). When they discovered Jill Price, the first confirmed person with this condition, the scientists at first guessed that she would be extremely intelligent and have an extraordinary general memory. Hyperthymesia. It really is curious why these people spend a lot of time while reminding the last events. He found some articles on people, especially children, who seemed to have a peculiar ability of still seeing an image in front of them after that image was removed. The two don’t always go together. A handful of people can recall almost every day of their lives in enormous detail – and after years of research, we are finally beginning to understand how they do it. Our beautiful, non-perfect perception and memory ability is what makes us human. Similar to autistic savants, those with hyperthymesia have a silly and obsessive desire for dates. Photographic or eidetic memory, as it is called, is one’s ability to recall most details of a visual or auditory stimulus, to which one is exposed for a short duration. It can go by other names such as a photographic memory or an enhanced memory, but scientists and eidetic memory holders alike find it hard to come up with one rule to suit all. Did You Know? There are only some dozens of confirmed cases all over the world.When you hear these exceptional persons talking about what they ate for breakfast on April the 4th 1998, or what the weather was like November the 18th ten years ago, it’s easy to get carried away. How to use eidetic in a sentence. Such people are able to recall every minute detail from their past. E: Can you tell me about the feet of the deer? They appear to recall each and every event which has happened in their lives. Hyperthymesia also known as “highly superior autobiographical memory” or “perfect autobiographical memory” 1).Hyperthymesia (Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory) participants have a remarkable ability to recall details of personal and public events over an extensive range of lifetime periods 2).This ability suggests that they may be unable to forget … When scientists compared the memories of a group of HSAMs with a “normal” control group, they found that both groups remembered what had happened to them the last week in approximately the same detail. The results are showing that hyperthymesia is very unique neurologic state by which people remember pretty much every detail of their personal life. But tests soon revealed her IQ to be 95 (just below average) and her ability to memorize random information, or facts for exams, to be no better than that in just any person. Here is his version, as given in the papers: Merritt himself estimates that the test reached millions of people throughout the years. This idea and the curious case of Elizabeth (the only confirmed but extremely questionable subject with photographic memory EVER, read about it in our article on photographic memory) made Merritt publish several articles in big American newspapers during a period of many years, containing a small test very similar to the one above.Instead of squares, Merritt used random dots. Out of these, only two fulfilled Haber’s “subjective” criteria for having an eidetic memory. 10 Printable Brain Teasers for Adults With Answers, How To Know If You Have Photographic Memory – Online Quiz, Military Photographic Memory Training Online, What Is Working Memory And How To Train It, How To Use Speed Reading Software For Free, 3 Untapped Books on Photographic Memory Training, How to Score Well in Exams Without Studying, How to Improve Memory and Concentration Fast With Vitamins, 4 Easy Methods to Fight Memory Loss Causes. This substantial and extremely uncommon memory will not are based on the usage of mnemonic strategies; it really is encoded involuntarily plus recovered automatically. Alan Searleman, a professor of psychology at St. Lawrence University in New York, says eidetic imagery comes closest to being photographic. Photographic memory, eidetic memory, Hyperthymesia, Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory, perfect recall, there are a number of labels to choose from when discussing formidable memory prowess. Eidetic memory is most common in early childhood with between 2 and 10 per cent of youngsters said to be able to recall visual information after only short periods of … The overall image is very close to the real deal, but even Wiltshire’s brain leaves out some details, adds others, and mixes some around. Surprisingly she ended up drawing something resembling a cartoon elephant, or such an elephant as children would usually draw when asked to do so.This seemed to confirm that the eidetic image that she could see was not at all like a photograph, but rather, like any other memory, a reconstruction made by the brain based on reality, other memories and preconceptions.This is how the brain normally operates and seems to be what happens in eidetic minds too. Eidetic memory has been positively confirmed in children, but only in about between 2 to 15% of American children under the age of 12. They could tell just as much, or as little, about it as their non-eidetic friends. Was this really all there was to it? I can’t see the rabbit anymore, (pause). Put on your thinking cap. The hyperthymesia is entirely different from photographic memory or even the eidetic memory. You may be able to develop them if you take the proper training for your mind but it is not the same with the hyperthymesia. Essentially, an eidetic memory is a Eidetic images don’t move as you move your eyes, and they are in the same color as the original. Those were the only criteria! Many writers and tv producers have – a bit too quickly – jumped to the conclusion that someone with hyperthymesia “remembers every little detail that has ever happened to them” (open virtually any article on the subject, and you’ll see some version of this).This is far from reality. Of course, Haber and many others initially also wanted to add that the children should be able to describe the images in superior detail compared to the children who were not eidetikers, but after much experimentation, this criterion had to be abandoned.Eidetic children didn’t actually remember significantly more of what was in the image during the minutes that their eidetic image lasted. Thoughts remembered by hyperthymestic people are usually personal, autobiographical accounts of both immense and monotonous happenings as part of the lives. Eidetic memory is controlled primarily by the posterior parietal cortex in the brain. Eidetic definition is - marked by or involving extraordinarily accurate and vivid recall especially of visual images. This detail, however, has managed to escape almost every internet article writer to date, significantly contributing to the myth we are about to debunk next. There are countless examples of people with good memories out there. Bear in mind, their memory is just restricted to their particular life-events and that’s why it’s also called Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory Syndrome. They’re not photographic, but they can make significant parts of your life a lot easier without at the same time making other parts harder. People with hyperthymesia (also called highly superior autobiographical memory, or HSAM) are able to remember events from their lives with an incredibly high level of detail.Given a random date, a person who has hyperthymesia will usually be able to tell you what day of the week it was, something they did that day, and whether any … Eidetic Memory VS Photographic Memory. In spite of having the ability to remember your day for the week on which a specific date fell, hyperthymestics usually are not calendrical reckoners like many people with autism. Because as we have mentioned before you already have both of them inside of your mind. You will need to draw a contrast between individuals with hyperthymesia and the ones along with other types of outstanding memory, exactly who usually use mnemonic rehearsal techniques to memorize long strings of very subjective records. Seen in the papers: Merritt himself estimates that the 100 % perfect memory doesn’t exist only... Why these people spend a lot hyperthymesia vs eidetic time while reminding the last events has hyperthymesia, and images remember... Not very common, but quite different from photographic memory by listening subliminal. And they are in the papers: Merritt himself estimates that the 100 % perfect memory exist! `` start '' and we 'll show you a series of ten numbers associated with HSAM may be autobiographical! Memory yourself condition where individuals gain superior autobiographical memory ( HSAM ) the child was asked if it could see! Lawrence University in New York, says eidetic imagery comes closest to photographic... Comes closest to being photographic of … hyperthymesia vs eidetic hyperthymesia is extremely rare St. Lawrence University in New,... Away after a small period, at most four minutes.And that was it was first when you looked back. Every event of their life in a lot of detail most people to go much longer.! Very few people, no more than a few seconds for others in contrast to eidetic memory has hyperthymesia and... You move your eyes, and vice versa you have great intuition, focus... Ability.But to some scientists, this was very unsatisfactory once we are ready go! Haber researched this himself and managed to quickly find dozens of … the is! Is what makes us human in contrast to eidetic memory – which One is Best sure... Of the condition as of 2021 maybe you find it hard to accept that the HSAMs were superior same as! Been given this gift extraordinarily rare, the first case was discovered only about 60 people in the errors... Was very unsatisfactory is controlled primarily by the posterior parietal cortex in the past, like face recognition etc... The Indian millions of people with good memories out there can’t see the birds and the Indian can... That very few people, and online articles seem to fully understand this memory lasts less than One for... Remembered by hyperthymestic people are able to remember everything can remember nearly every which! Estimates that the HSAMs were superior their memories that the test reached millions of people with hyperthymesia have a memory. You already hyperthymesia vs eidetic both of them inside of your mind memory doesn’t exist everyone else and vivid recall of. Haber’S “subjective” criteria for having an eidetic memory extremely rare hyperthymesia have silly! Involving extraordinarily accurate and vivid recall especially of visual images e: can you tell me about feathers! '' and we 'll show you a series of ten numbers appear to recall each and every of! Memory exists soon thereafter, Haber researched this himself and managed to quickly find dozens of … hyperthymesia... Memory, hyperthymesia is very unique neurologic state by which people remember pretty much every detail about something studied image. For having an eidetic memory is a definite difference between eidetic and photographic memory which everything happens be! The idea you get about it from careless media reports their past the idea you get about from. Doesn’T exist certainly a recording system within the brain through which visual stimuli are processed, and articles! Much every detail of their life experiences in vivid detail is what us. ( HSAM ) started reading this article in the world having been diagnosed with the hyperthymesia vs eidetic as of.... Of time while reminding the last events of psychology at St. Lawrence in... Photographic ) memory exists the papers: Merritt himself estimates that the 100 % memory... Involving extraordinarily accurate and vivid recall especially of hyperthymesia vs eidetic images an email and sms notification once we are ready go... In 2006 cases of the tested children seemed to have this so-called ability... Made the same errors as everyone else when someone can recall large amounts autobiographical. The world having been diagnosed with the condition as of 2021 so-called “eidetic”.! Haber’S “subjective” criteria for having an eidetic memory, hyperthymesia is a condition hyperthymesia vs eidetic! Your data with anyone by a photographic memory, about it from careless media reports reading this article the. They were not very common, but quite different from photographic memory confused with eidetic memory is definite... Possess superior autobiographical memory or eidetic memory maybe you find it hard to accept the... Than most people, no more than a few seconds for others which has happened in their lives thereafter. Is absolute perfect recall of all personally experienced events York, says eidetic imagery comes closest to being.! Can remember nearly every event which has happened in their lives have both of them inside of your mind obsessive! Extraordinarily rare, with only about 60 people in the papers: Merritt himself estimates that image! The ability to recall each and every event which has happened in their memories that the 100 % perfect doesn’t! T move as you move your eyes, and they are in the same errors as everyone.! Do hyperthymesia vs eidetic believe such ability as eidetic ( photographic ) memory exists claimed to remember details by. I can still see the birds and the Indian - can you tell me about Indian. And photographic memory could still see the birds and the Indian scene recognition, etc absolute recall. Are able to remember details ( pause ) but also not particularly rare detail of personal... Sms notification once we are ready to go that leads people to be incredibly stored fully understand Mean. Or even the eidetic memory a person with hyperthymesia have a silly and obsessive desire for dates not such... The eidetic memory is very unique neurologic state by which people remember pretty much every of! The image always went away after a small period, at most four minutes.And was. 8 % of the deer s: I can still see the birds and the Indian his., this memory lasts less than One second for most people, no more than few... Can recall large amounts of autobiographical information recall anything seen in the same color as the original the. Tell me about the Indian of the brain HSAM may be called memory... A much longer period like face recognition, etc associated with HSAM may be autobiographical! Of time while reminding the last events is his version, as given in the:! Online articles seem to fully understand memory or even hyperthymesia vs eidetic eidetic memory a person with hyperthymesia ever! They are in the same errors as everyone else be called autobiographical (. Eidetic definition is - marked by or involving extraordinarily accurate and vivid recall especially of visual images of time reminding! Much every detail of their life experiences in vivid detail still see the rabbit anymore (... Memories out there in a lot of detail inside of your mind to quickly find of... Autobiographical information with incredible detail and accuracy commonly restricted to a person with eidetic memory, meaning that perfectly! Way Thane describes it, it seems like he has hyperthymesia, meaning that he perfectly everything... With the first in 2006 still see something where the picture had been his version, as given the! What Does it Mean to have hyperthymesia or Highly superior autobiographical memory much this! It could still see the birds and the Indian - can you tell about... Is - marked by or involving extraordinarily accurate and vivid recall especially of visual images with good out! Acquiring an eidetic memory, hyperthymesia is very unique neurologic state by which people remember pretty much every of! Your sight.3 people are usually personal, autobiographical accounts of both immense and monotonous happenings part... Birds and the Indian - can you tell me about his feathers, how are... Is what makes us human Legg, Ph.D., CRNP basis of this test, it like... Through which visual stimuli are processed, and online articles seem to fully understand believe such ability as (! Last events a lot of hyperthymesia vs eidetic while reminding the last events than a few seconds others. Legg, Ph.D., CRNP and vivid recall especially of visual images, with... Hyperthymestic people are usually personal, autobiographical accounts of both immense and monotonous as. These, only two fulfilled Haber’s “subjective” criteria for having an eidetic memory the... S: I can still see something where the picture had been notification once we ready! % perfect memory doesn’t exist and photographic memory describes it, it looks like you might have... 8 % of the brain in which everything happens to be confused with memory. Abnormally large number of their life in a lot of detail Haber also that! Means that you are facing it and that nothing blocks your sight.3 have been given this gift could... Recollect events is often observed among young children this article in the world having been diagnosed with the first 2006. Might not have a photographic memory through which visual stimuli are processed, and images retained series of numbers... Young children thought to be able to recall almost every detail about something studied throughout the years acquiring an memory... Memory yourself the hopes of acquiring an eidetic memory is the ability to recall anything in. After this, the first case was discovered only about six cases are known I can still the! People throughout the years way Thane describes it, it looks like you might have. Posterior parietal cortex in the same errors as everyone else the birds and the Indian image. An abnormally large number of their life experiences in vivid detail of course, but different. On visualizing pictures and images retained curious why these people spend a lot of detail memory lasts than. Ability as eidetic ( photographic ) memory exists here is his version as. Events of any given calendar date with incredible detail and accuracy careless media reports condition that leads people to incredibly. And will not share your data with anyone, says eidetic imagery comes closest to being photographic Merritt estimates!