Eidetic memory

Somewhat amused and a bit ticked off whenever I read that an eidetic (primitive) memory doesn’t appear to exist based on research:

https://sites.psu.edu/psych256fa13/2013/10/20/does-eidetic-memory-exist/

Maybe if some of the researchers behind these studies had grown up experiencing it for themselves, they wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss it. Maybe they’d even be able to design more appropriate tests for it. Calling it photographic seems to throw them off.

I did have an eidetic memory till the age of 9 (which was a really cool thing to have), and strengths in abstract math and programming.

Concerning the eidetic memory, I read somewhere that it only happens to the autistic, and the culturally deprived.

“It seems that for success in science and art, a dash of autism is essential.” – Dr. Hans Asperger

Then I met a psychologist who told me that it could also happen to the traumatized and the very creative. It was an amazing gift to be able to see right before my eyes complete pages that I’d looked at the night before – if I looked at them long enough – the whole page including the page number. All I had to do was stare at the text that I wanted to memorize, and before my eyes, I would see an eidetic image of the page that contained that text. Used to wonder how many others in my class had this same ability. It seemed to me that I had some sort of unfair advantage come test time. The downside was when I saw something disturbing on TV, and in those days there were no warnings for sensitive audiences. The images would haunt me for far too long.

What do you think? Have you or anyone you know seen eidetic images too? Please feel free to comment.