Is there a difference between "superior autobiographical memory" and "eidetic" memory?

In my understanding – without taking the time to Google – eidetic memory is visual or photographic memory whereas superior autobiographical memory would be a facility for facts, experiences and details. I’ve heard people speak of having eidetic memory but don’t know how often it actually occurs.

Yes, @janbb‘s description. Recall vs. imagery.
I’d say I’m eidetic most definitely, my memory is like that of 12 elephants. lol
I have an uncanny abilty to remember dates, times, facts, details, it’s hard to win an argument with me if your recall is less than total. haha

edetic memory is different to photographic memory. Photographic memory is limited to the recall of images images. edetic memory is not limited to just visual memory (although they tend to be particularly good at recalling images).

Autobiographical memory is your general run of the mill memory that everyone has (ie you can rembember stuff that happens too you). Superiour just means better than average.

@Lightlyseared it’s more than better than average. I watched a video of people with this ability and it was mind boggling. You could give them a date 20 years in the past and they could tell you what day of the week it was, the weather, what the score of the hockey game they were watching was, what clothes they were wearing (verified by photos), etc.

It’s like they have the ability to replay any moment in their entire life and remember it to the very last detail with flawless accuracy. It’s incredibly rare.

@gorillapaws yeah like I said – better than average.

@gorillapaws You are correct! It is incredibly rare. Marilu Henner and 5 others in the world have Super Autobiographical Memory. It took me a while, but I found a clip of The View where Marilu and 2 others describe their abilities.

@Lightlyseared that’s like describing winning a multi-million dollar lottery jackpot as a better than average return on investment. Lol.

@SpatzieLover I was recalling the 60 minutes story. I’ll check out the one you linked too. There’s the potential there for researchers to gain massive insights into how the brain works I would think. It’s fascinating.

@gorillapaws Marilu is trying to put together a program teaching others to practice using their memory as a skill. She’s said on a couple of interviews I’ve seen that she used to practice her ability and quiz herself on it as a kid. Thanks for the link!

They are quite different. An eidetic memory is an exact memory of a picture or something seen, which fades with time. It is more or less what is meant by a photographic memory.

Superior autobiographical memory is very rare, the first case was discovered only about ten years ago and only about six cases are known. People with this kind of memory can recall every day of their lives with great precision and clarity. Give them a date and they can tell you everything they did on that day and how they felt. They can compare every Easter they have experienced and remember what they did, where they went and what the weather was like. It is a little uncanny.

The difference I think, If I am understanding the question correctly is the difference between a genius and a savant.

Both are genius, but one is cultivated and learned because of an inherent genetic tendency toward genius, and the other is kind of a happy accident that could happen to anyone, if other intelligence is either, present or completely absent.

Actually Superior Autobiographical Memory is clinically known as Hyperthymesia which is the ability to remember almost everyday of your life in exceedingly amazing detail. Where as eidetic memory is the ability to recall memories that you have seen or read. Going along with what youv’e said about Dr. Spencer Reid, in The Fisher King he remembers that the song/poem was read/sung to him as a child by his mom. If he had read it himself (which he may of, we all know how much he loves reading) then it would have been much easier for him to remember it. So pretty much eidetic and Superior Autobiographical Memory are two different things but still are the amazing ability to remember things the commonwealth might not.