What would this be - photographic memory or something else? Dd remembers dates

[HeidiHighLow]

Apologies for weird title.
My Dd is 8. She has an unusual memory she can recall dates/days of the week/times of specific events. Not everything but a lot.
For example I was talking about a random play date we did with family friends a couple of years ago and Dd then said yes I remember that day it was 27th a Tuesday wasn’t it. I went back to calendar from that year and she was correct.
This has happened numerous times with non important events that Dd can remember precise details on.
She was able from 2 upwards to memorise routes, where things were in which shops (she could recall which aisle etc)
Dd is performing well at school and really good at math (far better than me now and she’s 8) could it be she has a mathematical brain if that makes sense?
Teachers have never commented just that she is excelling in her subjects.

I passed O level Maths at aged 14, usually resolve the Countdown numbers before the clock starts, and am good at remembering dates (not as good as your DD though), so I wonder if the two are connected. Hope your DDs interest in maths can be maintained.

I have a photographic memory and it’s very handy. If I need to remember anything I can literally ‘photograph’ it. I can also count three or four different tally’s at once. I use it at work every single day. If you don’t use it, you lose it!

I have a friend like this. She remembers weird things like the last date we met and how many days apart her friends' children's birthdays are. Many other date related facts!

As far as I know she doesn't have any other amazing abilities and doesn't work in anything maths related; she's a primary school teacher. She does overall have an excellent memory though which I'm sure is useful.

DS did exactly the same thing - would remember dates, could tell you what day of the week someone's birthday had been and so on. He also had an amazing memory for some other things, eg complicated public transport maps.

I think you are right about the mathematical brain. DS always loved maths and did very well at it, ending up with A*s in maths and further maths A-levels, as well as being in school teams for maths competitions and so on. Some of the other skills have possibly been more useful in pub quizzes and the like.

I'm not sure what advice to offer except to go with the flow and encourage her to carry on enjoying maths, but not to the exclusion of everything else.

I don't think there's a specific word for it, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's somehow connected to being good at maths.

My sister was like this as a child. She then got A*AAA in maths/science A levels and is now studying a science subject at uni.

I was (and still am) awful at dates and times. While I also did well at school, maths was by far my weakest subject.

I think for it to be officially classed as a 'photographic' memory it has to apply to absolutely everything. It sounds as though she has an unusually accurate memory, though. Hopefully it will serve her well academically.

@Xmasbaby11

I have a friend like this. She remembers weird things like the last date we met and how many days apart her friends' children's birthdays are. Many other date related facts!

As far as I know she doesn't have any other amazing abilities and doesn't work in anything maths related; she's a primary school teacher. She does overall have an excellent memory though which I'm sure is useful.

I have a friend who is exactly like that (maybe it's the same person ) She is normal in all other ways but with a really good memory for number related things. She doesn't use maths in her job though.

DH is like this with soccer (football) scores. He reads them once and never forgets. He is also good at math and remembers things like formulas etc. despite being in his 70s. Our granddaughter can also memorize lists of things very quickly.

I think it bodes well for math. DH was helping our grandson with trigonometry last month and listening to math lectures on YouTube. Geeky much?

I have this. It's very annoying. There is no such thing as a true photographic memory but I remember almost everything, all the time. My brain is full of useless crap I will never need. I have found having music on stops it to an extent.

I thought it was normal until I was in my mid teens. When I started getting funny looks I realized it is not normal. I had to learn how much of an encounter is normal to recall out loud. So it's ok to remember when a group of friends went out where we went and who was there. It is not ok to say what everyone ate, drank and said.

Social convention is hard!

Here you go .. www.theguardian.com/science/2017/feb/08/total-recall-the-people-who-never-forget

@Spanglebangle same here- took me quite a while to realise not everyone memorised all their credit/debit bank details as wellas husband’s plus the name ofsomeone’s rabbit who I met once for 5 minutes at a Xmas party then where they live etc. My father has what you call a true photographic memory though- whereas mine is linked more to memory/emotions . However, since cancer treatment and menopause it has faded. So make the most of it and don’t freak people out too much 😂 I just kept quiet in the end

I can do this! My skills are only date-related though, I’m utterly shocking at maths. I’ve never found a use for it (besides that it’s quite a good party trick).

This is me! I say I have a photographic memory, it’s like I take snapshots of the important events and can pull them back up when needed in my mind. Remember images of school work/essays before exams, almost word for word. I can memorise song lyrics 2/3 times after hearing the song. It’s just a little quirk, useful though

Different people have different skills I guess. My son has a first from Oxford in maths. He's also very very articulate and musical, but he doesn't have this memory that you describe. I wonder what her other skills will be!

I am like this with days of the week but not dates. I can always remember what day something happened on. It's of very little use in my life! Through lockdown it's gone a bit because I don't usually know what day it is so presumably my brain isn't making the connection (Or I'm getting old!) I wasn't exceptional at maths at school although I was top set.

DD had a freaky memory trick as a child. From age 2 or 3 she'd always give every house a colour e.g. grandad's white house, ellas blue house. We realised it was the colour of the front doors. She was able to do it when talking about houses she'd visited a year earlier when she didn't have the language skills to do it at the time (late talker).

She is very good at maths (9 at GCSE/ A* at A Level) but I'm not sure there were many front door related questions

Is it an autobiographical memory rather than a photographic one? If it's dates and timelines and stuff, I think it's autobiographical (my psychology degree was a while back, so I could be making this up, as I have neither an autobiographical nor photographic memory 😂)

I'm the absolute opposite. Can't see pictures in my head at all, just black. I have to remember facts and as a result am useless at remembering things. Pretty good at maths though. Logic an formula I can do.

Music is an interesting point she is constantly singing or humming like her brain is always in overdrive.
Good point it is certainly not every single memory but odd ones - odd especially as completely non-significant dates not special occasions just random information and everyday events that are stored and Dd is able to pull out and reference on cue automatically.

My brother retained the back of every single card in a pack of cards at the age of 2. We played pairs with him and he never lost a pair - he knew the whole set!

He's bright. City lawyer now etc. Good at languages and music, especially with retaining vocabulary needed with multiple languages.

I can't do that but I retain bizarre memories mostly related to people. I can also remember the name of every child in my class for every year group from reception until I left school. I remember their parents/siblings, their interests and hobbies etc even 20 years later. It's weird and quite creepy sometimes

That’s so interesting that both you and your brother have unusual memory skills!
Not noticed anything unusual with ds he’s 5 - he again is super clever with maths.