Collective Worship (S): Photographic Memory

home page reflections worship4schools special themes multimedia archived collections search guidance copyright

AGE: Secondary

THEME: Photographic Memory

PREPARATION:

Bring together students who are interested in performing this presentation, the tone of which is light but thought-provoking. The school clowns might like the job.

The presentation is organised for 2 speakers (who can read from scripts) but you could involve more students if you prefer.

You will need a system for showing the photographic images. (e.g. an overhead projector.)

You can view/download larger versions of the pictures here:-
Photo 1 Photo 2 Photo 3 Photo 4

These are the same images used in 'Photographic Memories' earlier this term (except for Photo 4). Alternatively you could find other photos and alter the dialogue accordingly.

THE PRESENTATION:

The speakers move to the centre to begin the presentation. They are each waving £5 notes in their hands as they chant...

SPEAKER 1:	Five pounds! Five pounds - that's the going rate!
SPEAKER 2:	Genuine offer!! Has anybody got a photographic memory? Who wants five pounds for it?

Adlib - If anyone in the audience says they have got a photographic memory then offer to rent it from them for £5 per term.

SPEAKER 1:	Some faces look blank so we'd better define what photographic memory is.
SPEAKER 2:	Okay. Photographic memory is the ability to retain an accurate, detailed visual image of a complex scene or pattern. Being able to recall vivid images within your mind.
SPEAKER 1:	It's as if you've got a camera in your brain connected to your eyes, so everything you see is recorded in your brain forever.
SPEAKER 2:	Wouldn't it be great to be able to do that? It would make life so much easier. Pretty useful when it comes to homework and exams and...

Adlib - You can create some examples appropriate to your school. e.g. Every time Mrs_____ writes the homework on the whiteboard you'd be able to remember it without having to write it down, etc., etc.

SPEAKER 1:	It's a shame but most of us don't possess the facility of photographic memory.
SPEAKER 2:	On the other hand most of us think our memory is reasonably good. Who can remember what year it is?

Adlib - Someone in the audience is probably going to claim they don't know, in which case tease them with comments - they must be thick but at least they're honest, etc..

SPEAKER 1:	Let's test your photographic memory by looking at some photographs and seeing how much you can recall after you've looked at them.
SPEAKER 2:	You'll only see these images for a short time - about ten seconds - so you're going to have to scan them quickly and pick up as many details as you can. Here's the first one.

[Now show Photo 1]

SPEAKER 1:	Here is photo number 1. This is young baby Tony and he's playing in the bath. Look at this photo very carefully and try to remember all the details.
SPEAKER 2:	Next photo please.

[Now show Photo 2]

SPEAKER 2:	Photo 2 shows Tony when he was about 2 years old. Take a good look and try to remember all the details.
SPEAKER 1:	Next photo please.

[Now show Photo 3]

SPEAKER 1:

And finally - in photo number 3 we can see a slightly older Tony playing a game of chess. Take a good look and try to remember all the details.

[Now remove this photo from view.]

SPEAKER 2:

Okay - let's see what you can remember. In the first photo, what colour was the object that the little baby was holding?

Give the audience time to call out their ideas then re-show Photo 1.

SPEAKER 1:	Yes - that was easy. It's a yellowy-orange colour.
SPEAKER 2:	In photo number two we could see the shoes Tony was wearing. What colour were they?

Give the audience time to call out their ideas then re-show Photo 2

SPEAKER 1:	Again - another easy one - and most of you got it right.
SPEAKER 2:	In the third photo we saw Tony sitting on the floor playing a game of chess. What colour T-shirt was he wearing?

Allow the audience time to call out their opinions and then...

SPEAKER 2:

And what game was he playing on the floor?

Give the audience time to call out their ideas... (Some will say he is playing draughts but many will call out that he was playing chess.)... then re-show Photo 3.

SPEAKER 2:

What game was Tony playing? Who thinks he was playing chess?

Some will think so.

SPEAKER 1:

Well you're wrong. I told you he was playing chess but actually, if you look closely, he's playing draughts.

[Show detailed photo 4]

SPEAKER 1:	Aaaaah-haaaaa - tricked you!! He wasn't playing chess - he was playing draughts.
SPEAKER 2:	So - sometimes our memory is not as good as we'd like it to be - and often that is because we didn't see the reality in the first place.
SPEAKER 1:	In other words - we remember something that wasn't actually there. Sometimes we see what we think we should see. We said Tony was on the floor playing chess so that's what you thought you saw.
SPEAKER 2:	And it was only when you looked more carefully that you realised it wasn't a chess set but draughts. You might be thinking - "so what? - as long as you don't make a mistake like that in an exam it'll be okay".
SPEAKER 1:	But - for example - what if you were called as a witness because you'd seen a road accident? Your evidence - and the accuracy of your memories could mean the difference between someone getting into big trouble for dangerous driving or getting away with it.
SPEAKER 2:	It's been shown in psychological experiments that witnesses memories are not as reliable as judges and juries would like them to be.
SPEAKER 1:	And in your own life - have you ever been annoyed by something someone said or did? But how certain can you be that you have an accurate picture of what happened?
SPEAKER 2:	What if you misread the situation?
SPEAKER 1:	What if you misheard the comment?
SPEAKER 2:	What if you don't know all the facts?
SPEAKER 1:	What if your brain didn't store the memory correctly?
SPEAKER 2:	You might be holding a grudge for no real reason at all.
SPEAKER 1:	Sometimes the world seems full of fools who are quick to judge. You don't want to be one of them, do you?
SPEAKER 2:	It might be a good idea to go back and check the facts before you make huge assumptions. And if you realise you've been a bit off the mark then that's a good time to work out what you're going to do to resolve the situation.
SPEAKER 1:	Let's take a few moments in silence to think about times when we might have jumped the gun and made decisions based on inaccurate memories of what really occurred in our lives.
SPEAKER 2:	Chances are that putting things right won't be as hard as you think it'll be - so why not give it a try?

The Speakers end the presentation.

home page reflections worship4schools special themes multimedia archived collections search guidance copyright