BRAIN MAN

By GABI SIFRE

As the year of celebritalities fades inexorably toward its own end, another person you might know by name (or at least pseudonym) departs for the next plane. Kim Peek, the guy who inspired Rain Man, died of a heart attack yesterday. Born to Mormons in 1951, Peek was a very advanced learner from early on, teaching himself to read before he was even two years old. Despite that, he still needed his parents to help him get dressed and brush his teeth. But, although most people assume he was autistic, he in fact suffered from Agenesis of Corpus Callosum, which means that his brain was missing the one piece that divides the two sides and filters information. He had an amazing photographic memory AND could read two pages of a book at once, even if it was upside down. In fact, thus far he’s the only person known to science who could do that last one. Peek didn’t squander his mutant super powers: this year, at 54, he was considered a genius in 15 subjects, or mega-savant (versus the measly two or three subjects mastered by average-Joe savants). What’s more Peek’s amazing mental capacity seemed only to increased with age. When you hear the whole story, it starts to seem like “Rain Man” might’ve been the low point of Peek’s illustrious cerebral career.

By GABI SIFRE 2 years ago

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