Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Adventurer]

Remember when? Man with big memory does By DINESH RAMDE, Associated Press Writer
Fri Feb 22, 6:16 PM ET



LA CROSSE, Wis. - For as long as he can remember, Brad Williams has been able to recall the most trifling dates and details about his life.

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For example, he can tell you it was Aug. 18, 1965, when his family stopped at Red Barn Hamburger during a road trip through Michigan. He was 8 years old at the time. And he had a burger, of course.

"It was a Wednesday," recalled Williams, now 51. "We stayed at a motel that night in Clare, Michigan. It seemed more like a cabin."

To Williams and his family, his ability to recall events � and especially dates � is a regular source of amusement. But according to one expert, Williams' skill might rank his memory among the best in the world. Doctors are now studying him, and a woman with similar talents, hoping to achieve a deeper understanding of memory.

Williams, a radio anchor in La Crosse, seems to enjoy having his memory tested. Name a date from the last 40 years and, after a few moments, he can typically tell you what he did that day and what was in the news.

How about Nov. 7, 1991?

"Let's see," he mused, gazing into the distance for about five seconds. "That would be around when Magic Johnson announced he had HIV. Yes, a Thursday. There was a big snowstorm here the week before."

He went on to identify correctly some 20 other events including the birth of the first test-tube baby in 1978, the toxic-gas leak in Bhopal, India, in 1984, and Billie Jean King's victory over Bobby Riggs in tennis' "Battle of the Sexes" in 1973.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080222/ap_on_re_us/memory_man

[djsmnc]

I dunno. I don't think that's such a big deal. I can remember things like that quite vividly. Stuff from when I was 3 years old. If that makes me a man of great intellect, then so be it.

I remember seeing on Saturday Night Live where Christopher Walken could make predictions by holding someone's hand. The predictions were like "You're going to eat a hot dog at the baseball game tomorrow"

That's about as amazing as this story seems to me. Don't normal people remember shit???

[Funkdafied]

[OneWayTraffic]

[mindmetoo]

There are some rare people who can do this. They can remember the weather for any date etc. They just have a very different way of encoding memories. Some people have this way of encoding memories with colors.

[djsmnc]

[Ya-ta Boy]

The guy's memory strikes me as odd and interesting. Most of us can't tell you what day of the week Februrary 21 was last week without stopping to count backwards.

What wasn't clear from the article is if all his memories are recalled the same way--day and date.

The Kyobo bookstore in Jamshil has recently discovered Stephen Pinker's books on how the mind works (The Language Instinct and The Blank Slate). They are doing amazing things in this field now, making the psychology I learned in school obsolete. Terrific stuff.

[Funkdafied]