The Real Rain Man ~megasavant~

Laurence Kim Peek was born in Salt Lake City on 11 November 1951. It was clear from an early age that he wasn't like other children. A scan showed that the two halves of his brain weren't connected in the usual way. As a result, Laurence developed the most amazing memory skills. From as early as two, he showed a fascination with books. He used to pick up books, read them and put them back on the shelf upside down to show that he had finished reading them. He remembered everything he had read. 

He soon began to memorise huge amounts of information on subjects such as history, geography, sport, music and literature. He also had an incredible ability with numbers and dates.

He developed a special technique to help him read quickly, He read the left page with his left eye and the right page with his right eye. He could read at a speed of about ten seconds a page and, by reading two pages at the same time, it would take him less than an hour to read a whole book. By the age of 30 he had memorised the contents of around 12,000 books.

However, other areas of his development were not so advanced. He didn't walk until the age of four and had problems with ordinary motor skills such as doing up a button or tying his shoe laces. He had poor social skills and was extremely sensitive when meeting new people. He also did badly in intelligence tests. 

In 1984, Peek and his father were attending a convention, when they met Hollywood film writer Barry Morrow. He was fascinated by Peek and began to write a new script based loosely on his experiences. The result was Rain Man, a film which won four Oscars, including best film, in 1988. The film made a big difference to Peek's life. His new-found fame helped him to become more self-confident and independent. He quickly got used to being the centre of attention and made several appearances on TV. He also travelled extensively around the country with his father to raise awareness of the condition he suffered from. Morrow gave his Oscar statuette to Peek to take with him. It became known as the 'most loved Oscar ever', as Peek insisted that everyone he met should take a turn at holding it. He died, sadly, of a heart attack at the end of  2009.