The Mind Creative - NOVEMBER 2013 NOVEMBER 2013 | Page 6

The Mind Creative Nov 2013

When Kim Peek was born, his head was 30 percent larger than
normal babies, he was very sluggish and cried constantly. Doctors
discovered that he had a large blister inside his skull that had
damaged the left hemisphere of his brain (which controls language
and motor skills). His parents were advised to place him in an
institution because he was expected to be mentally impaired for
life. Contrary to medical advice, his parents decided to bring him
in a normal family environment with his two siblings.
By the time, Kim was 16 months old, he started showing the most
extraordinary abilities. He taught himself to read children's books
and within two years, he looked up a dictionary to check the
meaning of the word "confidential". His parents soon realised that
he could also read newspapers.
His oversized head still required support because of its weight and
he was only able to walk after he was four years old. A renowned
brain surgeon offered to do a lobotomy on Kim but his parents
refused the offer. By the time he was seven years old, he had
managed to memorise the entire Bible
Kim was too disruptive to be
admitted in school and under the
tutelage of teachers at home, he
finished his school studies by the
age of 14. From then on, he
remained a loner being unable to
complete the simplest of tasks like
brushing his teeth. He knew not
more than 20 people at that point
in time and his time was spent in
reading. He was able to read and
memorise thousands of books
including the entire work of
Shakespeare and every story in
every issue of the Readers Digest
condensed books.
6