By Ranjan Bhaduri
Dec.22, (THAINDIAN NEWS) Kim Peek known as a famous and unusual resident of Utah, passed away on Saturday. The apparent cause of his demise was a cardiac attack. He came into spotlight nearly two decades back. He was recognized as one of the main inspirations behind the character of Dustin Hoffman in the celebrated movie ‘Rain Man’. Kim Peek was often called a savant as he had enormous knowledge and skill in subjects like classical music, geography, history, math, sports, literature etc. His memory was astonishing and he could remember everything from road maps to zip codes with ease. Even his command over the Bible was amazing. He read a great number of books and remembered their contents.

However, he was born with a defect in his brain and could not put the right and left sides of brain together. It created hardship in filtering information at times. Therefore, mundane tasks were hurdles for him. He faced difficulty in dressing on his own and using staircase etc. Even when he got older the learning process never stopped. In his later years he learnt how to play piano among other things. The researchers who studied his brain found out that he did not suffer from autism as such. Interestingly he read books in a different way compared to common people.

He used both his eyes to read different sides of the page. It may sound unusual but he mastered the technique and finished books pretty fast. He traveled to lots of places with his father. He became the subject of several documentaries and two books.