Sunday, November 11, 2007

November 11: Kim Peek (b. 1951)

I have so many things in me that you can't even guess them all.

Kim Peek, American "mega-savant" and one of the real-life models for the Raymond Babbit character in Rain Man, turns 56 today (November 11). He seems to have a variety of diagnoses and labels, but he also defies prognoses and assumptions. There's an hour-long documentary about him, available in five parts (uncaptioned) on YouTube. The narrative arc of the film follows Peek and his father on a trip to some medical specialists, so it's pretty focused on his unique neurology. And there are a lot of clips of his public appearances, where Peek's answering trivia questions about dates and baseball. But it still gives a picture of his personality, his history, his relationships (especially with his father), and plenty of direct commentary from Peek, so it's not just talking about him.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

gHi everyone,
My name is Colleen Baxter. I'm new to this blog and blogging in general. I will cheeck out the documentary and the other links. There are so many I don't know where to begin. Rainman was one of my favorite movies. Thank you for widening my world and that of those of us with disabilities.