Kim Peek - Savant. Preceding the savant Daniel Tammet by several years, Kim Peek is the real life Rain Man whom the Dustin Hoffman character was based in the movie. Described as a confounding mixture of disability and brilliance, Kim is in love with knowledge. Kim Peek is probably the world's most famous savant. Kim was diagnosed as being mentally retarded at birth, but with father Fran's unflagging support he has developed a memory that is without equal. Born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah. Kim has lived here all of his life. The local library is Kim's favourite place in the world. Kim devours books on anything and everything, as many as eight in a day. He reads at a phenomenal rate, a page that may take you or I three minutes will take Kim about 10 seconds. He reads the left page with his left eye and the right page with his right eye and will retain about 98% of it. He has 15 subject areas but about the only thing he can't do is, he can't reason out mathematical problems. In 1951, doctors wanted to place Kim in a mental hospital named American Fork. Fran was determined that Kim would not go to an institution, he would be raised at home as a normal child. Fran and Kim's mother parted in 1975, leaving Fran as Kim's sole carer. Fran is now almost 80 years old. Kim says "I wasn't supposed to make it past about 14, and yet here I am at 54, a celebrity!".
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