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Parent Category: Upper-Intermediate News Lessons

Category: Science and Technology

Written by Chris Cotter

Imagine that you possessed the ability to recall small, unimportant events, details, and dates from your life with almost perfect accuracy. Let's say, for example, you could remember than June 15th, 1992 was a Monday, and you ate a hamburger with extra cheese and onions for dinner while you watched a rerun of Seinfeld on TV. For Brad Williams, this isn't a what if. It's a feat of which he has always been capable.

There have been other people with similar abilities. However, they only could memorize random letters or numbers with ease, or maybe remember book passages and short stories word for word. Williams is different. He doesn't remember meaningless facts or figures, but information directly from his past. What's more, his memory has proved almost flawless.

"I've always been this way," he said. In fact, as a child, he thought everyone had the same ability. To his family, the phenomenon has always just been amusing. But one expert believes that Williams may have one of the best memories in the world. The doctor is studying Williams because he hopes to better understand how memory works.

Another woman has also been found with an almost identical talent, and has joined the same study. She calls her ability a burden, though. Whenever she hears a date, a flood of memories flows through her mind. It's nonstop and exhausting.

Both Williams and the woman remember information that they find interesting. Because this is an essential part of their abilities, some researchers have concluded that many others may be capable of the same skills. Since the study began, a third person has been discovered with similar potential.