The Man Who Could Not Forget

I BUMPED INTO AN OLD COLLEAGUE at the airport the other day. We spoke fondly about the good old days.

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But damn, I just couldn't remember his name. I wished I had a better memory. Do you too? Ah, you must then hear about a man called Solomon Shereshevsky.

Solomon was a young Russian journalist, back in the 1920s. At editorial meetings, colleagues noticed he never took notes and yet remembered every word. Numbers, names, speeches, nothing ever slipped. His boss, the editor, realised Solomon had an unusual gift and sent him to meet Alexander Luria, a memory researcher. What Luria discovered was extraordinary. Solomon's memory was virtually limitless. Long strings of digits, random syllables, poetry in foreign languages – he could recall them decades later, flawlessly.

He had, quite literally, a mind that could not forget. At first, it seemed like a superpower. Who wouldn't want a perfect memory? Imagine never forgetting an exam answer, a client detail, or your spouse's birthday. But as Luria studied him, a darker picture emerged. Solomon's gift was also his curse.