“Rain Man” Protagonist Kim Peek Loves the Library

NASA is studying Kim Peek’s brain. He’s the autistic-savant young man, now aged 53, who inspired the movie “Rain Man” released in 1988.

Apparently, he’s gotten even smarter than he was back then.

Last week, researchers had Peek undergo a series of tests including computerized tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. The researchers want to compare a series of MRI images taken in 1988 by Dr. Dan Christensen, Peek’s neuropsychiatrist at the University of Utah, to see what has since changed within his brain.

Peek is called a “mega-savant” because he is a genius in about 15 different subjects, from history and literature and geography to numbers, sports, music and dates. But he also is severely limited in other ways, like not being able to find the silverware drawer at home or dress himself.

At home in Utah, Peek spends afternoons at the Salt Lake City Public Library poring over books, even memorizing phone books and the Cole’s address directory. Story from Deseret News .