A man-camera, a woman who remembers everything, and others: How people with superpowers live in the real world

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

It is difficult to find a person who would give up superpowers. Science fiction movies, books about superheroes, make us think about how great it would be to have a super gift. But these superhumans with supernatural powers are not such an invention! There are many such unusual people in the world, whose skills and abilities go beyond our perception of the world. Read about seven people with real superpowers.

1. A woman who remembers everything

American Jill Price - the first person in the world to be diagnosed with ultra-precise autobiographical memory syndrome, or hyperthymesia. There are only sixty such people in the world with an officially confirmed diagnosis. Jill remembers every day of her life in great detail, starting at the age of eight. She is now 54 years old. Often these memories pop up in her memory against her will. Price says: “It's like a big screen that is split in half: one part is present, and the other part is constantly showing the past. And any little thing can become a stimulant for memories."

If not for this woman, scientists probably still did not suspect the existence of hyperthymesia. Jill herself wrote to Dr. James McGough of the University of California, Irvine. McGaugh then headed the Research Center for the Neuroscience of Memory. The doctor politely replied that it was not a hospital, but a research institute and offered to recommend a good doctor in this area. What Price replied to him, he remembers to this day: “Whenever I see a date somewhere, I instantly transfer to that day and remember everything: where I was, with whom, what I did. It's never-ending, uncontrollable and exhausting. Maybe for someone this is a gift, but for me it is a heavy burden. My brain endlessly lives every day my whole life from start to finish. It just drives me crazy !!!"

McGough became interested in this case. When he met with Jill, he did a lot of research, making sure that everything is really as she says. McGough often reiterates that memory is our bridge to the future. But for Jill, it's different. “The thought that my memory will spoil me for more than a decade leads me to a state of extreme despair,” - says Price.

Indeed, from the moment her beloved husband died on March 30, 2005, she still bears the brunt of her memories. And she remembers not only about the happy moments of their lives, but also about his empty, wide open eyes after he died.

Therefore, Dr. McGough believes that the main thing in all this is not that such people remember everything, but we forget. After all, forgetting this is not only completely natural for the human brain, but also vital. One of the founders of modern psychology, William James, put it this way: “A unique mixture of what we forget and what we remember is the very keel on which our entire mental ship is built. If we remembered everything, it would be as dangerous for us as if we did not remember anything at all."

2. A person who "sees" with sounds

Daniel Kish believes that in order to see, we do not need eyes. He himself knows this firsthand: due to cancer of the retina, Daniel had both eyes removed in infancy. Thanks to the dedication of his mother, who decided at all costs to raise her son as if he were sighted, he began to perfectly navigate the surrounding space. From early childhood, like a bat, he intuitively mastered echolocation. He did it this way: he clicked his tongue on the palate or clapped his hands, and the sound wave was reflected from everything around and returned back. Thus, Daniel understood the size and shape of what surrounds him.

Kish walked independently through the busy streets to school, prepared his own food. When the boy was ten years old, to the horror of everyone around him, he began to learn to ride a bicycle. Repeatedly he was brought home by neighbors or the police, accusing his mother of negligence towards the child. Once Daniel hit a pole, smashed his bicycle and knocked out a tooth. Mom immediately bought him a new one!

For many years Kish worked on himself. He rode a horse, went in for rock climbing, entered the university as a psychologist. Despite the obstacles and prohibitions, Daniel obtained permission to teach. He began to participate in television programs, where, demonstrating his skills, he wanted to show the parents of blind children that they have a chance to lead a full life, without restrictions.

Daniel says: “Not everyone can let go of their fears so easily. Bumping into a pillar is a bit of a nuisance. Not bumping into pillars is a real misfortune. Echolocation is a skill that is developed through training. It's like learning to play the piano. You can teach anyone, but you need to start as early as possible."

Over the years, Daniel and his colleagues have taught how to see about two and a half thousand people around the world. The human brain does not care from which waves to build visual images: from sound or light. On MRI diagnostics in blind people, the visual cortex is usually dark. For Kish's students and himself, it burns and shimmers! These people really see in the full sense of the word. Yes, they can't see the horizon. The pictures in their brains are slightly blurry and black and white, but they are three-dimensional.

There are 35 million blind people in the world, they are registered as disabled. People perceive this as a tragedy. Daniel Kish proved with his experience, his life, that physical blindness should not be feared. Much worse is psychological, spiritual blindness. Daniel's task is to help everyone who wants it to find their way and get out of the darkness into the light.

3. Boy genius

Little Ramses Sanguino only five years old, and this is one of the most brilliant children on our planet. The child suffers from a mild form of autism. And at the same time, already at the age of one, the boy learned to read, at the age of one and a half he learned the multiplication table and the entire periodic table of Mendeleev.

He speaks seven languages and can solve complex mathematical equations. His mother also claims that Ramses has telepathic abilities. He can guess the playing cards or the numbers she guessed. This is not yet a proven fact, scientists are working with a little genius on research in this area. There is a hypothesis that telepathy is an alternative method of communicating with parents for autistic children.

4. Man-camera

Stephen Wiltshire also suffers from autism and at the same time has an exceptional gift. He just has a unique photographic memory. Unlike Jill Price, he does not remember his life. One single glance at the city landscape is enough for this person and he memorizes the picture in the smallest detail. Without sketches and sketches, he is able to accurately depict all this on canvas.

Stephen was born in London in 1974. Due to autism, he did not speak until the age of five. The boy was looking for self-expression in art. As a child, he painted everything in a row, and by the age of eight he decided that his destiny was buildings. Wiltshire is an internationally renowned and one-of-a-kind architectural artist. The recipe for his success is a mixture of talent and intuitively correct decisions.

5. A person who can not breathe for a long time

No man in the world can help breathing for as long as Stig Severinsen … His record is 22 minutes under water. He is interested in such a rare sport as underwater hockey. It was by taking up this sport that he discovered this rare gift in himself. Severinsen set a world record in 2010 and entered the Guinness Book of Records. He swam 72 meters in ice water in simple swimming trunks, without a wetsuit. Stig claims that his most important skill is that he knows how to abstract from his own body and from pain.

6. The toughest man in the world, running awake

Dean Karnazes is a legend of super marathon running. He has run more than fifty marathons. Dean competed in the world's toughest marathon, Badwater in Death Valley. There he was able to overcome 217 kilometers in a fifty-degree heat in just 27 hours and 22 minutes.

Karnazes has been running marathon all his adult life. He claims that he never felt a burning sensation in the muscles or cramps. “At a certain speed, I can run for a very long time without getting tired,” says Dean. Once he ran without rest for four days and three nights until he fell asleep while walking. He has to limit himself consciously, because he is the toughest person on our planet.

7. The hydrant man

Born in Ghana, Dickson Oppong is a human attraction. He is able to drink a huge amount of water, lethal for an ordinary person, and vomit it back. Dixon uses his stomach as a pump. Oppong is called the hydrant man, or the pump man. He can pour into himself at a time more than four liters of water. Doctors have found that in fact there are no miracles here. Dixon just knows how to masterfully control the muscles of his esophagus. Oppong actively benefits from his amazing ability. He puts on whole shows with water. In addition, he takes part in food-eating competitions. Has earned fame as an insatiable eater, eating seven dishes at once.

The world around us is amazing and beautiful. There are so many wonderful things that do not fit into our usual picture of the world, read our article about another superman the secrets of the ice man's superpower.