"There is but one sense-defect in the child Oscar, his
eyesight-absence, and that is atoned for by his hearing and
touch-acuteness, as it generally is in the blind. Spitzka and
others demonstrate that in such cases other parts of the brain
enlarge to compensate for the atrophic portion which is connected
with the functionless nerves. This, considered with his
apparently perfect, mental and physical health, leaves no reason
to suppose that Oscar's extravagant memory depends upon disease
any more than we can suspect all giants of being sickly, though
the anomaly is doubtless due to pathologic conditions. Of course,
there is no predicting what may develop later in his life, but in
any event science will be benefited.
"It is a popular idea that great vigor of memory is often
associated with low-grade intelligence, and cases such as Blind
Tom and other 'idiot savants,' who could repeat the contents of a
newspaper after a single reading, justify the supposition.
Fearon, on 'Mental Vigor,' tells of a man who could remember the
day that every person had been buried in the parish for
thirty-five years, and could repeat with unvarying accuracy the
name and age of the deceased and the mourners at the funeral.
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