Tag Archives: paul morphy

memory bank: cloud in the head

Posted on July 1, 2011 by Dave

Apparently Cyrus the Great could address every soldier in his army by name. Leon Gambetta, the French statesman, could quote thousands of pages of Victor Hugo verbatim. Possessors of these preternaturally powerful memories are called eidetics. Some call them freaks. … Continue reading →

Posted in Feature Article, Ideas/Opinion, Music/Composition/Performance | Tagged brittany maier, carl friedrich gauss, dustin hoffman rainman, george parker bidder, glenn gould, idiot savant, j.h. blackburne, leon gambetta, matt savage, oliver sachs, oliver sacks, paul morphy, richard foreman, Samuel Johnson, Savant Syndrome, steve silberman, treffert savant syndrome | Leave a comment

angel of history on an 8×8 dance floor

Posted on June 15, 2011 by Dave

Eight by Eight. Sixty for square checkerboard of white and black. Said to hold the mysteries of the sacred geometry of ancient Egypt and something inside these arcane permutations and combinations made Bobby Fischer click.It was a form of shamanism … Continue reading →