Wisecracks are Salt Lake savant's latest specialty

In the 21 years since a quiet and then-reclusive Kim Peek was first thrust into the media limelight as one of the inspirations for the 1988 hit movie "Rain Man," the mega-savant has developed two very unexpected new skills.

He has learned to play the piano. And he has started to tell jokes.

Kim, 57, of Murray, was born with a large water blister on the right side of his brain. His head was unusually large, his muscles weak. Doctors diagnosed mental retardation, and the passing years would bring other labels, such as autistic. Testing has shown he is not autistic. What he is, however, remains a bit of a mystery.

A savant is an eminent scholar. Scientists call Kim a mega-savant, with prodigious knowledge in 15 areas, including math, literature, sports, classical music, history and geography. At the same time, he is severely disabled, challenged by everyday tasks such as buttoning his jacket. He was 16 when he learned to maneuver stairs. He has no common sense, and certain types of reasoning elude him, but he also has a photographic memory. One thing obviously lacking — and something experts said he would never develop because of brain deformities — was a sense of humor. He's extremely literal.

No expert could predict that he would memorize all of the Bible, the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants, as well as thousands of books and phone books and Cole directories that he studies regularly at the public library. If you name a city, he gives you area codes and street names and a bit of the history if it interests him. When he visits a place for the first time, he has already studied the maps, he never forgets and you can't get him lost.

"Kim, you know all about Abe Lincoln. Any idea what kind of stomach ailment afflicted him at the end of his life?"

"I think he had a bad Gettysburger," Kim replies.

When Hollywood happened upon him, Kim and his dad, Fran, were living a quiet life. Fran worked for the State Office of Education, an expert in the law mandating special education. Kim did the payroll for a program serving people with mental disabilities, calculating the figures in his head.