Many strange defects of memory are known to exist, and of these
an interesting example may be given.
A business man of keen mind and good general memory, who was not
paralyzed in any way, and was perfectly able to comprehend and
engage in conversation, suddenly lost a part of his power of
reading and of mathematical calculation.
The letters d, g, q, x, and y, tho seen perfectly, were in this
case no longer recognized, and conveyed no more idea to him than
Chinese characters would to most of us. He had difficulty in
reading--was obliged to spell out all words, and could read no
words containing three letters.
He could write the letters which he could read, but could not
write the five letters mentioned. He could read and write
certain numbers, but 6, 7, and 8, had been lost to him; and
when asked to write them his only result, after many attempts,
was to begin to write the words six, seven, and eight, not being
able to finish these, as the first and last contained letters (x
and g) which he did not know.
He could not add 7 and 5, or any two numbers whereof 6, 7, or 8
formed a part, for he could not call them to mind. Other numbers
he knew well. He could no longer tell time by the watch.
For a week after the beginning of this curious condition he did
not recognize his surroundings. On going out for the first time
the streets of the city no longer seemed familiar; on coming
back he did not know his own house. After a few weeks, however,
all his memories had returned excepting those of the letters
and figures named; but as the loss of these put a stop to his
reading, and to all his business life, the small defect of
memory was to him a serious thing.
Experience has shown that such a defect is due to a small area
of disease in one part of the brain.--_Harper’s Weekly._
(2007)
=Memory Elusive=--See HEADS, LOSING.