Luria reports a request for recall of a fifty-word list given without warning sixteen years after presentation of the list. That request, like all the others Luria reports, resulted in successful retrieval of the list.
S had strong synesthesia, which appears to be unique among the memorists who have been investigated. Synesthesia is said to occur when information coming into one sensory system (e.g., audition) produces an effect in another sensory system (e.g., vision). S once said to the Russian psychologist Vygotsky, "What a crumbly, yellow voice you have" (Luria, 1968, p. 24). On another occasion, Luria was concerned that S might not remember his way in an unfamiliar location. S replied that he couldn't possibly forget because "here's this fence. It has such a salty taste and feels so rough; furthermore, it has such a sharp, piercing sound. …" (Luria, 1968, p. 38). Synesthesia interfered with the images S produced and presented an enduring problem for him. For example, S once noted that "Other times smoke or fog appears … and the more people talk, the harder it gets, until … I can't make anything out" (Luria, 1968, p. 39).
Professor Aitken
Many psychologists think that Professor Aitken, who lived from 1895 to 1967, was the best all-around mnemonist.
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