Kim Peek vs Stephen Wiltshire
Two savants, compared on what is actually documented: field, era, country and record. No invented numbers.
The record, side by side
| Kim Peek | Stephen Wiltshire | |
| Field | Science | Science |
| Sub-field | Biology | Astronomy |
| Born | 1951 | 1974 |
| Died | 2009 | living / not documented |
| Country of birth | - | - |
| Star sign | Scorpio | Taurus |
Who they are
Kim Peek
Kim Peek is a savant from United States. American 'megasavant' who was the inspiration for the main character Raymond Babbitt in the 1988 film Rain Man.
Stephen Wiltshire
In October 2005, a thirty-one-year-old autistic British artist was flown by helicopter over Tokyo. He did not speak during the flight. He stared at the city. He held a sketchpad. When the helicopter landed, he was asked, in a Tokyo gallery the following week, to begin drawing what he had seen. He drew, over the next several days, the entire Tokyo skyline — every building, in correct architectural detail, from a single forty-five-minute aerial observation. The drawing, when finished, measured ten metres long. It was, in technical terms, complete. Stephen Wiltshire had, by then, been…
Full biography of Stephen Wiltshire →
What they share
- Both are held here under Science.
- Their lifetimes overlap.
Where they part
- 23 years separate their births (1951 and 1974).
Questions people ask
- Who came first, Kim Peek or Stephen Wiltshire?
- Kim Peek. Kim Peek was born in 1951, Stephen Wiltshire in 1974.
- What field is each of them in?
- Kim Peek is filed under Science (Biology). Stephen Wiltshire is filed under Science (Astronomy).
- Were they contemporaries?
- Yes - their lifetimes overlap.