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Outlook: 'I Remember when I was a Newborn'

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Rebecca Sharrock

28/08/2018 GMT

'I Remember when I was a Newborn'

BBC World Service - Outlook, 'I Remember when I was a Newborn'

Rebecca Sharrock's memory is so good she can remember every day of her life

Rebecca Sharrock's memory is so good she can remember every day of her life.

Australian Rebecca Sharrock can remember everything she's ever said, done or felt. She’s one of just 60 or so people in the world who’ve been diagnosed with Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory, or HSAM. Her condition’s been verified by researchers at the University of California Irvine. Not only can Rebecca recall what she was doing on any particular day, the memory is so strong that it’s like she’s there in that moment all over again. So does she think of her memory as a blessing or a curse?

The remarkable women of the Al Nour Wal Amal orchestra have trained themselves to remember hugely complex pieces of music by composers like Mozart, Strauss, Tchaikovsky. They perform without sheet music or the guidance of a conductor, because all of them are blind. Outlook’s Marwa Saber went to Cairo's historic citadel to see them in rehearsal. 

If you ever watch those TV programmes where celebrities or real people are trying to survive in difficult environments, extreme places like the jungle or the Arctic, then there’s a good chance that a British woman called Megan Hine is behind the scenes making sure they’re safe. She’s a survival expert and has some pretty handy skills for the wilderness. 

(Image: Rebecca Sharrock.. Photo courtesy of Rebecca Sharrock.)

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