Under the Microscope

How much science can you fit into an hour-long television show? When you talk to Glen Whitman and Rob Chiappetta, executive story editors on the hit Fox series Fringe, it almost seems like the answer is “an unlimited amount.” Science seems to be crammed into every nook and cranny of Fringe, so much, in fact, that Fox offers high school lesson plans that explore the science of specific episodes.

Most people cannot remember what they had for lunch the other day, or what the weather was like two weeks ago, or any number of small details about their daily lives. But for the handful of people with hyperthymesia, or “extreme autobiographical memory,” these details are clear and vibrant. An individual with hyperthymesia could recall any detail from any day of his life – say, what the weather was on October 21, 1976, or what they ate for lunch on December 8, 1987 – as long as they lived it, they remember it.