One of the most important people in all of psychology and neuroscience died Tuesday. He wasn't a researcher, therapist or teacher. Rather, he was an unfortunately brain injured man, known as HM, who served as a link to understanding the physical nature of memory.
The Holy Grail of neuroscience now is the understanding of exactly how memories are formed. When HM was first studied, scientists didn't even know where memories were stored.
Among psychology students, the term HM has always been a quick shorthand for someone who can't remember something. So, if my wife can't remember something easy I'll say, "Your car keys are in your hand, HM."
Philosophically, his case is interesting. What would your life be like if you couldn't remember things after a certain point in time? Would life be fascinating or frustrating if everything seemed brand new? On one hand, you'd only have to own one book, but would have to read it pretty quickly for it to make sense. But, it would be impossible to build meaningful friendships.
RIP, HM.
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