This story made the internet rounds a week or two ago but I thought that it would be a nice topic for good old Legal Geekery. Recent research into the brain may provide scientists with a pill to give people photographic memories. Basically, a group of Swedish scientists have discovered a protein in the brain that can boost our visual memories. By stimulating this protein they have increased the retention of visual images in mice by almost 1,500 times. Imagine what this could mean for the world, and in particular lawyers and law students. You could read the facts of a case once and forever remember every detail. Imagine how much easier law school would be, I mean what could go wrong?
Now this is the point where I feel like I need to bring up one of my favorite movies of all time to explain why having a photographic memory wouldn’t be enough to get you through law school. The Paper Chase:
Pretty much the best (and only) movie about law school.
The Paper Chase is a movie from the 70s (originally a book which is also good) about James T. Hart, a 1L at Harvard law school. The movie follows him through his first year and his relationship with the cantankerous and brilliant Professor Kingsfield. The movie was recommended to be by a lawyer when I told him I was going to law school. I recommend that anyone should watch it because it is a great movie with such gems as Hart puking after his 1st day of the Socratic method, Hart having an affair with Kingsfield’s daughter, a young (and thin!) Edward Herrmann, and many more great scenes.
Anywhere back to the present and why a photographic memory is not enough to do well in law school. One of the character’s in the Paper Chase has a photographic memory and can recite the facts of any case off the top of his head, yet he preforms pretty poorly in class. See being a good law student involves more than just memorizing facts, you must be able to use those facts, analyze why a case is significant, postulate about possible exceptions to the precedent, apply the decision to a future case. In short you need to think critically, yes that section on the LSAT with those questions about what movies a theater can show or the order clowns can come out of a clown car.
Well that’s it folks, the future sure looks like it’s going to be an interesting place. I planned on posting a clip from the Paper Chase here so you could enjoy the majesty that is this movie, but youtube failed me. Instead you are getting a clip from the tv show of the Paper Chase (I’ve never seen this version but I want to), Kingsfield is played by the same actor and the scene is almost verbatim from the film so it will do.
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