unit-4-brain-man

Unit4BrainManAlmost25yearsago,60MinutesintroducedviewerstoGeorgeFinn,whosetalentwasimmortalizedinthemovieRainMan.Georgehasaconditionknownassavantsyndrome,amysteriousdisorderofthebrainwheresomeonehasaspectacularskill,evengenius,inamindthatisotherwiseextremelylimited.MorleySafermetanothersavant,DanielTammet,whoiscalledBrainManinBritain.Butunlikemostsavants,hehasnoobviousmentaldisability,andmostimportanttoscientists,hecandescribehisownthoughtprocess.HemayverywellbeascientificRosettastone,akeytounderstandingthebrain.Backin1983,GeorgeFinn,blessedorobsessedwithcalendarcalculation,couldgiveyouthedayifyougavehimthedate.WhatdayoftheweekwasAugust13th,1911?SaferquizzedFinn.ASunday,Finnreplied.WhatdayoftheweekwasMay20th,1921?Saferasked.Friday,Finnanswered.GeorgeFinnisasavant.Inmorepoliticallyincorrecttimeshewouldhavebeencalledanidiotsavant-amentallyhandicappedorautisticpersonwhosebrainsomehowpossessesanislandofbrilliance.Askedifheknewhowhedoesit,FinntoldSafer,Idon'tknow,butit'sjustthat,that'sfantasticIcandothat.Ifthisallseemsfamiliar,there?sareason:fiveyearsafterthe60Minutesbroadcast,DustinHoffmanimmortalizedsavantslikeGeorgeinthemovieRainMan.Whichbringsustothatothersavantwementioned:DanielTammet.HeisanEnglishman,whoisa27-year-oldmathandmemorywizard.IwasbornNovember8th,1931,Saferremarks.Uh-huh.That'saprimenumber.1931.AndyouwerebornonaSunday.Andthisyear,yourbirthdaywillbeonaWednesday.Andyou'llbe75,TammettellsSafer.Itisestimatedthereareonly50truesavantslivingintheworldtoday,andyetnonearelikeDaniel.Heisarticulate,self-sufficient,blessedwithallofthespectacularabilityofasavant,butwithverylittleofthedisability.Takehismathskill,forexample.Askedtomultiply31by31by31by31,Tammetquickly-andaccurately-respondedwith923,521.Andit?snotjustcalculating.Hisgiftofmemoryisstunning.Brieflyshowhimalongnumericalsequenceandhe?llreciteitrightbacktoyou.Andhecandoitbackwards,toboot.Thatfeatisjustawarm-upforDanielTammet.HefirstmadeheadlinesatOxford,whenhepubliclyrecitedtheendlesssequenceofnumbersembodiedbytheGreekletterPi.Pi,thenumbersweusetocalculatethedimensionsofacircle,areusuallyroundedoffto3.14.Butitsnumbersactuallygoontoinfinity.Danielstudiedthesequence-athousandnumberstoapage.AndIwouldsitandIwouldgorgeonthem.AndIwouldjustabsorbhundredsandhundredsatatime,hetellsSafer.IttookhimseveralweekstoprepareandthenDanielheadedtoOxford,wherewithnumbercruncherscheckingeverydigit,heopenedthefloodgatesofhisextraordinarymemory.Tammetsayshewasabletorecite,inaproperorder,22,514numbers.Ittookhimoverfivehoursandhediditwithoutasinglemistake.Scientistssayamemoryfeatlikethisistrulyextraordinary.Dr.V.S.RamachandranandhisteamattheCaliforniaCenterforBrainStudytestedDanielextensivelyafterhisPiachievement.Whatdidhemakeofhim?Iwassurprisedathowarticulateandintelligenthewas,andwasabletointeractsociallyandintrospectonhisown-abilities,saysDr.Ramachandran.Andwhilethatintrospectionisextremelyrareamongsavants,Daniel?sabilitytodescribehowhismindworkscouldbeinvaluabletoscientistsstudyingthebrain,ourleastunderstoodorgan.EvenhowyouandIdo17minusnineisabigmystery.Youknow,howaretheselittlewispsofjellyinyourbraindoingthatcomputation?Wedon'tknowthat,Dr.Ramachandranexplains.Itmayseemtodefylogic,butRamachandranbelievesthatasavant?sgeniuscouldactuallyresultfrombraininjury.Onepossibilityisthatmanyotherpartsofthebrainarefunctioningabnormallyorsub-normally.Andthisallowsthepatienttoallocateallhisattentionalresourcestotheoneremainingpart,heexplains.Andthere'salotofclinicalevidenceforthis.Somepatientshaveastrokeandsuddenly,theirartisticskillsimprove.ThattheoryfitswellwithDaniel.Attheageoffour,hesufferedamassiveepilepticseizure.Hebelievesthatseizurecontributedtohiscondition.Numberswerenolongersimplynumbersandhehaddevelopedararecrossingofthesensesknownassynesthesia.Iseenumbersinmyheadascolorsandshapesandtextures.SowhenIseealongsequence,thesequenceformslandscapesinmymind,Tammetexplains.Everynumberupto10,000,Icanvisualizeinthisway,hasit'sowncolor,hasit'sownshape,hasit'sowntexture.Forexample,whenDanielsaysheseesPi,hedoesthoseinstantcomputations,heisnotcalculating,butsaystheanswersimplyappearstohimasalandscapeofcolorfulshapes.Theshapesaren'tstatic.They'refullofcolor.They'refulloftexture.Inasense,they'refulloflife,hesays.Askedifthey?rebeautiful,Tammetsays,Notallofthem.Someofthemareugly.289isanuglynumber.Idon'tlikeitverymuch.Whereas333,forexample,isbeautifultome.It'sround.It's?.Chubby,Saferremarks.'It's-yes.It'schubby,'Tammetagrees.Yetevenwiththedevelopmentoftheseextraordinaryabilitiesasachild,nobodysensedthatDanielwasaprodigy,includinghismother,Jennifer.Buthewasdifferent.Hewasconstantlycountingthings,Jenniferremembers.Ithink,whatfirstattractedhimtobooks,wastheactualnumbersoneachpage.Andhejustlovedcounting.Askedifshethinksthere?saconnectionbetweenhisepilepsyandhisraretalent,shetellsSafer,Hewasalwaysdifferentfrom-whenhewasreallyafewweeksold,Inoticedhewasdifferent.SoI'mnotsurethatit'sentirelythat,butIthinkitmighthaveescalatedit.DanielwasalsodiagnosedwithAsperger?sSyndrome-amildformofautism.Itmadeforapain