Awe-Inspiring Savants

     So, this week I've decided to do my blog a little differently. I was reading through the textbook chapter on "Theories of Intelligence" and came to the term "Savant", and since then (about 3 hours ago), I have been researching and looking in to all sorts of these amazing people and the astonishing and unbelievable things they can accomplish.
 
     A savant, by definition, is an individual with mental retardation who is extremely talented in one domain. But, if I had to define these people in my own words, I would say they are more along the lines of having superhuman abilities, not just talents. Most savants are born with these abilities, but in some rare cases, brain damage can also be the provocateur.

     I looked up quite a few savants and came across 3 or 4 that I found most intriguing.

• Rain Man (Kim Peek): Ok, am I the only one who thought the Rain Man was a fictional character played by Dustin Hoffman? Well, his real name is Kim Peek and he actually was (he died December 21, 2009) one of the world's smartest people. Kim was born with severe brain damage. His doctor had told his parents that he would never be able to walk, or learn anything and suggested they put him in an institution and "forget about him". Tough luck to that doctor because Kim grew to be an amazing scholar and has read over 10,000 books. He reads books 2 pages at a time (the left eye on one page and the right on the other) and remembers every single thing about them! He remembers dates, cities, zip codes, and even when famous people lived in those zip codes and at what time! Amazed yet? Here's a video I really loved :)

• Stephen Wiltshire: I have always thought that being a photographer would be a really fun, and amazing job. To be able to see the beauty in something and capture it with a click of a button would be incredible. If I could see something, just one time, capture it in my head, and then draw it out is something I had never even thought possible. Stephen Wiltshire does just that though, and it's almost too amazing to be true. Although Stephen was born with people believing he was mute and then diagnosed with autism, he grew up to love drawing. Anything from buses and landmarks to entire cities with incredible detail, Stephen could draw from memory. Describing his amazing abilities can only go so far, so, here's an astonishing video of what he can do :)

• Daniel Tammet: Recite Pi? 3.1415... something something something. Ok, so I'm no mathmagician, but I didn't know Pi could be recited up to 22,514 digits, which is how far Daniel Tammet recited from MEMORY. Daniel has a rare form of synesthesia which allows him to see numbers up to 10,000 in different shapes, colors, and textures. He can also speak 10 different languages and learns them extremely quick (He learned to speak Icelandic in 1 week!). Daniel was born with autism and had sessions of epilepsy throughout his childhood. He was told he would never be up to par with most children his age, and would grow to be at the metal age of about 15.

    
     So, after hours of researching, wikipedia skimming, YouTube watching (with my son sitting next to me TOTALLY amazed in what he's seeing), I have to say that I am really excited and feel great about doing this little bit of extra research on savants. They are amazing people who just prove that it is ok to be different, to be seen as "feeble minded" by the public, and to show that you can make a difference no matter who you are. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did! :)

Thanks for reading and watching!

-Keisha