Autism and Savants

The Guardian published a very interesting article yesterday about Daniel Tammet, an autistic savant who has amazing talents when it comes to mathematical calculations. One thing that makes him unique amongst autistic savants is that he is able to somewhat communicate his thinking process to scientists.

Autistic savants are amazing. There are countless examples of people who can do math problems in blazing speed. There is even a girl who can hear any classical piano piece in its entirety and replay it on the piano without missing a note. Although autism has decimated the growth of their brain, autistic savants have one skill or trait that they can do phenomenally.

This is an amazing testament to the power of the brain. God has given our brains the ability to do amazing things. However, because of many reasons, we are unable to tap into more than just a pittance of our true capabilities. If savants can master a skill, then clearly the average brain is capable of such feats as well. If we could actually train our brains to perform at such a high level at different tasks and skills, there is virtually no limit to what mankind can accomplish.

Maybe Daniel Tammet can help researchers shed some light on all this.

A genius explains, the interview by Richard Johnson, is viewable by [clicking here].