The name is savant syndrome, though the connotation itself is misleading. By definition, a savant is someone with a mental disability who demonstrates profound and prodigious abilities in a very specific area. It’s kind of like being legendary at something, but otherwise living the life of someone with developmental difficulties. Difficulties? Most savants are autistic or posses a central nervous system injury or disease, so they are disabled in everyday cognitive functions and social interactions. Most victims also score low on IQ tests, though there are exceptions.
Savant skills, or where they shine, are usually found in one or more of five major areas: art, musical abilities, calendar calculation, mathematics, and spatial skills. The most common general trend is exceptional memory within savants. Next in popularity is the calendrical calculations area: these calendar geniuses store all information in a calendar, like a book. They memorize everything that happened to them or in history and can recall the events of a day in seconds. However, at this point you probably want to know about real life savants and what they achieve, for the sake of curiosity. Here are just a few examples:
Kim Peek
Kim was born with severe brain damage, struggles with ordinary motor skills, has difficulty walking, and scores low on IQ tests. The bright side? He has read about 12,000 books and remembers everything about them. He can even read two pages at once, each eye dedicated to a page, in only 3 seconds. Kim can also recall facts and trivia from 15 subject areas from history to geography to sports, and even remembers every song he has ever heard.
Savant skills, or where they shine, are usually found in one or more of five major areas: art, musical abilities, calendar calculation, mathematics, and spatial skills. The most common general trend is exceptional memory within savants. Next in popularity is the calendrical calculations area: these calendar geniuses store all information in a calendar, like a book. They memorize everything that happened to them or in history and can recall the events of a day in seconds. However, at this point you probably want to know about real life savants and what they achieve, for the sake of curiosity. Here are just a few examples:
Kim Peek
Kim was born with severe brain damage, struggles with ordinary motor skills, has difficulty walking, and scores low on IQ tests. The bright side? He has read about 12,000 books and remembers everything about them. He can even read two pages at once, each eye dedicated to a page, in only 3 seconds. Kim can also recall facts and trivia from 15 subject areas from history to geography to sports, and even remembers every song he has ever heard.
Alonzo Clemons
As a toddler, Alonzo suffered a head injury in an accident, as a result today he can’t feed himself or tie his shoelaces, but he can sculpt. He only needs to see an image, say of an animal, for a few seconds in order to sculpt a full 3D model, perfect in every detail right down to the muscle fibers.
As a toddler, Alonzo suffered a head injury in an accident, as a result today he can’t feed himself or tie his shoelaces, but he can sculpt. He only needs to see an image, say of an animal, for a few seconds in order to sculpt a full 3D model, perfect in every detail right down to the muscle fibers.
Stephen Wiltshire
As a young child, Stephen was born mute and diagnosed as autistic. Eventually by the age of nine he learned to speak, but his first word was paper, and that summarizes his talent. His drawing and memory skills are off the charts, he drew a complete and detailed landscape of Tokyo just after a short helicopter ride!
As a young child, Stephen was born mute and diagnosed as autistic. Eventually by the age of nine he learned to speak, but his first word was paper, and that summarizes his talent. His drawing and memory skills are off the charts, he drew a complete and detailed landscape of Tokyo just after a short helicopter ride!
Ellen Boudreaux
Ellen is a blind autistic savant with exceptional musical abilities. She can play music perfectly after hearing it just once, and has a such a huge repertoire of songs you can’t stump her. Ask her to play the most obscure song you know, she will play it. But it doesn’t stop there, she has an extremely precise digital clock ticking in her mind. Ellen knows the exact hour and minute, any time of the day without ever having seen a clock!
Ellen is a blind autistic savant with exceptional musical abilities. She can play music perfectly after hearing it just once, and has a such a huge repertoire of songs you can’t stump her. Ask her to play the most obscure song you know, she will play it. But it doesn’t stop there, she has an extremely precise digital clock ticking in her mind. Ellen knows the exact hour and minute, any time of the day without ever having seen a clock!