Member-only story
Are Savants Unlocking Inherited Traits or Tapping into Something Universal?
Do savant’s miraculous abilities come from vaults in their grey matter or are they accessing those skills from a greater pool of knowledge?
Scientists have spent entire careers, focusing their efforts on unlocking the brain’s potential. Some lead long-running studies on those who have regained normal lives following horrific brain injuries or damage that has left the patient with unusual gifts.
Dr Darold Treffert, is one such scientist, who has many case studies from which to draw his conclusions. He speaks of two distinct categories of savantism: those who were born with talents and those who have acquired abilities, mostly through some form of damage to the brain.
We have all seen or heard of Rainman, the blockbuster film starring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise. The memory savant in the film was based on Kim Peek, who could recall an astounding level of detailed historical and geographical facts.
Before his sudden death in 2009, Peek had started to link them together in an even more incredible fashion, showing that his skills were dynamic and as plastic as his neural capabilities. Other famous savant’s skills include overnight genius in maths, physics, music, artistic abilities and knowledge of the calendar.