These children amaze with their talents, and their brains can be compared to a computer that eagerly absorbs and analyzes information. By their existence, they seem to prove the limitless possibilities of man. The famous psychologist Bill Karinpgon called them "the tribe of geeks".
Ingenious savant
It is not difficult for Daniel Tammet to multiply four-digit numbers in his head and square the result, he speaks 11 languages, has a unique memory, writes books and created a website on the Web, which is visited daily by thousands of admirers of his literary talent.
At the same time, Daniel is not at all adapted to the realities of life. For a young man, it is a big problem to make a purchase in a store or go to another city, he does not distinguish between "left" and "right", sometimes he cannot even turn on the light in the bathroom and hesitates in front of the door until someone close to him helps him open it …
Such people are called savants (from the French savant - "scientist"). Savantism is a rather rare phenomenon and is characterized by the fact that persons with developmental disabilities have outstanding abilities in one or more areas of knowledge, in contrast to the general limited personality.
Scientists note an intellectual feature common to all savants - phenomenal memory. Specialized areas in which the savants' abilities are most often manifested are music, visual arts, mathematics, physics, history, cartography.
Scientists can only guess about the reasons for savantism. The most advanced researchers in this field argue that abnormally high levels of testosterone (the hormone of masculinity) in newborn savants cause increased brain growth while suppressing the production of the hormone oxytocin, which is responsible for successful socialization. As a result, the savant grows up as a person with unique abilities, but not at all adapted to society.
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If we turn to the fate of Daniel, then she was not easy and happy. He was born on January 31, 1979 in London and was the ninth child in a middle-class family. At the age of three, the boy suffered a severe epileptic seizure. When consciousness returned to him, the child began to show an unexpected interest in mathematics. Daniel's parents recall that he was constantly counting something and showed a unique ability to memorize numbers. For example, it can reproduce up to 22,514 decimal places in pi. Daniel lives in the world of numbers and feels great in this mysterious space. Moreover, he is absolutely helpless in real life and requires constant attention from others. His parents had only to come to terms with these features of their son.
The school curriculum was surprisingly easy for Daniel. In the fifth grade, the boy showed interest in languages and learned six foreign languages with surprising ease, and then added four more to them. At the same time, he did not get tired to amaze and amaze teachers with amazing abilities in mathematical calculations. Sometimes school lessons turned into Daniel's mesmerizing shows. Classmates, armed with calculators and computers, vied with each other to multiply four-digit numbers, and the boy, without ever making a mistake, gave the result. With the same ease, ahead of the fastest instruments, he performed other mathematical operations: root extraction, division, addition, subtraction, squaring or cube. For this they began to call him Computer Man.
Scientific interest
When Tammet graduated from high school, he decided not to continue his education at the university, but began looking for job opportunities. At the same time he repeated: “I will not be able to feel comfortable at the university. The environment will surely annoy me! I will try to find a job that is orderly, logical, quiet, acceptable specifically for me."
Daniel set up his own website on the Internet, where he offered himself as a teacher of foreign languages. Moreover, according to its original method. For a fee, he was ready to share his achievements with future students. And many people from different countries responded to this proposal. So Daniel began to make good money.
- Material independence has increased my self-esteem. I stopped feeling like a helpless disabled person sitting on my parents' neck! - Daniel admitted in an interview.
He also began writing surprisingly interesting books that immediately became bestsellers. In 2006, his autobiography "Born on a Blue Day" appeared on book shelves. This essay has been named "Best Book for Young People" by the American Library Association.
Tammet's second book - "Embracing the Great Sky" - became a bestseller in dozens of countries. Thus, Savant proved that he was subject not only to abstract mathematical operations, but also to creative activity, the fruits of which are interesting to millions of readers around the world.
The special interest of researchers in Daniel is dictated by the fact that usually the savants cannot explain how they manage, for example, to carry out the most complex mathematical calculations, and Tammet is capable of it. Therefore, it is extremely interesting for science. Some researchers of savantism believe that unique abilities are inherent in each person, and only some extraordinary circumstance can open access to these treasures of intelligence. In Daniel's case, it was an epileptic fit. And other famous savants had some kind of brain damage.
It is possible that in the near future, science will find a way to bring to life the amazing abilities inherent in the human brain. And the key to unraveling the secrets of nature can serve as unique individuals like Daniel Tammet.
Mathematical genius
American Gregory Robert Smith, who was born in Keswick (Virginia) in the family of an engineer and a housewife, is also of great interest to scientists. Gregory learned to read when he was one and a half years old, after three months he famously added numbers and greedily absorbed the information he received from his parents. He completed the school program in three years, at the age of 13 he became a bachelor's degree in mathematics, graduating from the prestigious Randolph-Macon College. And at 16, Gregory received his master's degree from the University of Virginia, becoming the youngest graduate in the history of the educational institution. An article about him in a local tabloid was titled "Young Genius".
Gregory explains his interest in the exact sciences as follows:
- I am impressed by the thinking and the logic that are formed in the process of studying mathematics. The ability to think accurately and logically in solving difficult problems will certainly help me in political, business and social events, in which I will certainly participate!
Gregory easily mastered Spanish, French, Japanese, Chinese and Italian. Then he defended his dissertation in aerospace engineering, but did not stop there and defended his doctoral dissertation in political science.
“I dream of becoming the President of the United States,” says Gregory, who does not hide his far-reaching ambitions.
But the young genius is distinguished not only by excellent knowledge in various fields, but also by his civic position. At the age of 16, he founded the Youth Defenders International, which proclaimed friendliness and mutual understanding among young people around the world. Gregory visited many US states and more than a dozen countries around the world with lectures in which he promoted peace and tolerance in relations between peoples and defended the rights of children.
Gregory has developed a vigorous activity, managed to find sponsors and organized humanitarian projects for orphans of East Timor and youth in São Paulo (Brazil). He helped Rwanda build its first public library and opened a school for the children of three warring tribes in Kenya. - I am sure that by receiving joint education, these children will be able to acquire the necessary knowledge for further peaceful existence, - says Gregory, who consistently defends the right to education for children of all countries, as well as to a peaceful upbringing, which implies love and care, instilling moral values children and protect against the possibility of being drawn into violence, including films, television programs or computer games. Communicating with children, Gregory tries to refute the well-known stereotype that education is only for the elite.
Gregory did not hesitate to respond to a recent medical proposal to subject his brain to a thorough examination.
- I believe that the results of the experiments will help science to obtain new information about the unusual capabilities of the human brain, and in addition, it will make it possible for oneself to understand what is happening in my “brain computer”, given by nature, why I can easily learn foreign languages, produce complex calculations and comprehend a variety of technical and humanitarian disciplines, - said in a recent interview with Gregory.
Vladimir Petrov