Savant Syndrome: A Duality of Genius and Handicap - Engineering ...

Savant Syndrome:
A Duality of Genius and Handicap
Bradley Henke
Honors Socratic Seminar
Mrs. Richards
March 11, 2008

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Savant Syndrome ranks among of the world‟s most mysterious and inexplicable
phenomenons. It is a condition in which an individual, despite severe intellectual impairment,
possess extraordinary abilities (Treffert xxv). Mental disability may render George and his
identical twin Charles incapable of counting to thirty, but if they are given a date within 40,000
years of the past or future the twins can name the day of the week that the date fell or will fall on
(Treffert 36). Thomas Fuller was an African slave during 1788 (Treffert 55). He was described
as severely mentally handicapped. Yet, Fuller was able to correctly calculate nine digit by nine
digit multiplication in his head, and in a matter of seconds (Treffert 55). As an autistic savant
himself, Daniel Tammet describes the “line between profound talent and profound disability [as]
a really surprisingly thin one” (Brainman). Savant Syndrome is an enigma of the brain which
challenges scientists to reevaluate the concept of genius. Each savant has a unique story which
sheds light on the mysterious power of the brain. Naturally, this wonderfully mysterious
phenomenon also begs the questions, “What gives a savant his or her incredible ability? Is the
capacity for truly amazing talents simply locked away somewhere in every man‟s head? If so,
could it be accessed or even completely unlocked?”
Savant Syndrome is a relatively new branch of psychology. The phenomenon was first
properly recognized by Dr. J. Langdon Down (the prominent London doctor is also known for
originating the term “Down‟s Syndrome”) (Hiles). In 1887, Dr. Down described a person with
incredible ability but serious mental handicap as an “idiot savant” (Treffert xii). When the term
“idiot savant” was first coined, “idiot” was an accepted medical terminology that referred to an
individual with an I.Q. of less than 25 (Treffert xii). “Savant” is a word derived from the French
language literally meaning “to know” or “man of learning” (Treffert xii). “Autistic savant” is
often used interchangeably with “idiot savant” (Hiles). However, the terminology now accepted

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to describe this phenomenon is “savant syndrome” (Treffert). Correct terminology is important
in recognizing the syndrome because very few savants can accurately be described as “idiot” or
“autistic”. Most savants have an I.Q. that far exceeds 25; along with the inaccuracy of the term,
“idiot” has a strong negative connotation in present society which is unfairly attributed to
amazingly gifted individuals (Treffert xii). The term “autistic savant” can be misleading because
only half of savants are autistic; the other half of savant cases come from various developmental
disorders and brain injuries (Hiles). From the two pools of people, savant qualities appear in
roughly 10% of the autistic population and in less than 1% of injury and developmental disorder
populations (Hiles). Therefore, there is a higher incident rate of savants in the autistic population
which may have led to the development of the term.
Savants are best described by two categories of people. “Talented savants” possess
abilities that seem remarkable in comparison with their handicap (Treffert xii). “Prodigious
savants” maintain abilities that seem remarkable even for a normal person (Treffert xii).
Prodigious savants are few and far between; it is estimated that fewer than 100 prodigious
savants have lived worldwide in the last 100 years (Hiles).
Although not all cases of savant syndrome coincide with autism, the greater tendency of
having savant-like qualities while being part of the autistic spectrum clearly demonstrates a link
between the two disorders. Autism afflicts one child out of every 500 children born (Edwards 9).
The condition is four times more likely to affect boys than girls; however, it is noted that girls
with autism tend to have more severe symptoms and lower intelligence than most autistic boys
(Edwards 9). The probability of being autistic is not affected by demographic features like social
class, race, ethnicity, lifestyle, or educational background (Edwards 9). Also, to clarify, autism is
a disorder not a disease (Edwards 12). Unlike diseases, there are not symptoms of autism

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(Edwards 12). Doing a “blood test will not indicate the presence of autism, nor will an X ray, a
urinalysis, or a biopsy. So doctors rely exclusively on behavior to determine whether or not a
child is autistic” (Edwards 12). The National Institute of Mental Health classifies autism as a
brain disorder which affects a person‟s ability to communicate, form relationships with others,
and act appropriately in an environment (Edwards 12). Furthermore, they may be high
functioning, retarded, or mute, and they often seem closed off indulging in repetitive behaviors
and “rigid patterns of thinking” (Edwards 13). Because of the wide variety of autistic behaviors it
is best to think of autism as a spectrum disorder of high-functioning to low-functioning
characteristics (Hiles). A specific higher-functioning form of Autism is called Asperger‟s
syndrome (Edwards 74). It is characterized by normal intelligence and language development,
but accompanied by “marked deficiencies in social and communication skills” (Edwards 74).
Individuals with Asperger‟s syndrome are often single-minded and compelled to analyze details
and systems (Tammet 7). The disorder is comprised of 90% males. The disorder is not something
that develops over time; it is something a man is born with (Tammet 7).
Strangely enough, savant talents usually fall into a narrow list of abilities; however, many
times savants possess more than one talent (Hiles). The skills often have very little in common,
except for one defining trait – all savants have an unusually large capacity for storing and
recalling memory (Treffert xiii). Also, in most cases, the talents that savants develop are
controlled by the brain‟s right hemisphere which is responsible for “non-symbolic, artistic,
concrete, and directly perceived” actions and ideas (Hiles). Most savants‟ talents fall into the
categories of memorization, lighting calculation, calendar calculation, musical ability, artistic
ability, and language ability (Hiles). Surprisingly, very few other abilities are attributed to
savants (Treffert 92). Some of the less common skills include mechanically ability, unusual

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sensory discrimination, extrasensory perception, precise sense of time, and sense of direction
(Treffert 92-98). Mechanical savants have an unusual ability to draw out blueprints and assemble
parts of everyday objects to make simple machines; in one case a child took apart a clock and
rigged it up as an affective windmill (Treffert 92). One child with unusual sensory discrimination
for touch was able to peel apart a page of magazine into two perfect and separate sheets of paper
as one would do with a stamp envelope (Treffert 96). Savants with extrasensory perception
abilities are unexplainable and often viewed as near psychic (Treffert 96). Savants are sometimes
documented to have an ESP like ability to predict random events before they occur (Treffert 96).
Statistically speaking, from the repeated instances of the predictions becoming true, the
“probability for coincidental knowledge [is] nil” (Treffert 97).There are a few documented cases
of savants with a precise sense of time who are able to predict the current time, to the minute,
without looking at a clock (Treffert 98). Savants with a keen sense of direction can give detailed
directions to any destination they have traveled to – on a street by street, block by block
breakdown (Treffert 99). Yet, most skills fall into the other categories.
An expansive memory is characteristic of all savants, but for some memorization alone is
a fantastic ability. There are several cases of Savants who are able to memorize vast sums of
knowledge (Treffert 68). One young man named Gordon could repeat “verbatim a story of 1,500
words after six or seven readings” (Treffert 69). Gordon was unable to dress himself (Treffert
70). He had an amazing ability to retain language, but like many other skilled memorizers, he
was unable to comprehend what he read (Treffert 70). For most savants, “extraordinary memory
was associated with very great defect of reasoning power” (Treffert 71). Memorization is a broad
category. Savants have been documented to memorize:

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… names and dates of many kinds, addresses, zip codes, area codes and telephone
numbers, many types of population statistics, geographical information,
timetables, poetry, stories (recalled word for word), license plate numbers, menus,
road maps, date-based information about family events, weather reports, news
items, locomotive engine numbers and freight train car numbers, stations on
railway routes, songs, word spellings (backwards as well as forwards), birthdays,
street sequences, word-by-word records of conversations, television and film
scripts, sporting events and statistics, and astronomical information. (Howe 41)
The list is endless. Savants feel compelled to memorize such figures. Often times, however, it is
startling to learn that the savants have little or no interest in the things that they memorize (Howe
41). For example, one seven year old child learned both the English and Latin names of 18
varieties of deer (Howe 41). He accomplished this feat in spite of the fact that he had no apparent
interest in the deer themselves; he would be completely unable to recognize any such breed of
deer if it had stumbled upon his path (Howe 41). Exceptional memory is one of the only real
links between all savant abilities; which, if explained, may be the key to understanding savant
syndrome (Treffert xii).
Very little is known about lightning calculation. It is a skill found on both ends of the
intelligence spectrum (meaning both the mentally challenged and true geniuses without
disability) (Treffert 55). There are very few average people that possess this ability (Treffert 55).
Steven B. Smith, author of The Great Mental Calculators, explains this gap of intelligence as a
lack of interest in math for the average man (Treffert 55). Those who can do lightning
calculation, overwhelmingly, describe numbers as their “friends” (Treffert 55). Thomas Fuller
was an African slave in Virginia during the late 1700s (Treffert 56). All information available

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describes Fuller as seriously mentally handicapped (Treffert 56). While doing his jobs as a slave,
Fuller became preoccupied with counting (Treffert 56). He started by counting bushels of wheat
and then one day became so obsessive that he counted every hair on one of his cow‟s tail
(Treffert 56). Because of his slave status, Fuller never had a math class or any type education
(truthfully he probably would not have been able to comprehend them if he did) (Treffert 56).
Yet despite his severe mental handicaps, he could easily multiply nine digit numbers by nine
digit numbers. In 1788 Fuller was tested with three questions to detect his math abilities (Treffert
56). The first question “how many seconds are in one and one half years” was answered
correctly (47,304,000) in less than two minutes (Treffert 56). The second question “how many
seconds has a man been living if he is 70 years 17 days and 12 hours old” was answered in 90
seconds as 2,210,500,800 (Treffert 56). Upon hearing this answer two of the three judges
immediately told Fuller that he had given an incorrect answer; after reciting what the correct
answer should be Fuller immediately replied “Masa, you forgot d‟leap year” (Treffert 56). Upon
reexamination the judges agreed that Fuller had indeed given the correct answer and so
continued to the third question, “Suppose a farmer has six sows and each sow has six female pigs
the first year, and they all increase in the same proportion to the end of eight years. How many
sows would the farmer then have” (Treffert 56). After ten minutes of contemplating, Fuller gave
the correct answer 34,588,806 (Treffert 56). A second prodigious case of lightning calculation
occurred in the 1700s as well (Treffert 57). Jedediah Buxton “like Fuller was very limited
intellectually” (Treffert 57). Buxton was once asked to calculated the cost of shoeing a horse
“with 140 nails if the price was one farthing for the first nail and the price was doubled for each
of the remaining 139 nails (2 to the power of 139); Buxton‟s answer was
725,958,238,096,074,907,868,531,656,993,638,851 pounds, 2 shillings and 8 pence (Treffert

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57). This problem was extremely complicated because it involved converting money as well as
calculating huge numbers; a modern computer determined his number to be incorrect (Treffert
57). However, the first four digits and the last eight digits were correct as well as the spare
change (Treffert 57). Buxton then spent the next two and a half months squaring this 28 digit
number in his head and a modern computer has verified that he correctly calculated the 78 digit
number in all but one digit (Treffert 57). This type of mental capacity is truly extraordinary.
Buxton‟s example demonstrates that the power of the brain in almost limitless in its ability. Two
identical twin savants, George and Charles, demonstrated a unique type of lightning fast
calculation. Both twins were able to count 111 matches, after they were spilled out of a
matchbox, and before they hit the ground; upon retrieving the matches from the floor it was
verified that exactly 111 matches had been spilt (Treffert 67). The means by which these feats
are done is unexplainable. The best answer that scientists have is that perhaps savants are
“capable of foreseeing the solution to a problem or long arithmetic operation without carrying
out the details of the calculations” (Treffert 67).
On the same lines as Lightning Calculation is Calendar Calculation. It is “the ability to
identify the day of the week upon which a particular date falls” (Hiles). The odd thing about
calendar calculation is that it appears uncommonly often in savants (Treffer xiii). David Tammet,
a prodigious savant and calendar calculator himself, believes that the ability to calendar calculate
stems from the fascination, especially demonstrated in autistic individuals, savants have with
pattern, order, and systems which are all vital parts to calendar calculation (Tammet 8). When
discussing calendar calculators, no one represents the category better than George and his
identical twin brother Charles (Treffert 36). Both brothers are prodigious savants that can name
the day of the week that any date has fallen or will fall on (Treffert 36). They have been tested to

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accurately name dates both 40,000 years in the future and past; a span of over 80,000 dates
(Treffert 36). “Ask them to name in which years, in the next or any 200, Easter will fall on
March 23 and they will name those years with lightning rapidity, faster than a computer”
(Treffert 36). The brothers can also recount weather with surprising detail, such as the time the
sun rose and the hour it began raining, for any day in their adult lives, yet after asking them a few
simple questions they will have had sufficient time to forget the questioner‟s name (Treffert 39).
The brothers are severely mentally challenged and unable to count to 30, but in their spare time
“the brothers swap 20 digit prime numbers for amusement” (Treffert 39). The twin are unable to
add or subtract single digit numbers, however, if asked to tell you how many weeks it has been
since your last birthday, George will tell you that it has been 30 weeks since your last birthday
and 13 weeks till your next one (Treffert 36, 38). Without understanding the rules of
mathematics the twins are able to unconsciously factor numbers, commit to memory 3 digit, 30
digit, or 300 digit numbers with equal ease (Treffert 40). When asked how they were able to do
such amazing things the answer George replied with is “It‟s in my head and I do it” (Treffert 39).
This is a typical response of savants; they are unable to explain how they consciously do their
magic, which may suggest that everything truly is done subconsciously. Hermelin and O‟Conner
of the Institute of Education in London are top researchers of Calendar Calculating (Treffert 50).
They wanted to know whether or not the ability was based on math or memory (Treffert 50).
They “concluded that memory alone could not explain the skill. They postulated that, in addition
to using some arithmetic calculating skill, the savants also used the rules that govern the
Gregorian Calendar” (Treffert 51). Dr. Treffert, currently the world‟s authority on savant
syndrome, used Hermelin‟s and O‟Conner‟s results to theorize that “the underlying method for
most savant calendar calculators is the ability of the human brain to form unconscious algorithms

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on the basis of examples” (Treffert 54). This is the only way to explain the twins calculating
ability because they could not consciously add or subtract anything (Treffert 54). At first the idea
seems extremely irrational and improbable, but “analogous to this would be the fact that many
persons use language without being able to verbalize rules of grammar and sentence
construction. They may not know how they use language, but they can use it nonetheless”
(Treffert 54). I find this explanation extremely satisfying. I practice the use of language every
single day just as the twins were compelled to do calculations every single day. For a very long
time I was unaware of grammar rules. Even today I still find that some words just sound “right”
in certain instances of grammar, despite the rules. For them to become prodigious at
subconscious calculation, which is something they are predisposed to succeed in due to savant
syndrome, is not a very large leap of faith for me.
The twins were institutionalized when they were nine years old (Treffert 37). After years
of being together, it was decided that they should be separated “for their own good and to
prevent unhealthy communication together” (Treffert 41). They were separated to be able to
“come out and face the world in an appropriate, socially acceptable way” (Treffert 41). Both
were moved to half-way houses to do menial jobs for pocket money (Treffert 41). It is true that
they were able to partially adapt to their new worlds becoming “quasi-independent and socially
acceptable,” but in the process, both twins seemed to “have lost their strange numerical power,
and with this the chief joy of their lives” (Treffert 41). The treatment of individuals with savant
syndrome is a reoccurring dilemma. Should they be encouraged to conform, if possible, to
society, or instead live and alternative lifestyle while being supremely content and happy with
their own worlds? To me, risking a prodigious skill for a “normal live” seems like a waste of true

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talent. It would seem ridiculous to tell Stephan Hawkins to stop studying space, even if he were
eccentric; why should it be any different with savants?
Musical savants display some of the most amazing characteristics of savant syndrome.
Prodigious musical savants are exceptionally rare; among the developmentally disabled they
appear in 0.06% of the population (Miller 10). According to Miller, “most musical savants are
male, visually impaired, and have a history of language disorder,” but he also recognizes that
musical savants are not formula made (Miller 190). It is interesting to note that there is a
“frequently occurring triad of blindness, mental defect and musical genius,” and although not
every musical savant is blind, the three attributes occur with “startling regularity” (Treffert 19).
Musical savants have absolute pitch (Miller 45). Each musical note is a sound wave vibrating at
certain frequency; the wavelength determines the note being played. The frequency of the
wavelength can be increased to create separate harmonics. For savants, having absolute pitch is
similar to having vision (Miller 45). The human eye picks up changes in the wavelengths of light
waves, which is perceive as color (Miller 45). The frequency of the light waves may determine
the brightness of a color (Miller 45). Savants with absolute pitch not only have a similar response
to sound as most people do to color, but they can differentiate between frequencies of sound
waves which separate them from people who have learned to recognize different pitches (Miller
45). Leslie Lemke was born mentally handicapped and suffered from cerebral palsy (Wisconsin).
His eyes were surgically removed due to disease (Wisconsin). His mother put him up for
adoption when he was born, and he was taken in by a foster mother named May Lemke
(Wisconsin). Doctors told May that Leslie should be institutionalized because his condition
would never improve, and he would probably die in infancy (Wisconsin). They refused to follow
that advice, and after several years of work, May was able to teach Leslie how to walk and eat

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(Wisconsin). Leslie could not talk, but he mimicked conversation obsessively (Wisconsin). At
age eight his mother gave him a piano, and many years later he learned how to play it
(Wisconsin). Then one evening while May and her husband were getting ready for bed they
heard a noise that they thought was the TV (Wisconsin). They went downstairs to Leslie‟s room
to discover him playing Tchaikovsky‟s Piano Concerto #1 which had been the theme song on a
show that evening; Leslie Lemke was playing it flawlessly (Wisconsin). Lemke has a low IQ of
40 but his ability to reproduce music after one recital is phenomenal; he is able to perfectly play
back any song played to him, regardless of complexity or length, after only one hearing
(Wisconsin). He then retains the song forever (Wisconsin). He also developed a skill for
imitating other musical styles and could play a song as other composers would have played it
(Wisconsin). Lemke illustrates the power of memory in a savant‟s brain. Every detail seemed to
be recorded, unfiltered, for every song he has ever heard. Today, two other musical savants
posses the very same talents as Lemke.
The last major category of savant syndrome deals with exceptional art skill. Researchers
currently believe that artistic talent resides in an individual without regard to IQ (Treffert 88).
People with amazing artistic talents are said to have an “art lexicon” which is an ability to store,
access, and make use of information and relationships that affect the way in which art is created
and perceived (Treffert 88). The story of Alonzo, which is still being written, illustrates the
amazing abilities and successes that savants with artistic talents possess, despite serious mental
handicap. Alonzo Clemens is a sculptor with savant syndrome (Treffert 124). He was born in
1956 in Boulder, Colorado with no complication and no disability (Treffert 124). At a very early
age his mother describes him as having a precocious ability for sculpting, Play Doh being his
medium of choice (Treffert 124). However, when Alonzo was three years old he had a bad fall

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which caused brain damage; Alonzo‟s development slowed down dramatically (Treffert 124).
Alonzo has an IQ of 40, but despite his low level of intelligence (he found it very difficult to
count to ten), Alonzo was able to feed himself, care for himself, and transport himself by bus to a
near by ranch where he worked as a extra hand (Treffert 124). Alonzo was not completely
independent; he lived in a group home for people with developmental disabilities, but all
considered, he cared for himself extremely well (Treffert 124). For Alonzo, sculpting has always
been an obsession (Treffert 124). It is such a strong force in his life that once, while he was
young, a school teacher decided to take away his clay in hopes that he would become more
responsive to his education (Treffert 124). She was planning to use the clay as a reward for good
progress, but the drive for Alonzo to sculpt was so strong that he resorted to sculpting figures out
of tar that he picked from the pavement on the school grounds (Treffert 124). A short while later,
the teachers discovered a small “menagerie” of miniature black sculptures under Alonzo‟s bed
and grudgingly gave up on their reward system tactic of teaching (Treffert 124). Alonzo‟s
favorite animal is the horse (Treffert 124). He can sculpt a perfect horse, or any animal for that
matter, in less than an hour with perfect attention to detail (Treffert 124). Alonzo‟s skills are
considered prodigious and his sculptures sell anywhere from $3000 to $45,000 per piece
(Treffert 124). He has been recognized worldwide for his art and clients are often surprised to
find out that the sculptures were created by a mentally handicapped man (Treffert 124). Alonzo
is able to sculpt any animal from a mere glance at a two dimensional picture; his mind is able to
transfer the information into three dimensions which he then precedes to sculpt with
unbelievable accuracy and precision (Treffert 124). This ability is another scientific mystery
(Treffert 124). Alonzo claims that the answer is very simple stating, “God gives talent” (Treffert
124). Alonzo has not had a single formal art class, yet his sculptors have improved drastically

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over the years (Treffert 125). Alonzo‟s sculptures have always been extremely detailed, but now
he has added vitality into his art work which is a sign of major improvement (Treffert 125).
Today, Alonzo still lives in Boulder, Colorado; he owns his own studio and is saving money so
that one day he will be able to buy his own horse to ride and enjoy.
Savant Syndrome has been an especially difficult phenomenon to study because savants
are few and far between, but also because technology has been changing drastically for many
years. Today scientists are able to study the brain with much greater precision than before. The
stories of Daniel Tammet and Kim Peeks may be crucial steps towards understanding savant
syndrome because they are two of the world‟s greatest savants, and they also live in an age of
technology that can better document what is abnormal in their brains compared with the brain of
a typical human being.
Daniel Tammet was born on July 31, 1979, which according to Tammet, was a “blue
day” (Tammet 1). He was born with an extremely unique brain. Tammet has synesthesia which
is a “rare mixing of the senses” (Tammet 2). People with synesthesia typically see alphabetical
letters and numbers in color (in their mind‟s eye) (Tammet 2). Tammet has an extremely
developed form of synesthesia which lets him associate not only colors with letters and numbers,
but also shapes, textures, and motion (Tammet 2). Numbers are very important to Tammet
because each is unique and each has its own personality and shape (Tammet 1). Daniel Tammet
has also been diagnosed with Asperger‟s syndrome which presents itself in the form of an
obsessive need for order and routine that affects every aspect of his life (for example, he always
counts up the number of clothing articles he is wearing before leaving his house) (Tammet 1,6).
Tammet is an extremely prodigious savant demonstrating amazing abilities in calendar
calculation, lightning calculation, memorization, and language acquisition (Tammet 8, 11 and

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Brainman). But what really sets him apart from other savants is his ability to describe what is
happening in his brain (Brainman). Daniel Tammet demonstrates amazing abilities, but the
effects of Asperger‟s syndrome make it extremely difficult for him to adapt and fit into society.
One of the hardest things for Tammet to understand is emotion (Tammet 7). Surprisingly, he
associates certain numbers with certain feelings; the number six represents a void or emptiness
for Tammet (Tammet 7). When he hears a friend say that “they feel sad or depressed, [he]
pictures [himself] sitting in the dark hollowness of the number 6 to help [him] experience the
same sort of feeling” (Tammet 7).
Daniel Tammet, like many other savants, is a calendar calculator (Tammet 8). Tammet‟s
synesthesia plays a large role in many of his talents and calendar calculation is no different. The
title of Tammet‟s autobiography, Born on a Blue Day, is a reference to these affects (Tammet 8).
He was born on a Wednesday and Wednesday always appears blue in his mind (Tammet 8).
Though Tammet knows the rules by which the Gregorian calendar operates, he claims that he
does not consciously do any work to find the day of the week a particular date occurs on
(Tammet). Instead, he sees a color that corresponds with the correct date (Tammet 8).
Daniel Tammet is a lightning calculator (Brainman). He is able to multiply and divide
extremely large and complicated numbers in his head (Brainman). Tammet‟s synesthesia has
gives each number a different appearance in his head (Brainman). When he multiplies, the
unique numbers are set side by side and then a third number appears between them and the shape
corresponds with the answer (Tammet 5).

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Figure 1. This is a drawing by Daniel Tammet that illustrates what appears in his head as he
multiplies 53 by 131 (Tammet 5).
When he multiples, the number in the center (which represents the answer) appears vague at first
and then becomes very clear within a few short seconds (Tammet 5). Division is a little different.
When Tammet is dividing he describes a sort of vortex that continuously cycles downward; as
his mind travels down the vortex figures appear which represent the digits from the division
(Brainman). The most spectacular insight into the amazing skill is that Tammet does not
consciously do any of the work (Tammet 5). The numbers simply appear correctly in his mind.
Along with his lightning calculation, Tammet possess a strange innate ability to identify prime
numbers (Tammet 8). Synesthesia, once again, plays a role in the identification process (Tammet
8). Prime numbers appear very smooth to Tammet; there is no texture, just a beautifully smooth
surface to the figure that represents a prime number (Tammet 8). When Tammet identifies one of
these numbers he gets “a rush of feeling in [his] head (in the front center) which is hard to put
into words” (Tammet 8). There are several equations that can be used to predict whether or not a
number will be a prime number, but none of them are foolproof. The only way to truly discover
whether or not a number is a prime number is to test it against every number that precedes it.
Scientists in California tested Tammet to see whether or not he was using some kind of formulaic
test to determine prime numbers, and they were unable to trick him into guessing incorrectly

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(Brainman). It appears that his ability is genuine. Tammet also holds the European record for the
most digits of pi recited in one sitting – 22514 digits (Tammet 185). It took five hours and nine
minutes to recite the digits (Tammet 185). But even more amazingly, he was able to memorize
every digit within a three month time span (Tammet 174). In Tammet‟s mind, pi is represented
by a numerical landscape of valleys, mountains, and trenches (Tammet 178). Each time he
completes the recitation of a particular landscape the next region of numbers loads in his mind
(Tammet 178).
Daniel Tammet has an amazing ability to acquire new languages (Tammet 11). Tammet
is currently fluent in ten different languages: English (his native language), Finnish, French,
German, Lithuanian, Esperanto, Spanish, Romanian, Icelandic, and Welsh (Tammet 11). He
believes this ability stems from his synesthesia as well as knowledge of common root words
among different languages (Tammet 11). As a challenge, Tammet was asked to learn a new
language in a single week (Brainman). He successful learned to speak Icelandic fluently at the
end of one week (Brainman). To prove it he gave a live public interview in Icelandic on the last
day (Brainman). Like numbers, words appear in his mind‟s eye due to synesthesia, which may
account for his large vocabulary of words. Most words are colored according to their first letter;
“yogurt” starts with a “y” so is appears yellow (Tammet 11). However, there are exceptions to
the rule; the word “white” actually appears blue to Tammet (Tammet 11).
Daniel Tammet was born as a “colic” baby, which means he constantly cried to for
unexplainable reasons (Tammet 16). Doctors believe this is an early sign of behavioral issues
(Tammet 17). As he grew he would constantly bang his head against the wall and became very
self-absorbed; both are signs of autism (Tammet 17, 19). A systematic necessity began to
develop at age three (Tammet 21). His parents recount that on trips back and forth to his nursery

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Tammet would begin crying if a new route was taken to get home (Tammet 21). Tammet is the
oldest of several siblings, but growing up he had no interest in them (Tammet 25). Tammet
clearly remembers feeling synesthesia before he could read and before the fateful day, that may
have changed his life forever, came to pass (Tammet 25).
At age four Tammet was struck with “a massive epileptic seizure” (Tammet 29).
“Seizures are the result of brief electrical disturbances in the brain” (Tammet 30). Tammet‟s
seizure was classified as “status epileptics” which is a life threatening condition that involves a
loss of consciousness, violent seizures, and the heart failure (Tammet 30). The seizure lasted for
one entire hour and CPR was preformed to resuscitate Tammet (Tammet 30). He was diagnosed
with Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (Tammet 31). His left temporal lobe, which is responsible for
sensory input, memory, and perception, was damaged as a result of the seizures (Tammet 31). It
is possible that the right hemisphere of the brain compensated for the loss of parts of the
temporal lobe (Tammet 38). The right hemisphere is responsible for number calculation
(Tammet 38). The combination of Asperger‟s syndrome, synesthesia, and damage to the left
temporal lobe may have encouraged the development of savant syndrome in Daniel Tammet
(Tammet 39). Tammet cites the case of savant Orlando Serrel in defense of his theory that
epilepsy caused his savant syndrome (Tammet 42). Serrel was a normal kid until he was hit in
the head with a baseball bat at age ten (Tammet 42). Serrel damaged his left temporal lobe and is
now able to recall the weather of every day since the accident (Tammet 42). Also, people who
suffer from FDT, frontotemporal dementia a form of temporal lobe degradation, have been
reported to suddenly develop amazing artistically and musical abilities (Tammet 42). FDT is
characterized by very low metabolic rates in the left temporal lobe and extremely high metabolic
rates in the right temporal lobe (Tammet 42). After the initial seizure, Tammet was given

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medication to prevent further problems with epilepsy (Tammet 35). The massive seizures never
reoccurred but Tammet began to chronically sleepwalk (Tammet 37). Researchers believe that
somnambulism may be caused by nocturnal seizures while a person is sleeping (Tammet 37).
Like most savants, Tammet has an extremely difficult time “seeing the big picture.”
Savants seem to take in unfiltered data from their surroundings while the average man filters the
data for relevance and organization (Tammet 39). This idea is an aspect of the “weak central
coherence theory” (Tammet 40). From this theory is the idea of “interference” which savants and
average individuals interpret differently (Tammet 40).
Figure 2. This is a test of “interference.” Savants naturally see a group of “Hs” followed by a
group of “As” while average people see a large “A” and a large “H” at first glance.
The above test was given to Tammet (Tammet 40). The images (the two letters were originally
two separate tests) were flashed on a screen and Tammet was asked to quickly identify the letter
that he saw (Tammet 40). In both tests Tammet identified the smaller letters that composed the
large letters A and H (Tammet 40). He failed to recognize the interference that most people see
which typically is the larger letter and not the composition of several small letters (Tammet 40).
Savants tend to be extremely literal and have a difficult time imagining or thinking
metaphorically (Tammet 39). Kim Peeks, another savant, was asked what it means to “get a grip

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on yourself” (Real). He responded by grabbing at various spots on his body (Real). Tammet says
that he finds “it almost impossible to „read between the lines‟” (Tammet 76).
Focusing on a savant‟s abilities often takes away from the savant‟s individual struggles
and personality. For Daniel Tammet, the most difficult part of having Asperger‟s syndrome is
finding a place to fit into society (Tammet 12). He has had to struggle with his condition all of
his life, but has improved immensely. He is currently living with his partner Neil in England and
owns his own language tutorial web site called “Optimnem” (Tammet 151).
Kim Peeks was born with an abnormally large head (Real). When he was nine months
old, his parents took him to a neurologist to have an examine (Real). The neurologist was late for
a golf game, so Kim Peeks had an examination lasting only five minutes (Real). During that time
the neurologist told Kim‟s father, Fran Peeks, that Kim was severely mentally retarded, that he
would never be able to walk, and that the best advice he could offer them was to put Kim in an
institution where they could forget about him (Real). Today, Peeks is one of the worlds most
talented savants and certainly the world‟s most popular (Real). Peeks loves to demonstrate his
ability to calendar calculate; when given a person‟s birthday, Peeks immediately rattles off the
day that they were born and the day that they will turn 65, signifying the age that they can retire
(Real). Kim and his father Fran live together in Salt Lake City, Utah (Real). Peeks is unable to
do simple tasks such as brushing his teeth, shaving his face, or buttoning his shirt which means
Fran has to care for him every day (Real). But Kim Peeks has an extraordinary memory which is
unparalleled (Real). Peeks can read extremely quickly. The amount of material that an average
man can read in three minutes is devoured by Peeks in less than ten seconds (Real). Peeks is very
unique because he is able to read the left page with his left eye, the right page with his right eye,
and then recall the information verbatim, and in sequence (Real). His recall has been measured at

Henke, 21
98% precision (Real). His father reports that Peeks is extremely proficient in 15 separate subject
areas; the only thing that he is not very good at is math (Real). Dr. Treffert describes Peeks
memory as “not only deep, [but] very wide” (Real). It is possible that Kim Peeks remembers
every book that he has ever read –some 15,000 (Real). His father explains that Peeks started to
read at the age of two (Real). Whenever he had finished reading a book, Peeks would flip it over
and continue onto the next one (a practice that he continues today) (Real). It was not uncommon
for Peeks to read 20-30 entire books in a day; however, currently that number has dropped to
around 8-10 books (Real). Even though Peeks is very incapable of thinking in a metaphorical
sense, he has developed a skill that most savants lack – organization of the knowledge that he has
obtained (Real). His brain is able to find very unique connections between information that he
has absorbed (Real). For example, Peeks began to hum the first few notes of Beethoven‟s fifth
symphony (da da da daaaaa, da da da daaaaa); he then though of the notes as the combination
(…-) which is the letter “V” in moors code (Real). The letter “V” is the Roman numeral for
„five‟ which corresponds to the Beethoven‟s fifth symphony (Real). The combination of an
extraordinary memory and the ability to quickly sort facts stored in that memory make Peeks a
trivia genius (Real). He knows, by heart, all 42,000+ zip codes in America (Real).Additionally,
he knows all of the area codes (Real). Peeks has even kept track of all of the changes that have
occurred (Real). A computer is able to sort out this type of information in about 20 seconds;
Peeks can rattle off any correct answer in a fraction of that time (Real).
Peeks is the world‟s most famous savant for two reasons: his prodigious skill level and
the movie Rainman. Dustin Hoffman‟s character Raymond Babbit was inspired by Kim Peeks
(Real). All of the mannerisms that Babbit portrays come from Peeks in addition to several of the
feats he demonstrates in the film (some abilities are barrowed from other savants like the twins

Henke, 22
George and Charles) (Real). The film was extremely influential in both the live of Kim Peeks
and in public awareness of savant syndrome (Real). Before the film was made, the general public
was widely ignorant of savant syndrome (Real). The film inspired Peeks to grow socially (Real).
Before he “became Rainman,” Peeks was unable to speak to people while looking into their eyes
(Real). Now he travels the world with his father giving demonstrations of his wonderful brain
while in front of extremely large audiences (Real). Peeks has always wanted to engage socially
with others; his abilities, and newly found confidence, have made it possible for him to interact
more socially (Real). For one thing, he should not have difficulty finding something in common
with other people, because, in his own words, “I have so many things in me that you could not
even guess them all” (Real).
Learning about savant syndrome may lead to answers concerning the normal human
brain. Analyzing the differences between the brain of a savant and the brain of a normal person
could explain to scientist how the brain actually functions. Daniel Tammet‟s synesthesia has
shed light on linguistic creativity (Tammet 151). Professor Vilayanur Ramachandran of
California‟s Center for Brain Studies reports that synesthesia is seven times more likely to occur
in an individual with creative talents (like art, music, writing, etc.) than in the general population
(Tammet 151). Researchers believe that synesthesia may even be responsible for the
development of language (Tammet 166).

Henke, 23
Figure 3. Given a choice between the two above shapes, most people assign the imaginary word
„bouba‟ to the round shape and „kiki‟ to the pointed shape (Tammet 40).
The two shapes in Figure 3 where presented to several groups of people (Tammet 166). They
were asked to identify the names of the shapes with the imaginary words “bouba” and “kiki”
(Tammet 166). An overwhelming majority of the people tested gave the name “kiki” to the
pointed shape and “bouba” to the rounded shape (Tammet 166). Researchers believe synesthesia
is responsible for this result because the sharp points of the object pictured on the left “mimic the
phonetic inflections” of the word “kiki” (Tammet 166). Language may have developed in the
same way as humans described nature around them with lip movements that mimic visual input;
for example, words that describe small objects often stress an “i” sound like petite, little, and
teeny which require very small movements in the lips; words describing large objects are often
the opposite and require large lip movement like the words “enormous” and “gigantic” (Tammet
166). Kim Peeks was born without a corpus callosum which is located in the center of the brain
and transfers impulses from one side to the other; the tissue that would normally makes up this
area seems to be concentrated in other areas of the brain which may give him his abilities (Real).
Kim Peeks processes information without scanning for concepts and ideas (Real). Professor
Allan Snyde, director of the Center for the Mind in Sydney, has used TMS (Trans-cranial
magnetic stimulation) to temporarily inhibit certain areas of the brain that are responsible for
conceptual thinking (Tammet 40). As a result, many of the subjects were given a heightened
access to parts of the brain that collect raw and unfiltered information (Tammet 40). They report
a temporary improved ability of proofreading, more lifelike and detailed drawing ability, and

Henke, 24
more precise reading skills. It has led the professor to believe that all people possess savant like
ability that is simply out of their reach (Tammet 41).
A bird in the hand
is worth two in the
the bush
Figure 4. Savants are able to pick out the exta “the” more easily than most people (Tammet 41).
Most normal people fail to recognize that the word “the” appears twice in a row in the above
Figure 4 (Tammet 41). This is because most people have conceptual brains that scan and miss
minor details in exchange for understanding of the “bigger picture” (Tammet 41). Savants tend
to see data unfiltered (Tammet 41).
Moving from observation to theory, the theory of “The Pathology of Superiority,”
proposed by Norman Geschwind and Albert Galaburda, may explain the structural reason for
savant ability (Treffert 195). In the brain development of a fetal child, if the left hemisphere of
the brain is damaged or late in developing, the right hemisphere may become more dominate
(Treffert 197). This leaves the left hemisphere open to prenatal influences which may cause
autism (Treffert 197). The circulation of testosterone during prenatal periods may also damage
the left hemisphere leaving the right hemisphere of the brain dominate; this could explain the
larger proportion of men that become savants in comparison with women (Treffert 197). One
aspect is in common, the left hemisphere is damaged leaving the right hemisphere to
overdevelop and dominate the brain. This “Pathology of Superiority” is one of three ingredients
in creating savants (Treffert 223). Savants also need to acquire ability which may be the result of
obsessive mental impulses (Treffert 223). And the last ingredient is motivation and
reinforcement which encourage individuals to continue improving their talents (Treffert 223).

Henke, 25
Savant syndrome is an interesting phenomenon because scientists do not have all of the
answers when it concerns explaining the amazing duality between handicap and genius. Some of
the world greatest geniuses also showed signs of mental disturbance. Howard Hughes was
known for his various eccentric behaviors; for example, he used to carry a foot long ruler to
ensure that every chocolate cake cooked for him (he ate one each day) was exactly 12 inches on
each side (Edwards 76). Einstein and Newton were both described as “absent-minded” which
closely mirrors autistic traits (Edwards 76). In truth, scientists still have a lot to learn to explain
the amazing abilities that savants possess. Theories such as “The Pathology of Superiority” are
arguably sound, but admittedly need to be tested a lot more to be scientifically accepted (Treffert
197). It may be a long way off, but it seems that all people subconsciously have savant like
abilities that may be harnessed sometime in the distant future. In the mean time, savant syndrome
really shows how little, man knows about himself. I consider each talent a gift that should not be
wasted, but rather studied and developed for the sake of progress. Also, especially in the story of
Kim Peeks, it appears that society has its shortcomings when it comes to dealing with the
mentally disabled. I think, as an international community, changes need to be made to
accommodate this forgotten class of individuals which may have hidden ability beyond the
wildest of dreams man if only given a chance to shine.

Henke, 26
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The Real Rain Man. Exec. Prod. Martin Weitz. The Science Channel. Focus Productions. 16
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