Autistic Savants

Who hasn't seen "Rain Man" with Dustin Hoffman playing an autistic savant? The Autistic savant is afflicted by a fascinating psychological phenomena. Autistic savants are people with autism who posses extraordinary skills, beyond that of most non-affected individuals. Historically such people were termed "idiot savants", French for a very knowledgeable idiot. Savant Syndrome is sometimes shortened to "savantism" and individuals with Savant Syndrome abbreviated to savants.

Some of the exceptional skills autistic savants posses are superhuman memories, extraordinary musical skills, mathematical genious, and artistic talents.


"True photographic memory of the kind exhibited by Stephen Wiltshire is truly a rare but amazing gift. Mr. Wiltshire is an autistic savant and those that know him call him "the living camera". When he was 11 years old he drew a perfect representation of the aerial view of London after a single helicopter ride, down to the correct number of windows on the major buildings of the city."
You'll find Mr. Wiltshire drawing Rome from memory after a short helicopter ride over the Eternal City.
http://www.autoadviceoffl.com/Braindisease.htm

Read Stephen Wiltshire's bio here:
http://www.stephenwiltshire.co.uk/


Daniel Tammet is another autistic savant. "Daniel Tammet is an autistic savant. He can perform mind-boggling mathematical calculations at breakneck speeds. But unlike other savants, who can perform similar feats, Tammet can describe how he does it. He speaks seven languages and is even devising his own language. Now scientists are asking whether his exceptional abilities are the key to unlock the secrets of autism." Interview by Richard Johnson, Guardian Unlimited
http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,,1409903,00.html
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Image from Flickr.com http://www.flickr.com/photos/kingofmonks/153565226/