Posted on 02/19/2005 6:45:18 PM PST by snarks_when_bored
Very very interesting. I wish I could do things like that too; although when it comes down to it, having far less "special ability" but enjoying a normal, "average-joe" life is much more preferable.
If you're ever tempted to make a pact with the Devil in order to be granted a perfect memory, first read A.R. Luria's The Mind of a Mnemonist. You might also want to read Jorge Luis Borges' short story, "Funes, the Memorius".
This is the best description I've heard yet.
Targeting works like that.
I guess this is proof that I'm not a mad genius... I had to re-read this three times to get the joke.
Asperger's Syndrome is a term used when a child or adult has some features of autism but may not have the full blown clinical picture. A few people with Asperger's syndrome are very successful and until recently were not diagnosed with anything but were seen as brilliant, eccentric, absent minded, socially inept, and a little awkward physically.
Although the criteria state no significant delay in the development of language milestones, what you might see is a "different" way of using language. A child may have a wonderful vocabulary and even demonstrate hyperlexia but not truly understand the nuances of language and have difficulty with language pragmatics. Social pragmatics also tend be weak, leading the person to appear to be walking to the beat of a "different drum". Motor dyspraxia can be reflected in a tendency to be clumsy.
There is a general impression that Asperger's syndrome carries with it superior intelligence and a tendency to become very interested in and preoccupied with a particular subject. Often this preoccupation leads to a specific career at which the adult is very successful. At younger ages, one might see the child being a bit more rigid and apprehensive about changes or about adhering to routines.
It's the opposite of multitasking -- these folks are programmed for one class of functions -- sort of like a CRAY super computer; as I understand it, the speed is derived in part from the fact they are set up as vector processors, and that's all they do.
I had to re-read this three times to get the joke.
At least you didn't have to read it, er, 19 times.
I know a guy who has a truely photographic memory. You can open a book and show him a page for just a couple of seconds and he can recite the whole page word for word.
We used to go out an make money off the drunks in the bar by betting on the guy.
"At least you didn't have to read it, er, 19 times."
Uhh I'll have to get back to you on that.
Hey..If you really want to know take the test.
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.12/aqtest.html
LOL
So can he solve the 3n+1 conundrum? That thing hit me like a curse when I first encountered it.
I suspect Tammet has difficulty with abstract reasoning, so it's most unlikely that he could do much with the 3n+1 problem.
Agreed. It would be a tough way to live one's life.
28 points (16.4 is average, 80% of autistic persons scored 32 or higher)
But it doesn't say what percentage of non-autistic persons received similarly high scores.
There is also the problem of bias when taking the test: I basically know which answers point to autism and which don't.
Yeah, I don't have anywhere near the mathematical ability of a savant (I'm above average, but average is pathetic in this country). I'm just bad with people :-)
I think this goes to the heart of the issue of whether these people have exceptional mathematical talent, or are simply really good arithmetic calculation and memorization.
Ping
Me too. It sure "looked prime"!
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