Posted on 04/02/2008 10:57:55 AM PDT by Stoat
Wow.
Thanks.
There is only one letter difference between ARTistic and AUTistic. From what I have read many great artists have been “half a bubble off center”.
Creative minds are truly unlocked.
WOW! Didn’t even begin to describe his talent. He also collected tin cans—his mom had been dead many years and he and his dad ate everything out of cans. Clois would take each can and shine it, then attach it to a string/can art in the backyard. He would go out and shine the cans daily—and it got to be hundreds, maybe thousands of cans. When the sun was bright, the sculpture would just glow and could be seen a long way off.
They also had lightning stike one day. Hit the large front window in the house. Shattered it—big time. Clois put the pieces back together like a big puzzle and had each sliver taped into place. It was truly amazing! I cannot imagine the hours that he spent on it. Was perfect when he was finished.
I don’t know if Clois had autism, but I’m guessing that he did. No one could really get near him to touch him. He shied away from everyone. This was back in the 50-60’s, so I don’t even know if autism was discussed at that time.
If he lived today, it would be interesting to see how that talent could have been channeled.
This may be related to the gift of “photographic memory” which a small segment of the population has to one degree or another. My guess is that these people’s brains are naturally more interconnected across different parts of the brain.
There are memory improvement techniques where someone can train their brain to cross-reference ideas in multiple ways. Some people are just better at doing this without having to be trained.
Savants show this in stark contrast. They see and can remember patterns that most of us ignore or can’t fully absorb in their complexity.
I bet this guy is unwelcome at every casino. :)
MI-5 and Scotland Yard should be showing this guy mugshots of every wanted person in their databases and assign him an escort to walk the streets of London and point out every face he recognizes.
“Smart” is subjective.
It’s comparable to the notion that “survival of the fittest” often casts our idea of “fit” in a poor light.
Very well put. Now, if only the rest of the world would understand that...
My daughter was very recently diagnosed as autistic. She’s not potty-trained (age 6), speaks in grunts, sqeaks, and sometimes ‘singing’, can’t dress herself, and enjoys putting things in her mouth.
She’s also chewed a hole in her bedroom wall, and has smeared poop all over the walls and carpet of said bedroom more than once.
I can only hope we can find a way to ‘unlock’ her brain.
There are several forms of autism that can result in individuals seeing colors when they hear certain sounds. Aspenger’s Syndrome, which I have, is one of these forms, although I do not have this particular manifestation.
I’m an idiot savant. If I could figure out the savant part I’d be a genius.
Thanks for telling something about Clois for us. I pray for him.
You gotta see this!
Very nice!
Saw a little girl on TV once: she had a couple tablets of tiny pieces of paper, like post-it notes. She took a pencil and went through those tablets almost faster than you could see, putting dots, dashes, and lines on each sheet till she had covered, say, 200 sheets with these incomprehensibe specks and jots. Then she took tape and taped them together into one incredible picture of a cat. Every hair, every eyelash and whisker in place.
Just had a thought; God knows every one of us like that. The Bible says he has counted every hair on your head.
There was a program about this guy on TV he is quite amazing.
My daughter has an autistic friend who could do this in first grade. He could draw an exact replica of an Elmer’s Glue bottle with no bottle in sight.
Hey! I resemble that insinuation! ;9)
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