Islands of Genius by Leed, Peter -- Read -- Imperial Library of Trantor

Index

Cover Title Copyright Contents Foreword Preface Introduction Sightseeing on an Incredible Journey

Enter serendipity Enter the “acquired” savant Enter the Internet Sightseeing on a less traveled path

Part one The Mind of the Savant

Chapter 1 What We Do Know: A Rare but Remarkable Condition

Savant syndrome is a rare condition Savant skills typically occur in an intriguingly narrow range of special abilities The skills tend to be right hemisphere in type Savant skills are distributed over a spectrum of abilities Whatever the special skill, it is always accompanied by prodigious memory Savant syndrome can be congenital —present at birth—or it can be acquired , following brain injury or disease later in infancy, childhood or adult life “Eliminate the defect or train the talent?” Low IQ is not a requisite for savant syndrome Males outnumber female savants by as many as six to one Savants can be creative Savant syndrome is separate from prodigy and genius Parents, teachers and caregivers are a vital part of the equation

Chapter 2 How Do They Do It? Some Earlier Theories from Heredity to Quantum Theory

Eidetic imagery and visual image memory (photographic memory) Heredity and savant syndrome: nature or nurture? Sensory deprivation Concrete thinking and the inability to reason abstractly Compensatory learning, reinforcement, repetition-compulsion Weak central coherence, mind blindedness and the extreme male brain A gene for savant syndrome? “Quantum” processing and “entanglement”

Chapter 3 How Do They Do It? More Recent Findings: The Three “R’s”— R ewiring, R ecruitment, R elease

The specialized skills of the savant are often associated with right brain function Left brain dysfunction has been demonstrated in autistic disorders Demonstrated left brain damage in some cases of savant syndrome Demonstrated left hemisphere abnormalities in the “acquired” savant Memory, sex incidence and family history How do they do it? A biologic, neuropathologic explanation

Chapter 4 Genetic Memory: How Do We Know Things We Never Learned?

The role of epigenetics

Chapter 5 More Medical Mysteries: Calendars, Cantors, Foreign Accents and Hypermnesia

Why calendar calculating? A recurrent musical triad: blindness, mental impairment and musical genius A “choir” of cantors Foreign accent syndrome Autobiographical memory: a continuous tape within us all?

Part two The World of the Savant

Chapter 6 The Genius of Earlswood Asylum and Blind Tom: Some Early Savants

The Genius of Earlswood Asylum: James Henry Pullen Thomas Bethune—“Blind Tom”—A Marvelous Musician

Chapter 7 Leslie and May: “Two Memorable People”

“And sings my soul”—Leslie’s gift The Irrepressible May Lemke

Chapter 8 Alonzo: “God Gives the Gift” Chapter 9 George: “It’s Fantastic I Can Do That!” Chapter 10 Kim: “The Real Rain Man ”

Home for Christmas

Chapter 11 Ellen: “With a Song in Her Heart” Chapter 12 Tony: “Against All Odds”— Magna Cum Laude from Berklee Chapter 13 Temple: “An Emergence Extraordinaire” Chapter 14 Matt: “The Key of Genius” Chapter 15 Flo and Kay: An Unforgettable “Two of a Kind” Chapter 16 Daniel: “Numbers Are my Friends” Chapter 17 Stephen: “A Rocket of Young Talent” Chapter 18 Ping Lian, Gregory, Richard, George, Jonathan and Some Others: Artwork of the Prodigious Savant

Ping Lian Yeak: “I want to be artist” Gregory Blackstock: “an anthropologist of the everyday” Richard Wawro: “with eyes wide open” George Widener: “a mind full of numbers translated to art” Jonathan Lerman: “a window into his heart” And some others

Chapter 19 Raymond Babbitt in Rain Man : The World’s Best Known Savant

Some major revisions Raymond Babbitt: a composite savant Some major messages; some minor caveats A fine final product

Part three Significant New Dimensions to Savant Syndrome

Chapter 20 “Accidental Genius”: The Acquired Savant

Alonzo and Orlando: acquired savant syndrome Acquired savant syndrome in fronto-temporal dementia “Accidental genius” post-stroke Acquired savant skills with other underlying disabilities The “halfway savant”: acquired savant syndrome with only minor residual trade-off Transient “accidental genius” Summary

Chapter 21 “Sudden Genius”: An Epiphany of Talent

KA: “the most amazing day of my life” JD: “the music suddenly makes sense” TC: “struck by music” DA: “knocked into music” Summary

Chapter 22 “Normal Genius”: Dormant Skills Within Us All? Chapter 23 Accessing the “Inner Savant” Within Us All

A cognitive approach A stroke of insight A technological approach: rTMS Rummaging around in our right hemisphere

Chapter 24 The Bountiful Brain: Half a Brain (or Less) May Be Enough

Part four Training the Talent: I’ve Got a Son or Daughter Who…

Chapter 25 Teaching Music to the Special Needs Client: A Music Therapist’s Approach

Tailored teaching techniques for students with perfect pitch Recognizing behaviors that suggest a child has perfect or relative pitch Testing for perfect or relative pitch How do persons with perfect pitch learn? The role of visual learning in persons with perfect pitch Achieving balance between visual and auditory learning Books recommended for the beginning student Growing up with perfect pitch: the need for special teaching techniques Some examples of teaching music to children with special needs About the author

Chapter 26 “Training the Talent” in Art and Other Skills: An Educator’s Approach

“My four-year-old daughter has a diagnosis of autistic disorder. She displays a high interest in art and makes some very advanced drawings. Where do I go with this particular talent?” “I am a parent of a four-year-old boy who was just diagnosed with autism last year. He has begun to show a great talent in art, and he loves his music (specifically the drums). His art has been surprising me and amusing me. His speech is very limited, as he mainly uses echolalia. This is all very overwhelming!” “What about formal art training? Is it useful and what might be accomplished?” “What avenues are available for sharing savant artwork with others?” “Are there any special considerations for teaching art to persons on the spectrum?” “Can you recommend some inexpensive resources to facilitate training the talent?” Conclusion About the author

Chapter 27 Teaching Autistic Numerical Savants: A Specific Approach that Worked

Engaging and helping Max: the invention of some exercises The birth of Exercise 1 (EX-1) Two more exercises: EX-2 and EX-3 Using the exercise books The importance of family support and participation Some substantial progress About the author

Part five Our Journey Has Just Begun

Chapter 28 New Tools and New Optimism: The Trail Ahead for the Mind of the Savant

Improved imaging and other new technologies “Modern day phrenology”: a risk and a caution Brain computer interfaces: the “man machine” Brain plasticity and the death of “neurologic nihilism” Cognitive enhancement, mind expansion and “cosmetic neurology” Mental gymnastics Multiple intelligences Will an “epidemic” of autism cause an epidemic of savants? Still unanswered questions regarding savant syndrome A savant syndrome registry A savant syndrome institute The trail ahead is an exciting one

Chapter 29 Oval Souls on a Round Planet: The Trail Ahead for the World of the Savant

Increasing inclusion, accommodation and acceptance The cruel elitism of “outsider art” Innovative, targeted education and employment Love is a good therapist too Time to put the brush down Trevor Tao: from autistic child to research scientist Amanda: “a dream unfolds”

References Appendix: Books About Savant Syndrome and Books By or About Specific Savants

Books about savant syndrome Books about specific savants Books by specific savants

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