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Savant Who Can Explain His Own Thought Process

cbsnews.com — "Daniel Tammet, unlike most savants, he has no obvious mental disability, and most important to scientists, he can describe his own thought process. He may very well be a scientific Rosetta stone, a key to understanding the brain." Memorized Pi to 22,000 digits...

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  • LR2_, on 10/12/2007, -1/+41I don't care how many times this guy is on the front page, this is just fascinating.

    Here is more:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKk96kOAnLg
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Vs6R5YZQ3c
    • LR2_, on 10/12/2007, -0/+16Sorry but I just had to add this clip too...

      Daniel Tammet meets Kim Peek
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdeAq7_r63g
    • SleepJunkie, on 10/12/2007, -4/+32In that first youtube video, they have an interview with "Simon Baron Cohen". According to wikipedia, he is cousins with Sacha, AKA Borat. Weird.
    • thcobbs, on 10/12/2007, -30/+5most successful comedians are geniouses.
    • MikeFromAmerica, on 10/12/2007, -2/+39So are most successful spellers.
    • Software2, on 10/12/2007, -4/+97"According to wikipedia"

      Well there's your problem. Just a sec... there, now he's married to Borat.
    • lobuzz311, on 10/12/2007, -20/+7"According to wikipedia"

      Well there's your problem. Just a sec... there, now he's married to Borat.

      BEST. COMMENT. EVER.
    • BGFeltenink, on 10/12/2007, -13/+10Personally I think people like him are a possible link to future evolution. Think about it, very few of them exist and many are not able to function normally. Then this guy comes along and he's *almost* perfectly normal. Give it some time and perhaps more will be born until eventually this is normal and there are few to none of the normally bad traits associated with it. You have right in front of you, an article about a man with brain powers that surpass anyone else, and he isn't crazy or mostly retarded in every other way.

      In time I think we'll be seeing this more and more.
    • acff, on 10/12/2007, -13/+5he didn't memorize pi, he calculated it
    • appetite, on 10/12/2007, -0/+14"One hour after we leave today, and I will not remember what you look like. And I will find it difficult to recognize you, if I see you again."

      I wonder if his uncanny ability to remember numbers is inversely related to his ability to remember faces. Facial recognition involves incredible amounts of cerebral computation--and we're able to remember thousands and thousands of faces. It sounds like that ability is lacking or him.
    • hexr, on 10/12/2007, -9/+3I think they're taking this TV show "Heroes" way too far now...
    • AriaStar, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Epileptic. I'm wondering if epilepsy has something to do with this obsession of numbers and order, if this is a shared trait. His order is indicated by his morning porridge that must be exactly 45 grams. I've only known a couple epileptics and the numeric obsession was present, and, in the case of one (mine), a constant search for geometric patterns in everything.

      Savants are absolutely fascinating. Whether or not he ends up being a Rosetta stone, I hope we see more articles about him.
    • zachlutz, on 10/12/2007, -2/+6Get this guy breeding! :-)
    • ndonohue, on 10/12/2007, -0/+23@BGFeltenink
      Thats not how evolution works. Evolution does not necessarily favor intelligent individuals, only individuals who can reproduce more. If stupid people reproduced more, humanity's average intelligence would go down. If asians reproduced more, the planet would be mostly asian. The key to advancing ourselves intellectually would be to, as a society, label intelligence as a sexually attractive trait.
    • Tito, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@ndonohue

      A.K.A. Clevis... Come on. Somebody must get this joke.
    • nazsco, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6wow. imagine a beowulf cluster with these!
    • Xageroth, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I just got his book (as an audio book) and so far it's really really good (tho a little bummed he isn't reading it in the audio book). If you dugg this story, it might be worth it. I got the audiobook for about 10 bucks from audible.com, might be cheaper elsewhere but that was cheap enough for me. Very interesting guy
    • KMye, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3@ndonohue

      Stupid people DO reproduce more. Or to be fair (and accurate) I'll say less educated people. As if technology hadn't already ***** over natural selection enough, education enters and destroys it completely, for the time being.
    • AriaStar, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3"The key to advancing ourselves intellectually would be to, as a society, label intelligence as a sexually attractive trait."

      The most attractive thing about my boyfriend? He's extremely intelligent. So for some of us, this is.

      The key to advance ourselves as a society is to spay and neuter stupid people who keep having more kinds than they can afford. Intelligent people usually have two or three kids. The dumb ones (i.e. your average welfare recipient) seem to do nothing but have more kids.
    • DavidDigg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@ndonohue

      Actually you are wrong about evolution. The top 2 things men and women look for in a mate are intelligence and sense of humor. See the book The Red Queen for details.
    • GoodOlClint, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1AriaStar, there are some intelligent people who have more then two kids.
      just some personal examples but
      My uncle is employed by the US military to help oversee the Air Missile Defense Program, he has for kids.
      My dad just got through designing a multi million dollar labeling system for Tyson by himself, and he has eight kids.
    • asdfasdf, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1When you take LSD you are sometimes able to "see" your thought process.
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LSD

      As we learn more about the human brain, I think our view on mental illness (especially schizophrenia) and psychedelic drugs will change dramatically. Here's an interesting fact. Not everyone with schizophrenia takes medication. Some people actually enjoy it and for others it even helps them reach levels "normal" people can't.
    • Shadow503, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Ok, is it just me, or does the guy speaking in the first video around 3:00 keep making this distraction squeaking sound? It sounds like a chew toy, I can't stand it!
  • Nick22, on 10/12/2007, -2/+24I wish I could explain my thought processes :(
    • towca, on 10/12/2007, -9/+117Girl = boob = good

      there, i just did
    • dtd00d, on 10/12/2007, -11/+5My thought process? What thought process?
    • resplence, on 10/12/2007, -0/+14I actually didn't see much of any thought process explanation there. He basically just said what numbers look like to him, being synaesthetic and all.

      There's a nice thought process explanation in the movie Mozart and the Whale. The autistic dude explains how he breaks down numbers by "throwing other numbers at them".
  • ArrowApollo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+35I saw this guy on 60 minutes the other night. It's fascinating how he sees numbers as colors and landscapes. He said Pi is beautiful.
    • knightblade2oo4, on 10/12/2007, -0/+36Pi is delicious.
    • thcobbs, on 10/12/2007, -0/+37Pi are squared.
    • Robotguy, on 10/12/2007, -2/+25Pi are round. Cornbread are squared.
    • Cozmcphish, on 10/12/2007, -2/+16Magnum Pi
    • kasadilla, on 10/12/2007, -25/+5mmm apple pie
    • AriaStar, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8@ kasadilla:

      You totally blew the flow of this thread. Apple pie isn't so good.

      On the other hand, apple pi is fantastic.
    • danboarder, on 10/12/2007, -8/+2Apple Pi

      doh! kasadilla beat me to it.
    • Flashman, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2It's funny how he attaches qualities to numbers - I do a similar thing with words. Words are a combination of sound, look and emotion and we use them all the time in complex ways. I imagine that this is what savants do with numbers - speak them like words.
    • kasadilla, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1@Ariastar

      oh my bad i meant to type "pi" lol. guess i was too hungry =P
    • DrIce926, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3@Flashman:

      The concept you are speaking of is called "connotation". I'm pretty interested in it too. It is one of the reasons why the word "*****" or "vagina" offends so many people that don't reguarly use the internet or aren't exposed to it very often. It's because when they were exposed to it, something bad happened or society has imposed bad thoughts upon them, etc.

      The numbers having a connotation is strange to me in the way that he sees EXACT shapes and symbols in his head, as they mentioned. I'm pretty sure anyone could think of certain abstract colors and shapes when they imagine different numbers.

      Food for thought: Think of "69", you're a savant now too! lol
    • yahoofrom, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1@kasadilla
      Apple fanboy?
  • mgd323, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Watch "Brainman" on the Discovery channel if they show it again; it's amazing what this dude can do.
  • miglaugh, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3There was a discovery channel documentary on this guy. Learned how to speak Icelandic practically fluently in less than a week. Pretty cool stuff.

    Edit: Brainman, yeah that was it. nice.
    • fhernand, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1yes, that's amazing

      it's strange though that the host seems to be proud of their language because it's difficult..
      "We are very proud of our language and that someone is able to speak it after only one week, that’s just great"

  • slapded, on 10/12/2007, -53/+022,000 places is nothing. didnt a guy do 100,000 last year?
    • DarthSupero, on 10/12/2007, -1/+28Nothing? How many digits of Pi have you memorized?

      Give some respect where its due. This guy is amazing.
    • JRumph, on 10/12/2007, -0/+15Whether or not someone did more, it does not take away from his accomplishment. If you saved 50 people from a burning building and I saved 75, does that mean that your actions were meaningless? I did save more people than you after all....
    • zediker, on 10/12/2007, -6/+15For one it should be said, he did not memorize pi to 22,000 places. He caclulated pi to 22,000 places with his mind and recited as he was doing it.
    • kasadilla, on 10/12/2007, -7/+5dont digg down zediker, he is right

      The guy didn't memorize pi to 22,000 digits, he can recite pi to 22,000 digits. He walks through the landscape and experiences/sees his mind telling him the next digit, he doesn't sit and memorize the numbers.
    • Copyrighted, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7@kasadilla

      RTFA -
      --Daniel studied the sequence – a thousand numbers to a page.
      "And I would sit and I would gorge on them. And I would just absorb hundreds and hundreds at a time," he tells Safer. --

      Short from actually eating the pages themselves I'd say he looked at the pages and "absorbed" the numbers hence memorizing them.
    • Managore, on 10/12/2007, -7/+322,000 is nothing. I can do 33 :D

      /sarcasm
    • CedEx, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1@ JRumph

      I'm able to recite 3 digits of Pi... just because this guy does 19,997 more than me, that shouldn't take away from my accomplishment!

      /notSarcasmTotallySerious
    • sonicm, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2@Copyrighted
      Watch 'Brainman', 2 comment threads above. It documented exactly what happened, before, during, and after, and it says so in the movie, he calculated as he went alone.
    • Tito, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Takeru Kobayashi could gorge on way more Pi than this guy.

      ... Yes I did have to look up how to spell his name.
    • kasadilla, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2@ copyrighted

      DSFR (do some f*cking research)

      If you cared to read more about him then you would know that the way he discovers the answers to complex math problems is by walking through a landscape and "reading" what he saw and felt. He describes the number 9 as something big and intimidating. There is an hour long show about him that goes into very close detail about how he does it. Including an interview after he does one of these pi reciting competitions. Before you cut me down do some research and know what your talking about.
    • G2SF, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1I sympathize with your -46+ diggs. Apparently diggers are a bunch of wankers who take themselves and this forum ENTIRELY too seriously. The founders make all the money, while the diggers do all the work. Do you think we'll see digg compensate diggers anytime soon a la YouTube? Lo dudo. SUUUUCCCCKKKKKAAAAAASSSSS. Here's some advice to those who don't appreciate any sense of humor: Go play some video games, so I can boff your girlfriend.
    • allhard, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I agree, 22,000 is a lot better than the 2 I have memorized...

      3.14... There. I'm done.
  • ArrowApollo, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4Yah and it took him 5 hours to do it. He made NO MISTAKES.
  • RadiantBeing, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11Vladimir Nabokov did a better job at explaining his syneathesia and mathematical abilities in his memoir "Speak Memory." He is widely suspected of having Asperger's. Personally, I don't think anyone, "normal" or not, can explain how his thoughts are formed. It is impossible because it takes place without language or even a process whose steps can be discerned.
  • mcspectrum, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7So, what I want to know is how long it will be until neuroscientists figure out how to make these modifications to the brain through surgery. Imagine a world where this sort of power is available to everyone.
    • JesusIsSatan, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11I'd rather have heat vision or x-ray vision so I can see ***** through blouses on the subway.
    • sbrickner, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1More likely through drugs. That way you can turn it off when you want to not have the negative effects.
    • ICSU, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Gattaca?
  • Nocturnal, on 10/12/2007, -13/+2In all honesty? I'm sure he will and by many hot women. He is obviously extremely smart and shows very little of the normal mental incapacitation of a normal savant so I'd like to say he probably will and by a chick ten times hotter than your wife or gf for that matter.
    • boyasunder, on 10/12/2007, -0/+12Read the article. He's gay and has a partner.
  • Trebis, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9The article says that Rain man was based off of "George Finn" which is not true. The real rain man is a guy named Kim Peek. How could they get that so wrong?
    • flintmich, on 10/12/2007, -0/+960 Minutes, meet Wikipedia. Get your facts straight you damn dinosaur.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainman

    • jocnnor, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10FTA - "If this all seems familiar, there’s a reason: five years after the 60 Minutes broadcast, Dustin Hoffman immortalized savants LIKE George in the movie "Rainman.”"

      It didn't say "immortalized George in the movie "Rainman""

      FYI
    • pintong, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Actually, read the first sentence again:
      "Twenty-four years ago, 60 Minutes introduced viewers to George Finn, whose talent was immortalized in the movie 'Rainman.'"
    • neuropsychguy, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4"Twenty-four years ago, 60 Minutes introduced viewers to George Finn, whose talent was immortalized in the movie 'Rainman.'"

      @jocnnor

      That's what the article says right at the top; it is really misleading because it sounds like they are saying Rain Man is about George Finn.
  • G2SF, on 10/12/2007, -29/+2Sad news to report: Savant just leaped to his death from 18th floor of Watergate office complex after being asked by Karl Rove to come up with a new Iraq strategy that makes Bush look good.
    • jpop, on 10/12/2007, -3/+7I thought he jumped because he was asked to study and explain the federal tax code.
    • JRumph, on 10/12/2007, -1/+37Dude, give it a break. Can't there be a normal dialog on Digg that doesn't segue into political bashing?
    • TenebrousX, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3now that we've got the political bashing out of the way,

      im in mah brain, ecksplainin mah thoughtz
    • xaque, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2in soviet russia, thoughts explain you!
  • InfiniteNothing, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2Sure it's neat and all but do you think it's a useful talent? I wonder how much is memory and how much is calculation. Isn't it sad that there are always trade offs in mental capabilities?
    • Nocturnal, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2Useful talent? ***** I'd give my left arm and right pinky toe to have that type of memory and talent. Believe that.
    • hcl40u, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Hey such an ability would be very useful in Las Vegas and in fact I remember in that Discovery documentary he did go to Las Vegas to test his skills.
    • InfiniteNothing, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0For instance, only like ~40 digits of pi are required to calculate the circumference of the universe with proton diameter precision. Also Vegas quickly recognizes and kicks card counters out.
  • solidhubris, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Hmmm...With a better haircut, snazzy suit, evil demeanor and we have ourselves a supervillain worthy of the 21st century.

    Your encryption doesn't cut it.
  • shadam, on 10/12/2007, -0/+17He needs to watch out for Sylar.
  • happyperson, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4he has written a book ( Born on a blue day) , I got it for christmas, and its great read.
    http://www.amazon.com/Born-Blue-Day-Extraordinary-Autistic/dp/1416535071/sr=8-1/qid=1170186011/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-1316499-8391354?ie=UTF8&s=books
  • Afrotronics, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I want to meet this guy. I can kind of see where he's coming from on how the numbers look.
    • mrfreeziexp, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I understand what you mean.. While I certainly don't think of numbers as shapes and colors(at least, I don't think I do), when he said 289 was an ugly number, I could see what he was saying.. Strange..
    • magicmarc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I get a similar kind of thing with days of the week more than numbers. I get a kind of feeling or emotion when thinking about different days, and actually visualize them in colour.
    • KingWrecked, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2If your interested, there's a book written by Daniel Tammet called Born on a Blue Day (ISBN No. 0-340-89974-3). It was published by Hodder & Stoughton and describes the number thing in greater detail as well as how he sees the world.

      I was at a talk he presented at our local library last year and he comes across as a really nice guy.
    • Harlon57, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2In 1975 I had a 1967 Mustang with a 289. 289 was great.
    • brad06, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1You guys must be savants.

      ha
  • mrfreeziexp, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Am I the only one that has problems loading CBS news videos? They always make firefox crash..
  • heaintheavy, on 10/12/2007, -22/+2That's nothing...

    3.1415926535897932384626433832795028841971693993751058209749445923078164062862089986280348253421170679 8214808651328230664709384460955058223172535940812848111745028410270193852110555964462294895493038196 4428810975665933446128475648233786783165271201909145648566923460348610454326648213393607260249141273 7245870066063155881748815209209628292540917153643678925903600113305305488204665213841469519415116094 3305727036575959195309218611738193261179310511854807446237996274956735188575272489122793818301194912 9833673362440656643086021394946395224737190702179860943702770539217176293176752384674818467669405132 0005681271452635608277857713427577896091736371787214684409012249534301465495853710507922796892589235 4201995611212902196086403441815981362977477130996051870721134999999837297804995105973173281609631859 5024459455346908302642522308253344685035261931188171010003137838752886587533208381420617177669147303 5982534904287554687311595628638823537875937519577818577805321712268066130019278766111959092164201989 3809525720106548586327886593615338182796823030195203530185296899577362259941389124972177528347913151 5574857242454150695950829533116861727855889075098381754637464939319255060400927701671139009848824012 8583616035637076601047101819429555961989467678374494482553797747268471040475346462080466842590694912 9331367702898915210475216205696602405803815019351125338243003558764024749647326391419927260426992279 6782354781636009341721641219924586315030286182974555706749838505494588586926995690927210797509302955 3211653449872027559602364806654991198818347977535663698074265425278625518184175746728909777727938000 8164706001614524919217321721477235014144197356854816136115735255213347574184946843852332390739414333 4547762416862518983569485562099219222184272550254256887671790494601653466804988627232791786085784383 8279679766814541009538837863609506800642251252051173929848960841284886269456042419652850222106611863 0674427862203919494504712371378696095636437191728746776465757396241389086583264599581339047802759009 9465764078951269468398352595709825822620522489407726719478268482601476990902640136394437455305068203
    • captaineuphoria, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10Q: How many digits of pi would you need to calculate the circumference of the universe to within one atom?
      A: 35
    • JesusIsSatan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Yeah, but mutliply that # of digits by 1000, and that's about how many digits he remembered. Maybe he should just call us idiots sans savants... and he could probably say it in 50 different languages. ;) Really scary, sci-fi stuff.
    • warox, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Captaineuphoria: that's an awesome stat... can you cite it or help me comprehend how that's remotely accurate?

      I memorized pi to 18 digits in AP chem like 6-7 years ago. I'm halfway to atomic accuracy :-)
    • kenji, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1http://www.trans4mind.com/personal_development/JavaScript/longnumAstronomical.htm
      This site claims around 40 digits for the accuracy of a proton, with example calculations.
  • quaunaut, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2It sounds like *****, but I've thought about his thought process quite a bit in my life- without ever even hearing of a Savant. Some things almost appear blue in my mind, while others are a green, or a yellow. I'm no savant, I'm barely average for that matter, but I do find it funny that I've felt the same way about thought processes for a long time. I wonder if our colors for certain things would match?
  • sum1randum, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1He would be like talking to a living google. The video did say he memorizes maps...

    Does anyone know if he can make inferences from the information he has stored. That would make him the ultimate Semantic Web.
  • b0neman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Just make sure he stays away from hand drills and crazy old rabbis. Watch "PI" if you don't know what I'm talking about.
  • vodkagunblast, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0Could somebody please feed him several psilocybe mushrooms? Or perhaps would a kind gentleman place some lysergic acid diethylamide into his drinking water? Perhaps he would become fixéd under the loving watchful eye of some family and a psychiatric team... and maybe he could retain his superpowers!

    SYNÆSTHETES ROCK!


  • mseneschal, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Daniel's website is: www.optimnem.co.uk. he maintains a blog, offers tutoring, and you can order an autographed copy of his book.
  • lokier, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Ive been trying to tell people 289 is an ugly number for years!
  • cornfednbred, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1An older gentleman at a long-term mental care facility I used to work at had some of those abilities. He can do the dates and some other crazy things with his brain. I've always wondered why nobody looked at him more to figure out how his brain can do those things despite being severely mentally handicapped.
  • rowlodge, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1okay,i dont think he can learn to paint though...his watercolor, suck ,thats a different kind of talent.
  • zephc, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Icelandic doesn't seem terrible difficult to learn if you already know English.
    • rabidg00se, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Not related to your comment, but your avatar kicks so much ass it's ridiculous.
  • tackle, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2Rosetta stoned ??
  • WitNit, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I wonder if it's possible for him to draw...illustrate to us how he sees numbers. I think it would be fascinating to see how he see's these beautiful and ugly numbers.
    • saranagati, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0in the discovery channel documentary he creates the shapes of some numbers out of silly putty.
  • masterskill, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Am I the only one who thought of flaming stealth bananas when reading the summary?
  • airship, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6In my day, we only memorized Pi to 15 digits...and we LIKED it!
    • idigital, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0In Soviet Russia, Pi memorizes you.

      Advance apologies.
  • wssharp, on 10/12/2007, -8/+5digg, me, down,
  • LavaHot, on 10/12/2007, -14/+2Well, lets hope that Arabs don't abduct him, put him in a fire, and pour water over him to crack him open to get at the gold inside.
    • monkeychewtoy, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2What the *****? Is this a mildly obscure pop-culture reference, or just amazingly unintelligible racism?

      Seriously, what are you talking about? Why Arabs?
    • LavaHot, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1They call him the "rosetta stone" of autistics, this is what a small group of Arabs did to the actual Rosetta stone.
  • Purist, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Most interesting article I've read online in a very long time. It was heartwarming and just....fascinating!
  • jdanoff, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Amazing, imagine what this guy can do. I want to see more of his drawings. Also, I checked out Kim Peek - the dude knows every single town in the USA? Ridiculous.
  • anomalya, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1my computer can out calculate him, human brain is obsolete
  • aragami, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2thats pretty damned impressive :D


    i can barely remember pi to 5 digits let alone 22,000, sounds like he's got Synesthesia too from the way he describes how me memorises things
  • Oldschoolhack, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Isn't there a color labeled Pi somewhere in Digg? It was pretty interesting to look at.
  • Silby, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2One of the most interesting things I thought was how he said 333 was noteworthy for how beautiful it is. The rule of thirds in art, in rhetoric, and happens to be the most beautiful number in savant logic?

    "I, like God, do not play with dice and do not believe in coincidence."
    • vodkagunblast, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1333 is beautiful.


      It's the king of numbers.

      3,11 and 33 are also nice.
  • cosmicr, on 10/12/2007, -11/+3So is this guy a raging ***** or not?

    "He and his partner Neil try to keep a low profile, despite his growing fame. "
    • BGFeltenink, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8Yes, he is a homosexual. Just get out of High School a few minutes ago? Honestly, why do you even care?
    • cosmicr, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2er... because it gives us more insight into his mind?
  • Kison, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2"Personally I think people like him are a possible link to future evolution. Think about it, very few of them exist and many are not able to function normally. Then this guy comes along and he's *almost* perfectly normal. Give it some time and perhaps more will be born until eventually this is normal and there are few to none of the normally bad traits associated with it. You have right in front of you, an article about a man with brain powers that surpass anyone else, and he isn't crazy or mostly retarded in every other way.

    In time I think we'll be seeing this more and more."

    Evolution depends on the genetics of a parent. His ability is thought to be caused by a seizure he had as a child. That in no way effects his genetics, so his children will not inherit his ability.

    In order for what you said to work, there will have to be someone who is born in such a way due to genetic mutation.
    • xartemisx, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Even if people are born with that mutation to be able to do what he does, it doesn't much help him beat natural selection more than a normal man(debatable..) so it wouldn't matter.
    • BGFeltenink, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I didn't catch the part about the seizure earlier, that's a shame.
  • jfox95, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1torrent: http://www.mininova.org/tor/562291
  • CobolNoFun, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2wait a minute.. pi = 3.

    or at least that is what they taught me in Kansas.
  • Aquashark, on 10/12/2007, -4/+2too bad he's gay and it's improbable he'll pass the genes to future generations :(
  • smackhero, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2why can't that reporter pronounce "asperger's" and "savant" correctly?
  • truck87bp, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Someone needs to show him a computer chip blown-up in scale and ask him what is wrong with it?
  • mikamala, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I saw this documentary about him on the science channel once. ... It totally made me want to have his babies.
  • greenamp, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1His description of the number 6 being like a dark chasm is interesting when you think of it in the context of the sequence, 666: perfect darkness?

    Eh it's a stretch but still intriguing.
  • kidcodea, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Pi is delicious indeed.
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