Comments on: The Brainman http://birdhouse.org/blog/2006/10/22/the-brainman/ Like a chicken with a jewel in its beak. Sat, 20 Mar 2010 05:34:41 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Rosemary Brown - Just Writin’ it Down « can’t see the forest http://birdhouse.org/blog/2006/10/22/the-brainman/comment-page-1/#comment-127992 Rosemary Brown - Just Writin’ it Down « can’t see the forest Thu, 27 Sep 2007 10:13:55 +0000 http://birdhouse.org/blog/2006/10/22/the-brainman/#comment-127992 [...] in a certain field, many of them are perfectly “normal” and functional in society. Consider Daniel Tammet, the British man who can easily multiply and divide large numbers almost instantaneously and who [...] [...] in a certain field, many of them are perfectly “normal” and functional in society. Consider Daniel Tammet, the British man who can easily multiply and divide large numbers almost instantaneously and who [...]

]]> By: shacker http://birdhouse.org/blog/2006/10/22/the-brainman/comment-page-1/#comment-22619 shacker Tue, 24 Oct 2006 04:06:27 +0000 http://birdhouse.org/blog/2006/10/22/the-brainman/#comment-22619 I'm not really following your thinking here. There are humans in history - and alive - who are able to perceive mathematical reality in what can only be described as a "magical" way. What do you make of a pair of twins who appear otherwise to be retarded, who sit facing each other and rattle off consecutive prime numbers, reaching higher and higher, with no training in mathematics whatsoever. You're telling me they're doing very fast computations? That's not computation - that's a direct connection to God. And you're saying that Daniel Tammet's perception of a world beyond this world is "full of crap?" You've got to see the guy - Tammet is not a huckster or a con man. He's a demure, sweet autistic who is experiencing something you and I don't. Watch the documentary to see what happens to the attitudes of extreme skeptics after they've worked with him for a while. And open your mind a bit. I’m not really following your thinking here. There are humans in history – and alive – who are able to perceive mathematical reality in what can only be described as a “magical” way. What do you make of a pair of twins who appear otherwise to be retarded, who sit facing each other and rattle off consecutive prime numbers, reaching higher and higher, with no training in mathematics whatsoever. You’re telling me they’re doing very fast computations? That’s not computation – that’s a direct connection to God.

And you’re saying that Daniel Tammet’s perception of a world beyond this world is “full of crap?” You’ve got to see the guy – Tammet is not a huckster or a con man. He’s a demure, sweet autistic who is experiencing something you and I don’t. Watch the documentary to see what happens to the attitudes of extreme skeptics after they’ve worked with him for a while.

And open your mind a bit.

]]> By: SeanS http://birdhouse.org/blog/2006/10/22/the-brainman/comment-page-1/#comment-22551 SeanS Mon, 23 Oct 2006 17:55:00 +0000 http://birdhouse.org/blog/2006/10/22/the-brainman/#comment-22551 Not to be a kill-joy but I have a hard time digesting his explanation. Math is math. I can believe he has developed very fast ways of computing the things that he does as his brain is wired to do that. I can also believe that a "miswired" brain could have recall like his recitation of pi but I think he is just full of crap in his explanation of how he does these things. Why? There is no sense to them. Yes our brains are "capable" of doing these things but in general doesn't because it works a different way. When your brain gets hardwired to do these amazing savant things, you undoubtedly are not normal in many other respects. He is performing calculation make no mistake. He may not even be aware of how he is doing it but he is. Not sure I have really made my point but basically I am saying that autism and idiot-savantism are side effects of brains that are wired wrong. They are amazing side effects but side effects nonetheless as you brain is really supposed to work a different way. I don't think we are seeing something that someday we could all unlock in our own brains. Not to be a kill-joy but I have a hard time digesting his explanation. Math is math. I can believe he has developed very fast ways of computing the things that he does as his brain is wired to do that. I can also believe that a “miswired” brain could have recall like his recitation of pi but I think he is just full of crap in his explanation of how he does these things. Why? There is no sense to them. Yes our brains are “capable” of doing these things but in general doesn’t because it works a different way. When your brain gets hardwired to do these amazing savant things, you undoubtedly are not normal in many other respects. He is performing calculation make no mistake. He may not even be aware of how he is doing it but he is. Not sure I have really made my point but basically I am saying that autism and idiot-savantism are side effects of brains that are wired wrong. They are amazing side effects but side effects nonetheless as you brain is really supposed to work a different way. I don’t think we are seeing something that someday we could all unlock in our own brains.

]]> By: i, squub http://birdhouse.org/blog/2006/10/22/the-brainman/comment-page-1/#comment-22550 i, squub Mon, 23 Oct 2006 17:44:44 +0000 http://birdhouse.org/blog/2006/10/22/the-brainman/#comment-22550 I'm not sure that those things necessarily show so much that there's some additional lattice-work underlying those mathematics as opposed to showing how much computation a mind can do when left alone by consciousness. That description of the process as seeing colors and shapes shifting sounds more like a projection of the complicated work that's going on below the savant's consciousness than it does an actual representation of what work is actually being done. Either way, I'm always fascinated by the subject and I wish I would've watched the documentary. I've got an uncle who's a savant, as far as we can tell. He knows dates and directions in some weird way that no one can understand. It's amazing and frustrating -- he's not at all able to clearly explain what he's doing, he just says he "knows." I’m not sure that those things necessarily show so much that there’s some additional lattice-work underlying those mathematics as opposed to showing how much computation a mind can do when left alone by consciousness. That description of the process as seeing colors and shapes shifting sounds more like a projection of the complicated work that’s going on below the savant’s consciousness than it does an actual representation of what work is actually being done.

Either way, I’m always fascinated by the subject and I wish I would’ve watched the documentary. I’ve got an uncle who’s a savant, as far as we can tell. He knows dates and directions in some weird way that no one can understand. It’s amazing and frustrating — he’s not at all able to clearly explain what he’s doing, he just says he “knows.”

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