I finished Daniel Tammet's story two weeks ago. He is an autistic savant. His account of how he pictures numbers as shapes and colors, forming complex landscapes is beautiful and touching. At one point, he explains (with the help of drawings) how he sees the multiplication of two numbers, even large numbers, as the joining of two shapes -- the resulting shape is the final number. He says that he doesn't actually have to think about it, he simply sees the shapes, and they combine, and he then sees the resulting shape. It seems like a miracle, as if this isn't humanly possible. He recounted his famous memorization and recapitulation of thousands of places of pi -- all of them accurate.
Yet, his ability strikes me not as un-human or peculiar, but as a human faculty that each of us must have -- highly developed in him. He described the epileptic seizure he had when he was young, perhaps the event that triggered and promoted his abilities. No one would want such a terrifying thing to happen to them. But Daniel's trauma seems to have been translated into his peculiar skills.
How fortunate he was to have such loving and compassionate parents. I felt a lump in my throat reading about what a difficult boy he was, and the patience and devotion his parents showed. This, with six other siblings! He does a nice job of narrating his growth and emotional life, and the interplay between his emotions and his intellectual powers.
No comments:
Post a Comment