The Real-life Rain Man: Daniel Tammet

Tammet has the talent of a rain man portrayed in a film by Dustin Hoffman. He learned Icelandic in just 7 days, he is austistic savant and researchers from all over the world have always expressed keen interest in him.

Ever wonder how the brain works? Case studies shine a light

Ever wondered how the brains of the mighty work. There have been many studies on the brains and its functions of the great scientists such as Newton, Einstein, Edison, Alexander Graham Bell and others.

In these studies and case research, it is explained to us the extent these scientist’s brain muscles work and function to do the things which are not known to mankind. Their brains have the capacity to see what the normal brains cannot see. Does this mean they all are abnormal? Well, the term used here is extraordinary.

This is Why Daniel Tammet is Called Mathematical Genius

There are humans who can foster their brains to a whole new level, doing things that amaze the world. One such human is Daniel Tammet who grew in East London, England and is the eldest to seven siblings and is known as the real-life Rain Man.

Tammet who is now 40 years old can-do calculations up to 100 decimal places and learn a new language in a week. While growing up, he suffered from an epileptic seizure which was cured after medical treatment.

He was later diagnosed with Asperger syndrome and savant syndrome which is discussed heavily in his memoir called ‘Born on a Blue Day’. In America, he also gets the chance to meet people who are extraordinary like him. Daniel meets Kim Peek, who is the inspiration behind the movie, ‘Rain Man’.

Scientists are stunned on Tammets astonishing abilities

Scientists like V S Ramachandra got stunned by seeing Tammet’s abilities and skills. There have been various studies on him in order to know how Tammet’s brain works and why he is like that. Not only has he been a constant competition in world memory championships, but Tammet is also a linguist. He knows almost ten languages merely by having read them

Nature Neuroscience published the study in the year 2003 where researchers try to find out about the reasons for the gifted memory and their superior performances.

In another study, the Autism Research Centre tested Tammet’s abilities in the year 2005 and concluded that his savant memory is the result of Synaesthesia in addition to Asperger syndrome. Synaesthesia is a condition in which Daniel’s brain sees numbers as he hears them.

Inside the Savant Mind: He visualize numbers

His brain structure has specific visual images for each and every number. Whenever Daniel is asked to perform a calculation, his brain makes him see visual images of numbers which is the correct answer as soon as he listens to the question He has been studied frequent times, at one point he was given a week time to learn Icelandic and then appear on TV for an interview speaking the same language.

Tammet often addresses his savant memory as pictures and images that come to him in his brain. Each number and its result seen by him in his mind, he just describes what he sees which is always the correct answer! In his mind, Tammet says each number or in particular, a positive integer has a different colour, shape and feel. He feels emotional connect with the numbers and words in his mind