Dr. Mercola July 09 2007 61,423 views
This is the breathtaking story of Daniel Tammet. A twenty-something with extraordinary mental abilities, Daniel is one of the world’s few savants. He can do calculations to 100 decimal places in his head, and learn a language in a week. This documentary follows Daniel as he travels to America to meet scientists who are convinced he may hold the key to unlocking similar abilities in everyone. It appears Daniel is doing math, without actually having to think, through a process of perceiving patterns in numbers. As one Brittish onlooker stated, "It‘s godsmackingly brilliant!"
The editor in me (and former British resident) has to point out an error in your tag line. The phrase is actually "gob-smacking", not "god-smacking". Gob is a reference to your noggin, and I think this is meant in that "I could have had a V8" kind of way.
I'm a little confused as to your definition of "noggin"? I too am a former British resident, though I'm guessing much older than you at 72 years of age. My memories however, of how different words were used in our particular "Geordie" dialect may be somewhat different than yours. For one thing, the word "gob" meant "mouth"....as in; "shut ya gob":) Noggin always referred to the 'head', so the phrase; "gob-smacking" was usually used in the context of something that would cause your lips (or mouth) to 'smack'.
I do know however that many words that were used during my childhood have since disappeared from even the Geordie dialect....quite sad really:) But perhaps different regions throughout the UK used the aformentioned words in their own unique way.
Russ, after seeing your contributions on several threads, I'm happy to see someone that has a better than average grasp on the physiology of the body and its workings and the ability to relay this info into laymen's terms.
This film should give the brain washed and brain dead some idea of the fantastic gift given to man, and demonstrates the capacity of the human brain.
If one chooses to believe that life started in a pool of slime and this progressed to the monkey, and these apes were their ancestors, then it is no wonder that what we call civilization today is reverting back to the ways of the jungle. If we have evolved from the apes, then why does science tell us we are only using about 10-11% of our brain. Especially since evolution tells us that our enhanced abilities evolved out of necessity? What is the rest of this unused brain capacity for or what is the rest of the brain doing?
Even the darling of the pseudo-intellectual world, Einstein, said that there is so much order in the universe and in all the things around us, that it had to be by design from a higher intelligence or power. God has given us a brain that has abilities far above all the other creatures on earth and given us dominion over them. But the brain is like any other muscle in the body, if you don't use it, it atrophies just like any unused muscle.
The public school system in this country has spent the last 80 years, not educating but dumbing down the population, till they can only think and act like apes.
Use it or loose it. The untapped capability of the human brain is beyond comprehension to the average person.
I guess I can sort of answer this, from my perspective anyway.
As a child I very aspergic - however, from the age of 12 I made a conscious decision to rid myself of it, and now you wouldn't know I was ever anything other than 'normal' - I've 'adapted' until there's no sign of AS left socially even if I try, only the 'good' sides of it.
As for how I see the world... I guess the 'autistic' remnants that enhance my life are my memory. I know what he means by things 'popping' into your mind - I just wait and the answer comes to me. I'm a very visual learner. I was published nationally from age 11 in major newspapers; English and languages are my major strong points, hence why I'm now a journalist. I see patterns in language, and I'm fluent in Japanese, can write in Japanese and Chinese plus two kinds of shorthand, Swedish, Spanish, etc. I'm not synaesthetic, though I do have an eidetic memory, and can recall accurately most things I've ever done, even things that happened as a tiny baby. All that said, I could never be anything like these savants... perhaps just a standard issue aspergers syndrome-***-'normal' woman?
Daniel really is a stunning, fantastic person - to answer your question in brief, I guess most autistic spectrumers experience some of what he's said, though very very few would come close to his ability. That man is genuinely amazing - what a brain!!