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July 09 2007
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The Boy With The Incredible Brain

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!"


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one of us
[ Joined on 07/07 ] [ Posted on July 26, 2007 ]
5 Points        
   
 
Novice User

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.

 [ Reply ]
Mercola
  
keepingfit
[ Joined on 06/06 ]  [ Posted on April 22, 2008]
       
   
Apprentice User
  Mercola

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.

  
  
Cindy Magnuson
[ Joined on 10/06 ] [ Posted on July 10, 2007 ]
5 Points        
   
 
Apprentice User
Rare, Divine and Wonderful.  He is reading the matrix in a way that we may all be able to someday, he is simply ahead of our development.  This is no different than doing a Reiki scan on a person and reading their energy system.  We tune in, see images, feel energy, develop our sensitivity to different energy sensations, experience an inner knowing, or hear a series of words possibly accompanied by moving images that tell a story.  It is how we read creation.  But don't be too hooked on this happening only within the brain.  All of our cells are intelligent.  Consciousness does not reside within the brain only! 
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Arizona
[ Joined on 06/07 ] [ Posted on July 8, 2007 ]
4 Points        
   
 
Savvy User
While not prepared for the length of this session, I was totally fascinated.
I too wonder about the little rain man in all of us, as was expressed by the one speaker.  Perhaps we are able to do much more than we imagine. Certainly not to the extent of Daniel, but perhaps a bit more than we might expect from ourselves. This is food for thought.
 [ Reply ]
  
  
minnie-me
[ Joined on 02/07 ] [ Posted on July 7, 2007 ]
4 Points        
   
 
Savvy User
I watched this film in it's entirety, and although I agree that it could have been shortened, it is an incredible story. Daniel is indeed, a rare savant. He has all of the amazing genius without the debilitating characteristics that the majority of people with autism must deal with. The good news is that here are thousands of High Functioning autistics as well as some with Aspergers syndrome who are able to live very normal, successful and productive lives,enhanced by the qualities and characteristics that make them unique. 
Unfortunately, children being diagnosed today, are very often plagued with physical illnesses and compromised immune systems. Autism as we know it today, seems to be triggered by one or a number of environmental insults. The human brain was not meant to be bombarded with poisons, chemicals and heave metals. The body was not designed to be abused with an over-load of vaccines, antibiotics and food additives.   
Daniel is definitely on the autism spectrum, but he certainly does not represent the majority of "injured" children who's bodies and brains have been attacked by modern society. 
That being said, I was honored to be given a virtual tour inside the mind of one so gifted!  I wonder if all people on the autism spectrum, regardless of their capabilities, see thing in such a unique way????
 [ Reply ]
Mercola
  
DizzyIzzy1
[ Joined on 06/07 ]  [ Posted on August 1, 2007]
       
   
Savvy User
  Mercola

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!!

  
  
phoszoe
[ Joined on 06/06 ] [ Posted on July 26, 2007 ]
2 Points        
   
 
Novice User

This is incredible!  Thank you so much for sharing this in it's entirety, I watched the whole thing and felt inspired.  I am not talented in any way but I found hope in what science can learn and therefore what we can learn about this miraculous world.

 [ Reply ]
Mercola
  
bkt
[ Joined on 06/06 ]  [ Posted on July 29, 2007]
       
   
Novice User
  Mercola

I agree, this man is so gifted! This is an awesome video, especially the end where he learns Icelandic in a week. With God, nothing is impossible.

  
  
goldeneagle
[ Joined on 04/07 ] [ Posted on July 7, 2007 ]
2 Points        
   
 
Savvy User
Maybe we are going to get an inside look at how GOD wired the human species; and how man has tried to control something that did not need man's limited  ability to control,  hindering the development of the greater gift to mankind.  Maybe "defects" like mongolism, autism, and retardation are not really a defect, but a misinterpretation of "a normal man" thinking that the unknown is wrong. How many times has educated man misjudged true genius?  Einstein, for an example.
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Russ Bianchi
[ Joined on 09/06 ] [ Posted on July 6, 2007 ]
2 Points        
   
 
Savvy User
I strongly recommend a film that did not get much commercial play in the theaters, from the folks who made 'Cinema Paradiso', the Italian Academy Award winning BEST FILM, several years ago,entitled: THE LEGEND OF 1900...out on DVD.

'1900' demonstrates the incredible abilities of the mind and soul in a different way, and explains a little cosmology also.

This is a MUST WATCH recommendation, from your Uncle Russ.

 [ Reply ]
Mercola
  
K2L
[ Joined on 02/07 ]  [ Posted on July 26, 2007]
       
   
Apprentice User
  Mercola

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.

  
  
argonut
[ Joined on 07/07 ] [ Posted on July 10, 2007 ]
1 Points        
   
 
This user is BELOW novice level and all their comments need to be reviewed with great caution.
That fast food feeling - a comment on the the comments that complain of the length. Are you all Kentucky Fried? Chickens have a greater concentration span.
 [ Reply ]
  
  
Magnolia
[ Joined on 06/06 ] [ Posted on July 7, 2007 ]
1 Points        
   
 
Savvy User
I have DSL and a brand new computer but this video is too skippy to watch comfortably. It seems that it is not loading fast enough to play in a streaming mode.

That said, I did struggle through to the end. It was worth it. I think more people can do these calculations in a similar way, but the current educational methods brutally force it out of them. I used to do math in grade school in a way much like this, although I never tried to do large numbers. When I did long division and multiplication, I could come up with the answer quickly but could not do it the way the teacher taught; could not show my work because it happened in that materialising way in my mind. I was punished for not showing my work and she kept implying I was cheating in some way.

Unfortunately I can no long do this neat trick. I would not call myself a savant. I just had an intimate connection with numbers. I can still store numbers in my mind; soc secs, phone, bank accounts, license tags, you name it. I still remember the phone number to our house as a small child. Nothing special about that, just emotional attachment.
 [ Reply ]
Mercola
  
nanciesweb
[ Joined on 06/06 ]  [ Posted on July 10, 2007]
4 Points        
   
Savvy User
  Mercola
You might want to press play, then pause and wait a few minutes.  I usually use the tab feature in Mozilla Firefox and read text news, check my email, then come back to see if the video is at least half loaded. Then I will play it.

This also depends on your cache size, hard drive size, CPU, and memory.  If any of these are too small, then the video will jump.
Mercola
  
Jasked
[ Joined on 11/06 ]  [ Posted on July 10, 2007]
2 Points        
   
Apprentice User
  Mercola
If you're using Firefox, grab the videodownloader extension. With this handy extension you can easily download the video and watch it in any video player that handles the format.
Here's the videodownloader Firefox extension:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2390

If you have any problems playing the file after it's downloaded, try GOM or VLC media players: (I personally use GOM)
http://www.download.com/GOM-Media-Player/3000-2139_4-10701768.html?tag=lst-0-1
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-windows.html

Unless it's really short, I usually download a movie before I watch it.
  
  
musikic
[ Joined on 06/06 ] [ Posted on August 1, 2007 ]
       
   
 
Novice User

Fantastic, awe inspiring, sensational! I loved every bit of the movie. It's nice to think that we "all" have the potential of Daniel, but folks, let's face it, HE is a genius, period. Some individuals, like Daniel, are just unique and so far ahead of their time that they may always be poorly understood or even misunderstood. I do not believe that the consensus was that Daniel is autistic, only that he has a few of the typical autistic charateristics (such as obession and fascination, in his case with numbers) but not the other necessary elements to make the diagnosis (such as social dysfunction or other mental handicap). It was beautiful to get a small but truly amazing glimpse into his world and how he experiences this world, and I felt honored that he allowed us in!

 [ Reply ]
  
  
laruecharles
[ Joined on 09/06 ] [ Posted on July 29, 2007 ]
       
   
 
Novice User

Amazing film.  But why do they assume it's his brain that is so smart?  Isn't that just like the one gene theory?  I read a book called the "holographic universe" and it discribed a young man who had no brain, only fluid inside his head, and he did just fine, went to college and so forth.

I have a feeling that the scientists are starting with a wrong assumption and they are not going to discover anything of value.  They should stop looking at intelligence as a brain function.  It's probably a network phenomona of some sort.  

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"David"
[ Joined on 08/06 ] [ Posted on July 28, 2007 ]
       
   
 
Savvy User

It is amazing things like this that make me realise....the older I get, the less I KNOW, about more and more.....until one day soon, I will probably come to the conclusion that I understand nothing, about everything....

David.

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Paul108
[ Joined on 07/07 ] [ Posted on July 27, 2007 ]
       
   
 
Novice User

For some reason I don't have access to all videos. Every time there is a blank square with x on top left. I right click on it but I can't get any further.

Any suggestions.

Paul

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m