Savant syndrome, or island talent, describes the phenomenon that humans possess exceptional gifts in a specific subarea. Most of them suffer from a mental disability or profound developmental disorder. Not infrequently, these exceptional talents gain fame as painters, musicians or arithmetic professionals. It is estimated that about half of all Savants are autistic. Whether photographic memory or computing genius – until today it is unclear how these special abilities arise and what causes the Savant syndrome.
Savant syndrome: description
Often, people show up intellectual disabilities or one profound developmental disorder, to them all forms of autism belong to outstanding skills in a small specialized area. The name “savant syndrome“Perhaps better describes what this phenomenon is exactly. Due to their illness, those affected often have a diminished level of intelligence. Thus, autistic or mentally retarded persons are overwhelmed in most areas of life and need help.
But in a very specific area, an island, they have extraordinary abilities. The Savants devote themselves with all dedication and time often only this one, very special area of interest. If the intelligence quotient of many savants is below the value of 70, which is far below the average, then it can be above average in their sector. But Savant syndrome does not necessarily have to be linked to a below-average intelligence quotient. Also gifted with normal or above average IQ are known.
One differentiates between a talented and amazing gift:
- The talented island gifted have a skill that is average in a subset. Considering their disability, however, it already represents a special ability.
- The amazingly gifted savants stand out from the crowd through an above-average, extraordinary talent in a detailed section.
These talents are often so amazing that they attract public interest. Many Savants are recognized painters or musicians. Some have an outstanding photographic memory and can trace pictures from their memories in detail. The musicians are exceptional in that they can master one or more musical instruments perfectly and can re-enact thousands of pieces from memory – without ever having taken music lessons. Some people with Savant Syndrome are amazed by the playful handling of numbers, some of them are unique lawyers. For example, the “Calendar Calculator” can name the exact day of the week for each date. In many cases, there is an impressive memory behind these talents. Some islanders therefore also have the nickname “living lexicon”.
Common Talents in Savant Syndrome:
- Photographic memory
- Perfect hearing
- Exceptional long-term memory
- Mathematical talent
- Fast language learning
- Musical talent
Savant syndrome: facts
The cause of this island talent is still in the dark.
- Often have autistic people the Savant syndrome. For example, about half of all known islanders suffer from autism.
- Most of the time, autism is about that Asperger syndrome.
- Savants are mostly men – out of eight islanders, seven are male.
Scientists are trying to solve the mystery of the savants. The extraordinary memory of many people with Savant syndrome is particularly interesting. The question of the strategies for this enormous memory and how it can come to these achievements is still unclear. In recent years, many theories have been developed to explain the phenomenon. Thus, an excess of the male sex hormone testosterone in the amniotic fluid to accelerate brain growth and thus cause brain changes that occur more in autism. Apparently, the brain can not distinguish unimportant from important information, so some of these people can obviously resort to all “data”. It is also questionable whether the island-gifted computational geniuses really count, or combine again and again from a variety of already performed patterns. The fact that savants always make the same mistakes supports this theory.
One thing is for sure: these interesting, extraordinary people will continue to astonish!