A genius of mathematics and memory, he learned the most difficult Icelandic in a week-
A movie called Rain Man (also known as Unfinished Brothers) made the audience remember George Finney played by dustin hoffman forever. According to a report by CBS on February 7, in fact, George Finney is a real person, and he was introduced by CBS’s "60 Minutes" program 24 years ago. Now, morley safer, the producer of "60 Minutes", has met another strange man with this symptom. His name is Daniel Tamit. In Britain, he is called "brain man". Unlike most other people who suffer from scholar’s wizards, he has no obvious mental retardation and can describe his own thinking process. For scientists, he may be a key to understanding the brain.
Daniel Tammet, an Englishman, aged 27, is a genius in mathematics and memory. "I was born on November 8, 1931," the producer of "60 Minutes" said in an interview with Daniel. Tamit said to Sefer, "Aha, 1931 is a prime number. The day you were born is Sunday. This year, your birthday is Wednesday. After your birthday, you will be 75 years old."
It is estimated that there are only 50 real "scholar-wizards" in the world, but there is no one like Daniel. He has clear thinking, extreme self-confidence, all the special skills of "scholar-wizards", and at the same time, his degree of disability is very small. Take his mathematical talent as an example. When asked what the result of "31 times 31 times 31 times 31 times 31" was, Tamit replied quickly and accurately: "923521."
He recited 22,511 numbers after pi of 3.14 accurately, and the recitation process took more than five hours.
Daniel spent more than five hours reciting pi at Oxford University.
Not only in one aspect of calculation, but also his memory talent is extremely surprising. As long as you show him a long list of numbers in a short time, he can recite them and recite them backwards! This skill display is just Daniel’s warm-up activity.
Later, when he recited π (pi) infinity in public at Oxford University, he became the focus of the university’s attention. He said to Sever, "I sat down first, then I began to feast my eyes on them, and then my brain began to absorb them at hundreds of speeds at a time."
Daniel spent several weeks preparing, and then went to Oxford, which opened the unparalleled memory gate. Oxford University found him some people who are very proficient in calculation to check every number for him.
As a result, he recited the 22514 numbers of π accurately in the correct order. The recitation process took more than five hours.
Scientists say that memory talent like this is really unparalleled. After Tammet performed the feat of reciting π, Dr. V.S. Ramachandran of California Brain Research Center and his team conducted extensive tests on Daniel.
Seizures at the age of four gave him synaesthesia, and numbers are things with color, shape and texture to him.
Ramachandran believes that the talent of "scholar wizards" may be the result of brain damage. He explained: "One possibility is that many other parts of the brain are in abnormal or sub-normal function, which makes patients focus all their attention on the rest." A lot of clinical evidence supports this idea, and some patients have greatly improved their artistic ability after suffering from stroke. "
This theory is very consistent with Daniel’s situation. At the age of four, he suffered a generalized seizure, which he believed gave him these talents. Numbers are no longer simple numbers, and his brain has a rare synaesthesia ability. Synaesthesia, which elicits another type of sensation from one type of sensory information, such as hearing.
Daniel said: "In my brain, numbers are expressed in the form of color, shape and texture, so when I see long numbers, these sequences form a landscape in my mind. Every number as many as 10 thousand is reflected in my vision in this form. They have their own colors, shapes and textures. "
When Daniel talked about what he saw π. He said that this is not a calculation process, and the answer is simply presented in a colorful landscape. He said: "These shapes are not static, they are full of color, full of texture, and in a sense they are full of life."
Some figures are ugly to him, while others are beautiful and even chubby.
When asked if they are very beautiful, Daniel replied: "Not all of them are ugly. 289 is an ugly number. I don’t like it very much. 333 is a beautiful number. It is round. It is … chubby."
Daniel was also diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a mild autism. This made his childhood full of pain. Daniel recalled: "When I was excited, sometimes I slapped my palm or pulled my fingers and lips. Other children will make fun of me by repeating my actions in front of me when they see me doing this. At this time, I will put my finger in my ear and count quickly and loudly, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 … "In Daniel’s view, numbers are his friends, and they never change, so they are his reliable partners and he trusts them.
Numbers have also been bothering Daniel. He must eat 45 grams of porridge in the morning, neither more nor less.
Daniel doesn’t shut himself in a world of self like many "scholar wizards". Daniel thinks that his huge family has helped him adapt to the environment.
Daniel said: "Because my parents have nine children, they have a lot of things to do and a lot of things to deal with. I realize that I have to handle my own affairs by myself." Daniel now runs an online education company. Despite his growing fame, Daniel and his partner Neil try to keep a low profile.
However, the limitation of autism on him has been bothering him. He said: "Sometimes I find it very difficult to walk on the street with many people. If there is too much noise, I will put my finger in my ear to stop it." This kind of anxiety confined him to his home. He couldn’t drive, seldom went shopping, and he found it difficult to stay on the beach, because his compulsion urged him to keep counting grains of sand.
This compulsion will also be manifested in other aspects. For example, every morning, he needs to accurately measure the cereal he eats. The porridge he eats must be 45g, neither more nor less.
Recently, Daniel accepted a challenge to learn a foreign language within a week, and as a result, he did very well.
Recently, Britain produced Daniel’s documentary "Brain Man". The producer put forward a challenge that he couldn’t refuse: learn a foreign language within a week-but not any foreign language, but Icelandic, which is considered to be the most difficult language to learn.
In Iceland, he studied and practiced the language with a tutor. At the moment when the answer was announced, he appeared on a live TV program with the host.
The host said: "I am really surprised! He responded to our questions. He understood these questions very well. I think his grammar is very good. We are proud of our language. After only one week of study, someone can speak it so well. This is really great! "
Editor: Pan Leijie
