An Autistic Savant Mind

I found an interesting article on Daniel Tammet, the man who memorized the first 22,514 numbers of pi. He did an interview with editor Jonah Lehrer and Tammet revealed a lot about the way that he thinks.

Tammet said that when he was a young child in school, he was not even close to being seen as smart. He had difficulties learning things the way teachers taught them because his mind worked in a total different way. He saw numbers especially in a different way. Tammet sees numbers as all having some kind of relationship with one another and later, this is what he explained helped him remember that many decimal places of pi. To Mr. Tammet, "numbers to [him] have their own shapes, colors and textures" and are much more than just ink on a page. Also, Tammet had a hard time figuring out people's emotions, understanding their body language, and looking people in the eye. These are all complications of autism and Tammet had to acquire these skills that come naturally to others.

He moves on to talk about how he was able to learn the numbers of pi and it is very interesting.
Tammet says that "a simple example would be the number 37, which is lumpy like oatmeal, and 111 which is similarly lumpy but also round like the number three (being 37 x 3). Where you might see an endless string of random digits when looking at the decimals of Pi, my mind is able to “chunk” groups of these numbers spontaneously into meaningful visual images that constitute their own hierarchy of associations," This is why Tammet is not able to simply just remember one more number because for him, again, they are not that simple and there has to be a relationship between them.

When asked if he is ever surprised by the way he thinks and his amazing abilities, Tammet simply replies that he finds it strange that not everyone thinks this way. Personally, I think that it is amazing that his mind is able to see numbers this way and process other information so differently from the way that most people do. It was a very good article and everyone should read it =).

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=savants-cognition-thinking

My Personality

From the Jung Typology Test my results were 22 percent extraverted, 50 percent intuitive and feeling and 11 percent judging. I agree with the intuitive, feeling, and judging results but I dont agree as much with the extraverted results. Although I am very quiet at times I believed that I would have had a slightly higher percent because in certain situations I can be more talkative and open. I agree with the jobs that would fit my results, such as careers in the science field and psychology, because these are the subjects that I enjoy most.

For the Personality Test I received a high score in the area of agreeableness and conscientiousness, which I agree with because I do work hard and I am a generally good-natured person. I received pretty high scores in the area of extraversion and openness to experience. I do not agree as much with the extraversion because I do not do many risky activities, but I do agree with the openness to experience because I am open to new experiences.

For my EQ test, my results were that I have very high emotional intelligence and it states that I will be successful and have a drive for high performance in life. I agree with the part of the test that says that I need to take more time out to reflect on what is important in life because I dont get to do that often.

For the attraction test, I found the qualities presented less attractive than the average person. For every category except for guys who look intelligent, my number was lower than the average number. I do not completely agree with this because the pictures were misleading and I care more about the different qualities than was represented.

For my last personality test, I took the emotional profile test. My scores were above average for positive affect, negative affect, joviality, shyness, fatigue, serenity, and surprise. I agree with them all except for negative affect. I believe that all of the rest characterize me quite well. i received below average scores for fear, hostility, guilt, sadness, self-assuredness, and attentiveness. I agree with all of these except for self-assuredness and attentiveness. I believe that I am sure of myself most of the time and I am a very attentive person.

No one to Trust

Hi Mom and Dad

It is sad to say that college has not been going too well so far. Everyone is out to get me and there are no honest people here. Let's begin with my roomate. The first time I saw her I knew that she was a person that was up to no good. I cannot find my favorite keychain that you both bought me from Paris and I know that she had to be the one to take it. I do not have any evidence of it but I just know that it had to be her. Also, her friends are suspicious people too. She tries to convince me to let them hang out in our room sometime but they cannot be trusted. I know that they are just dying to steal something from me. I cant blame them though because I'm sure she has told them about all of the nice things I have and is devising a plan with them to take something right from under my nose.
There is also this guy that always says little comments to me when I see him in passing. He acts as if he is a nice person and is trying to be my friend but I cant really trust him either. The other day he said that he cant wait to see me at this big banquet later on that night. Now, I know this sounds like a nice thing to say but really I think he means that he cant wait to see me later so that he can criticize the way I look all dressed up and in a dress. My roomate must have told him that I do not like wearing dresses around people and he just wants to make fun of me. Why do they have to be friends?? I should have never told her about that.
The list goes on. Last week I was walking down the sidewalk to my next class and some huge, muscular guy ran right into me because he was paying more attention to a girl than to where he was walking. I fell flat on the ground and sprained my wrist in the process of trying to break my fall. Even though he apologized many times and even said he would make up for it by taking me to lunch I definitely declined. I will never forgive him for that.
As you can read, I have had so many issues with these people here. I just know someone else is going to do something mean to me and I just cant seem to make any friends. At least I know that you guys will never do anything like this to me...or will you? Are ya'll a part of the plan to be out to get me too? I hope not..

Love,

Your misfortunate daughter