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Bop on the Head Releases Inner Einstein

The New York Post profiles Jason Padgett, who, as a result of a concussion suffered during a barroom brawl, sees the world in a profoundly mathematical way.

Padgett is one of 40 people in the world with "acquired savant syndrome," a condition in which a previously normal person develops extraordinary talents in math, art, or music following brain injury or disease. Padgett, whose formal education included no mathematics beyond pre-algebra, can draw approximations of fractals by hand.

The Post quotes Davidson College mathematician Tim Chartier's reaction to Padgett's abilities:

It’s remarkable that he sees the world this way without any real training. Is that genius? I think you have to be careful when you use that word, but, yes, to be able to see that. That’s just wild.

Read the story.

Start Date: 
Thursday, May 8, 2014