Musical Savant

[superdorf]

I just watched 60 Minutes from last Sunday, and they did a piece on a 13 year old musical savant named Rex Lewis-Clack. You can watch the piece here:
Catching Up With Rex Video - CBSNews.com

Individuals like Rex intrigue me in every way. He is blind, has mental disabilities, exhibits the symptoms of severe autism, yet can hear a piece of music just ONE time and play it back nearly perfectly.

If you have the time to watch the video I highly recommend it.

 

[Acylum]

The wonders of evolution. All this from primordial ooze. Amazing.

 

[Cyclones_R_GR8]

Here's a similar case. Derek Paravicini was born premature at 25 weeks and suffered blindness and extreme brain damage, yet he also has the ability to play any song he has heard. He plays concerts arond the world. You can find clips of him on youtube of course.

Derek Paravicini (official website)

 

[hobbsfan27]

wow...

 

[JonDMiller]

Stuff like that is amazing.

I think everyone has abilities like this locked up inside of them. Perhaps not concert pianist levels, but we all learn in different ways. When we recognize how we learn things, what helps bring the best out in each of us, there are so many things that you can do by applying those principles.

Some folks learn more pictorially, some folks have an ear. For some folks, its numbers and algorithms, even though they don't realize it or don't think they are good at math. For some folks, its assigning subconscious order to things, and/or subconscious algebra....if x, then y, and that will work for a and b.

I know it sounds a bit kooky, but we are all so capable of so much...the trick usually is recognizing how you process things, and then finding something you are passionate about. I have found this to work in so many areas of my life.

I went from being an average student to deans list, just by figuring out how I learn things. Nearly all of us is capable.

In these instances where there is brain damage, or lack of development in one area of the brain and hyper development in another, it is just mind numbing to see what these folks can accomplish, when most of the world would write them off as insignificant or dumb.

Stories like this, to me, are God's way of saying, 'Hey, yeah, I am still here, in case you had forgotten.'

 

[JonDMiller]

Derek Paravicini (official website)

I have seen numerous segments on Derek. It's pretty remarkable.