Savant

Savants are people with extremely outstanding abilities, often in music, mathematics , memory , or art. Their talents stand in marked contrast to their intelligence in other areas, which is well below normal. For example, a savant who, given any date in the past hundred years, could say what day of the week it fell on, might not be able to perform simple tasks like tying his shoes or catching a bus. The cause of this condition, commonly labeled savant syndrome , has yet to be fully determined.

Savant syndrome was first formally described in 1877 by British physician J. Langdon Down, who lectured the Royal Society of London about developmentally disabled individuals he had seen performing amazing mental feats at Earlswood Asylum. Down called these people idiot savants because of their low level of intelligence. At that time the word "idiot" was the scientific classification for people who functioned at a two-year-old level, having IQs no higher than 25. Researchers today believe that the term idiot savant is misleading, because most savants, although developmentally disabled, function at higher levels of intelligence than this; all savants reported in medical and psychological literature have had IQs of at least 40.

Today, some people with savant syndrome are called autistic savants. This is because many savants suffer from infantile autism , a developmental disorder involving some degree of retardation that first shows itself during infancy. Disturbed social interactions are a key part of autism. Autistic children dislike being held or touched, avoid eye contact, have poorly developed communication skills, and often perform unusual repetitive behaviors such as head banging or rocking back and forth. The cause of autism is unknown.

In the hundred years that have passed since Down brought savants to the attention of the scientific community, hundreds of cases have been reported. Despite the level of interest it has generated, savant syndrome is a rare condition. Only an estimated one out of every 2,000 developmentally disabled people living in institutions can be called a savant. It is known that the rate of savant syndrome is as much as six times higher among males than among females. Some researchers believe that this is because more males are autistic than females. According to one study, about one in ten autistic children have special abilities that could classify them as savants.

Talents of savants

The kinds of talents displayed by savants throughout the last century are remarkably similar. Music and memory appear to be the most common skills displayed in savant syndrome. Often these two skills are tied together.

Most savants with musical skills express their talents by playing the piano, singing, or humming. One savant, an African American slave named Blind Tom, born in 1849, reportedly could play a different piece of music on the piano with each hand while singing a third.

The memory capacity displayed by many savants is truly astounding. Some savants have memorized entire telephone directories; others have memorized sporting statistics or everyone they have met during their adult lives. They might memorize entire books, or population figures for all the cities in the country in which they live.

Mathematical calculation talents reported in savants have ranged from being able to figure and report the cube roots of six digit numbers within seconds to calculating complex word problems which would take a normal person hours to solve. Calendar calculation—the ability to provide the day of the week on which a certain date fell or will fall—is a talent of some savants that requires not only memorization of large quantities of material, but mathematical abilities as well. One set of twin savants reportedly can do this for a time span of 8,000 years.

The artistic talents of savants have been noted over the years. One three-year-old girl could make accurate drawings of any animal that she saw. Some visually artistic savants seem to specialize in certain subjects. Other skills that some savants exhibit are the ability to memorize maps, an extremely sensitive sense of touch and smell , and the ability to measure the passage of time without a clock. Model building and memorization in languages the savant does not understand have also been recorded.

Savant or genius

The skills displayed by savants, whether they are memorizing and reciting entire books or instantly calculating the square root of any number, are unlike the high levels of individual skills sometimes displayed by people of normal intelligence. Savant skills often appear in an individual very suddenly, rather than developing over time; the abilities are fully formed, and don't increase as the savant grows older. One musical savant could hum complicated opera arias when she was six months old. Another, at the age of four, could flawlessly play the works of Mozart at the piano. In some cases, savant skills disappear just as suddenly as they appeared.

The skills of savants appear to be almost robot-like in nature. For example, a musical savant may be able to reproduce a complex musical piece after hearing it once, but if the original rendition contains a mistake, the savant will repeat that mistake. An artistic savant may be able to produce an impressive copy of a specific artist's work, but most cannot evolve a recognizable style of his or her own.

Neither do savants seem able to make connections between their talents and the rest of their lives or the world around them. Further, they do not appear to be able to reason about what they are doing. For instance, a savant who can read and perfectly memorize a book containing the complete works of Shakespeare, even to the point of being able to recite a specific page of text when given a page number, probably cannot explain what those plays and poems mean. Furthermore, he or she might be unable to recall the same text if given some other cue, such as the title of a specific work. A musical savant will more than likely be unable to read music. A savant who can make complex mathematical calculations might be unable to make change for a dollar.

Savants' skills do not seem to require their total attention. Many can play a piece of music, draw a picture, or make complex mathematical calculations while their mind appears to be elsewhere. They seem to exercise their talents without conscious effort, as if some part of their brain , unconnected to the rest, operates automatically.

Causes of savant syndrome

Researchers remain uncertain about what causes some developmentally disabled or autistic people to become savants. Some believe that certain savants have eidetic (intensely visual) memories. Their skills are based entirely on their ability to memorize. While this theory can account for some savant skills, it fails to explain others.

Some experts believe that intelligence is not a single quality, but rather that mental ability is separated into multiple intelligences which may be unrelated to one another. If this is true, it could explain how mental retardation or autism and savant skills can coexist in one person. Some experts suspect that developmentally disabled savants have inherited two separate genes, one for mental retardation and one for the special ability; however, only some savants have family histories that contain special skills.

Some researchers have speculated that autistic or developmentally disabled persons may receive only a limited amount of sensory stimulation. This low level of stimulation might be due to biological causes, or could be due to the fact that such people are sometimes ignored by others and live in relative isolation. According to this theory, the resulting boredom could lead to the development of super-intense concentration levels that normal people are unable to achieve. Again, this theory can account for some but not all savants.

Another theory holds that since savants cannot think abstractly, they come to rely entirely on concrete thinking, channeling all of their mental energy into one form of expression, be it art or calendar calculating. Finally, some researchers think that savants may have some brain injury or abnormality on the left side of the brain, the side which controls language, or to other areas of the brain which control abstract thinking. While this may be true for some savants, others show normal electrical activity in the brain when they are tested.

Resources

books

Howe, Michael. Fragments of Genius: The Strange Feats of Idiots Savants. New York: Routledge, 1989.

periodicals

Dalphonse, Sherri. "The Mysterious Powers of Peter Guthrie." Reader's Digest 142 (February 1993): 859.

Sacks, Oliver. "A Neurologists Notebook: Prodigies." The New Yorker (9 January 1995): 44-65.

Kay Marie Porterfield

KEY TERMS

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Abstract thinking

—The ability to understand abstract concepts such as love, justice, truth and friendship.

Autism

—A developmental disorder that involves some degree of retardation along with disturbed social interactions.

Developmental disability

—The failure to pass through the normal stages of mental and emotional growth as one matures.

Intelligence

—The ability to solve problems and cope successfully with one's surroundings.

IQ

—A number calculated by dividing mental age as measured on an intelligence test by a child's chronological age.