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Extraordinary People: Understanding "Idiot Savants"
Summarizes reported cases and the observations of their chroniclers; outlines new theories put forward by various investigators; and discusses implications the savant syndrome has for understanding normal brain function. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.
291 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1989
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April 17, 2021
For anyone interested in the human brain and/ or learning disabilities, so-called 'Savant Syndrome' is a fascinating condition indeed. Here are people possessing islands of remarkable abilities within vast seas of disabilities. The paradox is baffling: how can brilliance and deep, debilitating handicaps, can both inhabit the same mind? And, most importantly, what can it teaches us all about our own brains?
Darrold A. Treffert's book might be old (first published in 1989, so, I assume, probably outdated on some points -although, not being an expert, I wouldn't know which ones!) yet it remains engrossing. The psychiatrist (who had been a consulted expert for the film Rain Man) raises in fact some serious questions.
First, he debunks the idea that such people should be called, as was then the terminology, 'Idiot Savants'. 'Idiot' might have been a medical term describing individuals with an IQ below 25, but the 'extraordinary people' portrayed here, despite their severe if not profound impairments, all had IQs above that. 'Idiot', then, was a misnomer. He calls it 'Savant Syndrome' (a terminology which stuck). He also goes further than that, by dividing them into two broads categories: the 'talented savants', who have abilities that are remarkable considering their handicap (but that would be unremarkable were they not disabled); and the 'prodigious savants', whose abilities are remarkable regardless of them being handicapped or not.
Getting deeply personal and human, he then delves into the biographies of various such people to show that their abilities bears strikingly common patterns. Indeed, be it incredible linguistic feats (e.g. remembering whole books words for words, repeating whole utterances flawlessly even in foreign languages etc.), musical ability (e.g. playing an instrument -the piano, in the vast majority of cases- and scores by hear, while having never learnt how to play it in the first place...), calendar skills (e.g. know which day of the week was a given date, even for dates going back hundred of years ago...) or amazing mathematical abilities (e.g. calculating even high numbers with incredible speed...) such feats always involve memory and creativity. What does that tells us?
When it comes to their memory as a cognitive skill, Darrold A. Treffert describes it as 'accurate, deep, rapid' and 'automatic, mechanical, concrete, and habit-like'. Focusing on the working of the brain, and how memories are processed, he then raises a deeply striking question: are their amazing abilities a remarkable capacity to remember, or, are they, on the contrary, an inability to forget? This is important, for it can tells us how the brain processes information. The same applies to creativity, a very elusive concept yet which can be understood a bit better by assessing the artistic deeds of such savants. What is striking indeed, is that they do not 'create', they copy and reproduce -even with incredible speed, even with baffling agility, even with no previous training whatsoever, and even, in some cases, with impairments which renders such skills even more puzzling (e.g. a blind man playing the piano like a virtuoso...). Creativity, then, is something which clearly requires a flexible mind, an ability for the abstract and to conceptualise, a wide range of emotions one has to be in touch with, and a reject of routine, status quo and sameness; all traits which such savants do not possess, or do not possess enough, because they are on the autistic spectrum. For here's a another striking point found in this book: the author puts such people on the autistic spectrum, including whose who have been diagnosed with Asperger, a syndrome which will not be recognised as such by the DSM until ... 1994! That's five years after this Extraordinary People was first published. Then indeed, no one knew for sure if Asperger was a form of Early Infantile Autism, a form of schizophrenia, or a personality disorder. Such 'prescience' says a great deal about Treffert having been then unto something...
Interestingly enough, the book also ends with speculations regarding what could be inferred from such understanding of 'Savant Syndrome'. It's especially compelling when it comes to memory. From the use of nootropics to so-called 'brain graft', he gives us indeed a glimpse at possible future solutions to address medical conditions such as, for example, Alzheimer; in a final chapter which is as imaginative as it is, still, relevant.
It's all about neuroscience of course, and learning disabilities in particular. Nevertheless, it also contains a great and profound lesson for us all to heed when it comes to empathy:
The savants are geniuses among us. They have brightened our world with their skills -through their drawings, their music and their sculptures. But they have taught us something else as well -that great gifts and talent can coexist with disease and defect; that focusing on strengths is more important than resigning to weaknesses; that labels confine but belief propels; and that unconditional love may be a strong remedy for untoward circumstance.'
Touching and deep, it may be outdated at times (especially in regards to the techniques/ technologies being used to study the brain) but here's a fascinating window open unto baffling brains. Extraordinary people indeed!
Darrold A. Treffert's book might be old (first published in 1989, so, I assume, probably outdated on some points -although, not being an expert, I wouldn't know which ones!) yet it remains engrossing. The psychiatrist (who had been a consulted expert for the film Rain Man) raises in fact some serious questions.
First, he debunks the idea that such people should be called, as was then the terminology, 'Idiot Savants'. 'Idiot' might have been a medical term describing individuals with an IQ below 25, but the 'extraordinary people' portrayed here, despite their severe if not profound impairments, all had IQs above that. 'Idiot', then, was a misnomer. He calls it 'Savant Syndrome' (a terminology which stuck). He also goes further than that, by dividing them into two broads categories: the 'talented savants', who have abilities that are remarkable considering their handicap (but that would be unremarkable were they not disabled); and the 'prodigious savants', whose abilities are remarkable regardless of them being handicapped or not.
Getting deeply personal and human, he then delves into the biographies of various such people to show that their abilities bears strikingly common patterns. Indeed, be it incredible linguistic feats (e.g. remembering whole books words for words, repeating whole utterances flawlessly even in foreign languages etc.), musical ability (e.g. playing an instrument -the piano, in the vast majority of cases- and scores by hear, while having never learnt how to play it in the first place...), calendar skills (e.g. know which day of the week was a given date, even for dates going back hundred of years ago...) or amazing mathematical abilities (e.g. calculating even high numbers with incredible speed...) such feats always involve memory and creativity. What does that tells us?
When it comes to their memory as a cognitive skill, Darrold A. Treffert describes it as 'accurate, deep, rapid' and 'automatic, mechanical, concrete, and habit-like'. Focusing on the working of the brain, and how memories are processed, he then raises a deeply striking question: are their amazing abilities a remarkable capacity to remember, or, are they, on the contrary, an inability to forget? This is important, for it can tells us how the brain processes information. The same applies to creativity, a very elusive concept yet which can be understood a bit better by assessing the artistic deeds of such savants. What is striking indeed, is that they do not 'create', they copy and reproduce -even with incredible speed, even with baffling agility, even with no previous training whatsoever, and even, in some cases, with impairments which renders such skills even more puzzling (e.g. a blind man playing the piano like a virtuoso...). Creativity, then, is something which clearly requires a flexible mind, an ability for the abstract and to conceptualise, a wide range of emotions one has to be in touch with, and a reject of routine, status quo and sameness; all traits which such savants do not possess, or do not possess enough, because they are on the autistic spectrum. For here's a another striking point found in this book: the author puts such people on the autistic spectrum, including whose who have been diagnosed with Asperger, a syndrome which will not be recognised as such by the DSM until ... 1994! That's five years after this Extraordinary People was first published. Then indeed, no one knew for sure if Asperger was a form of Early Infantile Autism, a form of schizophrenia, or a personality disorder. Such 'prescience' says a great deal about Treffert having been then unto something...
Interestingly enough, the book also ends with speculations regarding what could be inferred from such understanding of 'Savant Syndrome'. It's especially compelling when it comes to memory. From the use of nootropics to so-called 'brain graft', he gives us indeed a glimpse at possible future solutions to address medical conditions such as, for example, Alzheimer; in a final chapter which is as imaginative as it is, still, relevant.
It's all about neuroscience of course, and learning disabilities in particular. Nevertheless, it also contains a great and profound lesson for us all to heed when it comes to empathy:
The savants are geniuses among us. They have brightened our world with their skills -through their drawings, their music and their sculptures. But they have taught us something else as well -that great gifts and talent can coexist with disease and defect; that focusing on strengths is more important than resigning to weaknesses; that labels confine but belief propels; and that unconditional love may be a strong remedy for untoward circumstance.'
Touching and deep, it may be outdated at times (especially in regards to the techniques/ technologies being used to study the brain) but here's a fascinating window open unto baffling brains. Extraordinary people indeed!
August 22, 2022
This early work, though written years prior, remains a significant source for research and study, especially for the plethora of its case-centric entries. this is a wonderful prelude to Dr. Treffert's 'Islands of Genius,’ and the reader/researcher will not be disappointed There are far fewer female savants compared to male. This works highlights testosterone’s effects on males in the womb related to right/left brain development and function. Right Brain and Left-Brain functions (Brain Hemisphere Specialization) are covered well.
The skills typically reported follow five areas: calendar calculating, lightning-fast calculating, mechanical or spatial skills, music, and art. Additional exceptional skills are also highlighted as are NREM Sleep (relaxed type of sleep that progressively gets deeper) and REM Sleep (the active sleep type where the brain is active as if awake). Our author also mentions left temporal hemispheric dysfunction in schizophrenia.
- Excerpts:
"To call specific behavioral superiority a 'mystery' is merely to sugarcoat scientific neglect."
"One English idiot savant, a lightning calculator, was used in antiaircraft defense during World War I since he could produce answers to sums more speedily than others could by referring to logarithm tables."
Other works of interest:
- Extraordinary People: Understanding Savant Syndrome by Darold A. Treffert
- Views from the Spectrum: A Window into Life and Faith with Your Neurodivergent Child by Ron Sandison
-Synaesthesia: A Very Short Introduction by Julia Simner
-On some of the mental affections of childhood and youth : being the Lettsomian lectures delivered before the Medical Society of London in 1887, together with other papers
by Down, John Langdon Haydon, 1828-1896; Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh 1887
-The Encyclopedia of Genetic Disorders and Birth Defects by James Wynbrandt, Mark D. Ludman
- Food for thought:
Could a contributing factor in the decline in right-brain studies throughout educational institutions during the early adolescent school years have successfully precluded the natural development and intelligence growth significantly amongst our youth over the past few decades... and will this continue, producing additional lower-level-intelligence generations in future years?
The skills typically reported follow five areas: calendar calculating, lightning-fast calculating, mechanical or spatial skills, music, and art. Additional exceptional skills are also highlighted as are NREM Sleep (relaxed type of sleep that progressively gets deeper) and REM Sleep (the active sleep type where the brain is active as if awake). Our author also mentions left temporal hemispheric dysfunction in schizophrenia.
- Excerpts:
"To call specific behavioral superiority a 'mystery' is merely to sugarcoat scientific neglect."
"One English idiot savant, a lightning calculator, was used in antiaircraft defense during World War I since he could produce answers to sums more speedily than others could by referring to logarithm tables."
Other works of interest:
- Extraordinary People: Understanding Savant Syndrome by Darold A. Treffert
- Views from the Spectrum: A Window into Life and Faith with Your Neurodivergent Child by Ron Sandison
-Synaesthesia: A Very Short Introduction by Julia Simner
-On some of the mental affections of childhood and youth : being the Lettsomian lectures delivered before the Medical Society of London in 1887, together with other papers
by Down, John Langdon Haydon, 1828-1896; Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh 1887
-The Encyclopedia of Genetic Disorders and Birth Defects by James Wynbrandt, Mark D. Ludman
- Food for thought:
Could a contributing factor in the decline in right-brain studies throughout educational institutions during the early adolescent school years have successfully precluded the natural development and intelligence growth significantly amongst our youth over the past few decades... and will this continue, producing additional lower-level-intelligence generations in future years?
September 1, 2021
1.5/5- Such an interesting topic! People who are physically and mentally challenged yet have abilities and talents one who isn’t challenged couldn’t do even with professional training or is a professional. Savant syndrome! The only thing is… this book put me in the biggest reading slump ever! So……so………….slowwwww. Seriously bummed.
May 13, 2024
Really good but a little over my head as it tends to get a little medical at parts. It's also a little dated as it was written in 1989 however that doesn't deduct from how good it is. I think reading a follow up written in the past 5 or 10 years would be interesting to see what's changed in this field since this one was written.
February 26, 2009
I bought this book because of my interest in the movie Rain Man. It really only has about one chapter on the movie, but the rest of the book is also interesting. The author explains the nature of savant syndrome and gives portraits of other individuals, some artistically inclined and some musically. It's a bit technical to read, versus a novel style, but I would recommend it for college psychology classes or independent studies.
March 7, 2016
This is vair vair outdated- a cool topic, but sort of fluffy coverage. He has a newer one that I would read, and to my untrained self he seems to be the preeminent expert in the field, so its a shame that this book didn't live up to his credentials.
July 8, 2012
Read this many years ago. Fascinating and fun read.
May 3, 2016
An in-depth look at the fascinating condition of savant syndrome.
December 17, 2024
such a thrilling experience to know the extraordinary people out there
March 17, 2017
I came across Darold Treffert’s book 'Extraordinary People' in a second-hand bookshop decades ago. It was a lucky find, and has been an inspirational book for me all the time since (including for my own SF novels).
Treffert is an American psychiatrist with an interest in Savant Syndrome, sometimes called Autistic Savant Syndrome or similar terms. Over many years he has come to an understanding of why otherwise severely disabled people can show such extraordinary “islands of genius,” which in even a non-disabled person would be considered remarkable.
The book begins with an overview of the symptoms of the syndrome and of its historical background. There have been some savants noted in the past, with Blind Tom the one Treffert mentions most often. Usually what is seen is a radically reduced IQ (typically around the 50 mark), with considerable difficulty in such tasks as eating and drinking, dressing, and so on. Savants typically have few or no social skills, and when young are often considered beyond help.
Treffert then describes a few savants, with one, Leslie Lemke, being a personal acquaintance of his. Leslie Lemke is described by Treffert as the most extraordinary savant he has ever met or heard of. Soon after birth Lemke was given up as beyond reach by medicine, but he was fostered by a truly remarkable woman, May Lemke, who despite Leslie being blind, retarded and unable to perform even the most basic of personal tasks, took him and fostered him with devotion. In fact (as Treffert observes, and later discusses) May Lemke was the making of her extraordinary foster-son.
Leslie Lemke can remember and play back on the piano any tune, song or piece of music that he hears, with no mistakes and after just one listen. This concrete, perfect, recapitulating type of memory is considered by Treffert to be the foundation of most, if not all instances of Savant Syndrome, and later in the book he gives his opinion on what that implies. But Leslie Lemke can do more than just recall perfectly and replay on a piano. Nourished and loved by May, he grew and flourished, and now is able to walk, to eat, and dress himself. But most remarkable of all given the typical route of such savants, he can improvise musical themes on the piano that work with the music he hears; and that truly is extraordinary, since the vast majority of savants are unable to generalise from concrete mental information.
The final sections of the book deal with Treffert’s view of what Savant Syndrome is. He thinks it is a response to a number of birth accidents, including premature birth, excessive use of oxygen at birth, and other issues. The relatively common triad of blindness, Savant Syndrome and phenomenal musical ability is in his view significant. He thinks one variety of memory is hypertrophied by the brain in response to a particular type of left-hemisphere damage, which most if not all savants suffer from. Human beings have three types of memory: short-term, medium-term prior to the setting down of long-term, and long-term itself. This recapitulating medium-term memory, hypertrophied far beyond its normal use because of brain damage, is the key to the syndrome. It is not that savants remember well – it is that they cannot forget. Inability to forget sets their brains off on an irreversible path.
I would highly recommend this book to all those interested in brain function and beyond. But it is not just fascinating in its own right, it is a vindication of such extraordinary people as May Lemke, devoting themselves to individuals who seem at the outset of their lives to have no hope. Inspirational indeed.
Treffert is an American psychiatrist with an interest in Savant Syndrome, sometimes called Autistic Savant Syndrome or similar terms. Over many years he has come to an understanding of why otherwise severely disabled people can show such extraordinary “islands of genius,” which in even a non-disabled person would be considered remarkable.
The book begins with an overview of the symptoms of the syndrome and of its historical background. There have been some savants noted in the past, with Blind Tom the one Treffert mentions most often. Usually what is seen is a radically reduced IQ (typically around the 50 mark), with considerable difficulty in such tasks as eating and drinking, dressing, and so on. Savants typically have few or no social skills, and when young are often considered beyond help.
Treffert then describes a few savants, with one, Leslie Lemke, being a personal acquaintance of his. Leslie Lemke is described by Treffert as the most extraordinary savant he has ever met or heard of. Soon after birth Lemke was given up as beyond reach by medicine, but he was fostered by a truly remarkable woman, May Lemke, who despite Leslie being blind, retarded and unable to perform even the most basic of personal tasks, took him and fostered him with devotion. In fact (as Treffert observes, and later discusses) May Lemke was the making of her extraordinary foster-son.
Leslie Lemke can remember and play back on the piano any tune, song or piece of music that he hears, with no mistakes and after just one listen. This concrete, perfect, recapitulating type of memory is considered by Treffert to be the foundation of most, if not all instances of Savant Syndrome, and later in the book he gives his opinion on what that implies. But Leslie Lemke can do more than just recall perfectly and replay on a piano. Nourished and loved by May, he grew and flourished, and now is able to walk, to eat, and dress himself. But most remarkable of all given the typical route of such savants, he can improvise musical themes on the piano that work with the music he hears; and that truly is extraordinary, since the vast majority of savants are unable to generalise from concrete mental information.
The final sections of the book deal with Treffert’s view of what Savant Syndrome is. He thinks it is a response to a number of birth accidents, including premature birth, excessive use of oxygen at birth, and other issues. The relatively common triad of blindness, Savant Syndrome and phenomenal musical ability is in his view significant. He thinks one variety of memory is hypertrophied by the brain in response to a particular type of left-hemisphere damage, which most if not all savants suffer from. Human beings have three types of memory: short-term, medium-term prior to the setting down of long-term, and long-term itself. This recapitulating medium-term memory, hypertrophied far beyond its normal use because of brain damage, is the key to the syndrome. It is not that savants remember well – it is that they cannot forget. Inability to forget sets their brains off on an irreversible path.
I would highly recommend this book to all those interested in brain function and beyond. But it is not just fascinating in its own right, it is a vindication of such extraordinary people as May Lemke, devoting themselves to individuals who seem at the outset of their lives to have no hope. Inspirational indeed.
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