Seeing numbers as landscapes
If aliens came to visit our world they would probably see maths and poetry as rather similar types of expression: a symbolic language that hints at reality by using pre-agreed upon conventions.
To us of course, it seems as if poetry and maths are entirely different disciplines, especially because one resonates on an emotional, archetypal level (a shared human basis that aliens would simply not have) and the other relies on more abstract conventions (some of them still archetypal, but far less so).
Enter Daniel Tammet, an autistic savant, who can make what to us appear to be insanely complicated calculations. To us, this appears an expression of genius.
But in his book Embracing the Wide Sky, Tammet prefers to argue that the way we see intelligence and our ideas of how the mind develops puts genius on a pedestal it doesn’t entirely deserve. Tammet explains that the differences between savant and non-savant minds have been exaggerated; his astonishing capacities in memory, math and language are neither due to a cerebral supercomputer nor any genetic quirk, but are rather the results of a highly rich and complex associative form of thinking and imagination. Autistic thought, he argues, is an extreme variation of a kind that we all do, from daydreaming to the use of puns and metaphors.
Especially insightful is how Tammet explains that he sees numbers as ‘objects’. He describes how the number 33 and 101 both have a lumpiness to them, a texture that clearly explains their relationship to him. As a result, what to us are very difficult computations become easier to him, because his mind simply has developed a higher level of associative connections that make otherwise abstract numbers easier to recognize, more intuitive and more ‘intimate’.
“Embracing the Wide Sky” combines meticulous scientific research with Tammet’s detailed descriptions of how his mind works to demonstrate the immense potential within us all. He explains how our natural intuitions can help us to learn a foreign language, why his memories are like symphonies, and what numbers and giraffes have in common. We recognize giraffes because we remember their yellow tones, their blacks spots, their long necks. We remember parts of it and how they fit together to give us the unique idea of a giraffe. Tammet argues he simply does the same with numbers.
To us of course, it seems as if poetry and maths are entirely different disciplines, especially because one resonates on an emotional, archetypal level (a shared human basis that aliens would simply not have) and the other relies on more abstract conventions (some of them still archetypal, but far less so).
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| Daniel Tammet |
But in his book Embracing the Wide Sky, Tammet prefers to argue that the way we see intelligence and our ideas of how the mind develops puts genius on a pedestal it doesn’t entirely deserve. Tammet explains that the differences between savant and non-savant minds have been exaggerated; his astonishing capacities in memory, math and language are neither due to a cerebral supercomputer nor any genetic quirk, but are rather the results of a highly rich and complex associative form of thinking and imagination. Autistic thought, he argues, is an extreme variation of a kind that we all do, from daydreaming to the use of puns and metaphors.
Especially insightful is how Tammet explains that he sees numbers as ‘objects’. He describes how the number 33 and 101 both have a lumpiness to them, a texture that clearly explains their relationship to him. As a result, what to us are very difficult computations become easier to him, because his mind simply has developed a higher level of associative connections that make otherwise abstract numbers easier to recognize, more intuitive and more ‘intimate’.
“Embracing the Wide Sky” combines meticulous scientific research with Tammet’s detailed descriptions of how his mind works to demonstrate the immense potential within us all. He explains how our natural intuitions can help us to learn a foreign language, why his memories are like symphonies, and what numbers and giraffes have in common. We recognize giraffes because we remember their yellow tones, their blacks spots, their long necks. We remember parts of it and how they fit together to give us the unique idea of a giraffe. Tammet argues he simply does the same with numbers.
In learning how to memorize long and difficult passages, we are often given the advice to try and create associations in our mind to facilitate the process. Tammet takes the view that all intelligence is largely based on such a system. Sure IQ plays a part in all of this, but its role is exaggerated, and by embracing the power of association, visualization and connecting the abstract to our natural intuition, perhaps we could develop our ability to learn in previously unexpected ways.
Seeing numbers as landscapes
Reviewed by Unknown
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Reviewed by Unknown
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