Rob Lammle
The Amazing Stories of 6 Sudden Savants
by Rob Lammle - June 29, 2010 - 12:52 PM

For nearly 50 years, Dr. Darold Treffert of the University of Wisconsin has been studying savants—developmentally disabled people who demonstrate exceptional levels of genius in one particular skill set. Most savants are born with their unique abilities, but a small number are what Treffert calls “acquired savants,” people who had their talents unlocked after an illness or injury affected the brain. These cases have led Treffert and other researches to theorize that we might all have these capabilities lying dormant in our minds. Here are the stories of six acquired savants—they might convince you of the genius inside us all.

1. Dr. Anthony Cicoria

At a park in 1994, Tony Cicoria, an orthopedic surgeon, was hanging up a pay phone when lightning from a gathering storm struck the booth, shooting through the phone and into his head. Luckily, the woman waiting to use the phone was a nurse and she performed CPR, saving his life. After a few weeks, Cicoria recovered and everything seemed to return to normal.

Shortly afterwards, he had a mysterious, insatiable need to listen to classical piano music. But he soon found that just listening to the music wasn’t cutting it. So, despite never showing any desire to play an instrument before, he bought sheet music and began teaching himself the piano. Learning was slow going though, because instead of playing the Chopin composition in front of him, he kept wanting to play the melodies that were echoing inside his head instead. When he realized these songs were of his own creation, he began furiously writing them down until he had dozens composed. In 2008, Cicoria released a CD of his music called, Notes From An Accidental Pianist and Composer. His best-known song from the album is fittingly titled, “The Lightning Sonata.”

2. Tommy McHugh

Britain’s Tommy McHugh was in the bathroom getting ready for work as a carpenter when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head. Blood began running out his nose, eyes, and ears, and he collapsed to the floor. It took five hours for surgeons to stop the bleeding from two aneurysms, but, miraculously, he survived. When he returned home, McHugh, with no previous interest whatsoever in the arts, was overtaken by a powerful urge to create.

It began with scribbled poetry that filled notebooks, then drawings flowed out of him without any conscious thought. But he truly found his outlet when he started painting.

McHugh’s artwork is made up primarily of faces, which he describes as his personality crying for help to save him from his obsession. McHugh has said the images in his mind change so rapidly that by the time he’s started painting, that image has been replaced by another, which he feels compelled to paint as well. Because of the constantly evolving pictures in his head, his home is covered in paintings—on canvas, on the walls, even on the ceiling and floor. When he runs out of space to paint, he simply covers previous works. He estimates there are some areas of his house with a layer of paint three inches thick, hiding dozens of pieces underneath.

His compulsion keeps him painting for an average of 18 hours a day, seven days a week. He recently opened a gallery with artwork for sale to help support himself and his uncontrollable obsession.

3. Patient X

A young man living in a sanitarium in the early part of the 20th century was known in medical journals only as “X.” He was reported to be 23 years old, but had a mental age of only seven. Earlier in life, he was a very healthy, even gifted 3-year-old musician, who had already learned how to sing songs in English, German, French, and Hungarian. He was just starting to learn the piano when he contracted pneumonia and meningitis. Sadly, the illness stunted his mental development. When he was moved to the institution for care, his IQ was measured as 46.

During his time in the hospital, X was continually drawn to the piano. His doctors soon discovered that inside this otherwise feeble mind lived a musical genius. After hearing a song or reading sheet music only once, he could play the tune flawlessly. And he could recall that song again at a moment’s notice, even if it had been years since he last performed it.

Despite his amazing talent with performing music, he was never able to write his own compositions, because he seemed to lack the capacity for creativity. He was, for lack of a better term, a living jukebox with a catalog of hundreds of songs, all played from memory.

4. Sabine

By the time Sabine entered school at the age of six years old in 1910, she had thus far lived a perfectly healthy, happy life. But shortly after she began her education, she contracted typhoid fever, which caused convulsions, followed by an extended period of unconsciousness. The illness left her blind, mute, and with a childlike personality that she never outgrew. Over time, her sight returned, as did a low-level of speech functions, but she was still incapable of taking care of herself.

Around the age of 13, Sabine became interested in coins and buttons. For whatever reason, she preferred separating these items into groups of 16. While teaching her this basic arithmetic to learn the value of her money, doctors soon realized she could perform much more complex calculations including addition, subtraction, division, and multiplication with astonishing ease. For example, she could square any number from 11 to 99 in 10 seconds or less. When asked to multiply 23 x 23, she would almost immediately answer 529. But what really surprised researchers was her ability to solve the problem in a different way, just as quickly, by somehow integrating her beloved number 16. So when she answered 529, she would also point out that 529 was the same as 33 x 16 + 1. For 14 x 14, she could quickly answer 196, and then promptly follow it up with, “Or 12 x 16 + 4.”

5. Orlando Serrell

Ask Orlando Serrell what day of the week it was on August 17, 1979, and he could tell you. That was the day 10-year old Serrell was playing baseball and got hit on the left side of the head. He finished the rest of the game, so he figured he was OK and never sought medical attention, despite a headache that lasted for days.

When the headache went away, Serrell found he had a special talent called “calendar calculating.” Toss out any date since his accident—say, February 28, 1990—and almost immediately Serrell will tell you what day of the week that date fell on (it was a Wednesday, by the way). Most of the time, he can even tell you what the weather was like that day in Virginia, where he lives.

He hasn’t memorized calendars or any kind of complicated algorithms in order to perform these feats; he says he can just see the answers in front of him. Aside from his unusual abilities, Serrell will be the first to admit he’s otherwise a pretty average guy.

6. Alonzo Clemons

Alonzo Clemons was always good with his hands. At the age of two, he was drawn to Play-Doh, sculpting and molding it for hours at a time. When he was three, Clemons fell and sustained a serious head injury that changed his life forever. For years, he was unable to speak, tie his shoes, or even dress himself. Doctors determined he had an IQ of 40. The only time Clemons really seemed to come alive was when he held a piece of clay.

Clemons can look at any animal—from a horse to a dolphin to a rhinoceros—for just a few moments, and then, using only his hands, create a very detailed, three-dimensional replica out of clay or wax. And while he sculpts, he will only access the images in his mind for reference. These images, with his very precise sense of touch, are so accurate that he can even sculpt in the dark. For years his work was based on photographs, which gave his pieces a static, vacant style. But when he began visiting zoos and horse stables, observing the animals in motion, his art became expressive, flowing, and alive.

At about the same time, Clemons showed signs of improvement in everyday abilities. He began talking, albeit only in short phrases, but his progression over the years has helped him hold down a part-time job and learn to take care of himself. He even took up another hobby, power lifting, a sport he participates in at the Special Olympics.

Clemons has made quite a name for himself in the art community. His 12” bronze statues routinely sell for around $1,000 each. He’s also sold larger commissions, like his most famous work, “Three Frolicking Foals,” one of his only life-sized statues. Most artists would require months to create a large piece with the same level of detail. But Clemons finished “Foals” in just 15 days.
* * * * *
If you could tap into your brain for one exceptional ability, what would it be? Tell us about it in the comments below!

More from mental_floss…

5 Amazing Stories of Messages in Bottles
*
9 Muppets Kicked Off Sesame Street
*
Brother Against Brother: The Great Confederate Snowball Fight of 1863
*
31 Unbelievable High School Mascots
*
22 Fictional Characters Whose Names You Don’t Know

twitterbanner.jpg

shirts-555.jpg

tshirtsubad_static-11.jpg

« Previous Post   -   Next Post »
Click here to get a Risk-Free issue of mental_floss magazine
Comments (32)

  1. I’m not sure but I’d definitely want to be able to save the world with it.

    posted by Joseph Rewald on 6-29-2010 at 1:16 pm

  2. I had an aneurysm rupture seven years ago but have yet to discover a hidden talent. Guess I will keep waiting!

    posted by Eltsmith on 6-29-2010 at 1:23 pm

  3. I think it would be amazing to see something once and be able to draw it. There was a savant we studied in psychology (I can’t remember his name so if someone knows that would be great) that saw the Tokyo skyline once in a fifteen minute flyby and was able to reproduce it. That is pretty incredible.

    posted by tessa on 6-29-2010 at 1:45 pm

  4. All of these savants suffer greatly for their abilities, so I’d have to pass.

    posted by KAR on 6-29-2010 at 1:50 pm

  5. I’d access the ability to remember where I put my car keys, or the TV remote, or…

    posted by wordkyle on 6-29-2010 at 2:17 pm

  6. to hear/see any language and memorize what it meant, sounded like, and looked like

    posted by m on 6-29-2010 at 2:22 pm

  7. Anything would suffice just to live blissfully & teach others to live on their own as aboriginal people did, so we stop degrading the earth and stop being consumers of this culture that is not taking us anywhere other than a supernova effect…

    posted by Momo on 6-29-2010 at 2:39 pm

  8. Easy there Momo… deep breaths.

    posted by Eric on 6-29-2010 at 3:05 pm

  9. @tessa: this may be the guy: http://www.stephenwiltshire.co.uk/index.aspx

    posted by Betsy on 6-29-2010 at 3:12 pm

  10. I am with KAR. Be careful what you wish for, you might just get it.

    posted by Hyacinth on 6-29-2010 at 4:00 pm

  11. For completely musical look into this phenomena, I would recommend a book called “Musicophilia” by Oliver Sacks. A truly mind blowing book about people with various levels of musical ability – either completely non existent or savant like quality – and the music’s relation ship with various physiological and neurological disorders. It probably ranks up there as a life-changing book for me as a musician.

    posted by Justin L on 6-29-2010 at 4:12 pm

  12. Dr. Emmett Brown slipped while hanging a clock, hit his head on the sink, and invented the Flux Capacitor which is what makes time travel possible…

    posted by Chris on 6-29-2010 at 4:26 pm

  13. I had a brain injury a few years back, and I have counted to infinty. Twice.

    posted by Matt on 6-29-2010 at 4:59 pm

  14. Supernova effect? Go sell your crazy somewhere else Momo

    posted by Yams on 6-29-2010 at 6:18 pm

  15. It’s disputable, of course, but Peter Hurkos could possibly fit into this category. Falling from a painting scaffolding when he was 30, he claimed to have woken up with increased psychic abilities. Some contend it was all a parlor trick (including The Amazing Randi . . . not a surprise there), nevertheless, he was credited with providing some interesting clues to infamous crime cases, including The Boston Strangler. But we’ll never really know if he was a sudden savant or just a master showman.

    posted by Drew on 6-29-2010 at 7:01 pm

  16. Dr. Emmett Brown! Chris you win the gold star of the comment thread.

    posted by kat on 6-29-2010 at 10:04 pm

  17. Savant means someone who is intellectually disalbled but a genius in one area. Most of the people are not intellectually disabled so they are not savants. Only patient X, Sabine, and Alonso Clemons are truely savants.

    I knew an Autisic person who had “calender calculating” abilities.

    posted by Canadiana on 6-30-2010 at 12:34 am

  18. I have a cousin with Aspergers sydrome (autistic spectrum disorder). He can do the calendar calculations, play piano pieces after hearing them once, and once had a fixation with road maps(basically, he was a human predecessor to the GPS) among other things. He can pretty much care for himself (though still living with his parents) but has a very hard time reading people’s faces or catching the meaning of subtle jokes. This is typical of individuals with Aspergers syndrome. Personally, I believe some of those listed above have or had Aspergers. Just where it would cross over into becomming a Savant, I really don’t know. However, it’s clear that a portion of the brain is not functioning properly and another portion is “super-charged,” for lack of a better word. I noticed that much of their unusual abilities have something to do with their memory, and/or seeing images in their mind.

    posted by Rachel on 6-30-2010 at 4:27 am

  19. Huh- this is the second time I’ve heard of a sudden artist. The Newark Star-Ledger did a profile on Jon Sarkin.
    Great stuff

    http://www.nj.com/starledger/sarkin/

    For my own talents? Wish I could have a fast fluency with languages.
    Or any improvement in my ability with math or with reading and understanding maps would feel superhuman compared to how it frustrates me now.

    posted by Elizabeth W on 6-30-2010 at 9:08 am

  20. If I had a “savant-like” ability (although I’m already pretty socially stupid so it might be an ACTUAL savant ability if I had it, lol) I’d agree with m and want to (like in the movie Phenomenon) be able to hear/review a language once and be fluent. I’m studying Japanese right now and it is haaaaaaaard….

    posted by Ashley on 6-30-2010 at 9:51 am

  21. While recognizing what savants (acquired or otherwise) can do when parts of their mind are essentially shut off, presumably allowing their conscience to focus on a particular task or set of tasks, it makes me wonder in amazement at the capacity of the human brain.

    posted by Steve C. on 6-30-2010 at 10:12 am

  22. Years ago there was a TV show, I think it was called “Ordinary Extraordinary”. One guy was a private pilot who got hit in the head by a propellor and he became sn amazing sculptor. I don’t know if he qualifies as a savant but it was amazing.

    posted by Andrew Leonhart on 6-30-2010 at 10:43 am

  23. HOLY CR@P!!! As a kid up until about the age of six or sevenm I used to be able to do the same calendar, day of the week thing as number 5 Orlando Serrell. Unlike him, I was obsessed with calendars and would create them however, while I now have zero idea how I did it, the whole knowing what day of the week it was on a given date was not done by straight memorization.

    My parents used to show this ‘ability’ off to friends and stuff and my mother even took me to her child development class in college so that the professor could study this. Finally one day after I had enough of doing it I supposedly walked up to my parents and said ‘The computer is broken’ and I never did the ‘trick’ again.

    Forty years later while as I said, I cannot remember exactly how I did it, I am still somewhat interested in time. When recounting a story, I usually have to put it in context of when it happened even though it may not be that important to the overall story.

    Now, I want to contact this guy!

    posted by Max Power on 6-30-2010 at 12:56 pm

  24. @Canadiana

    The Webster Dictionary defines Savaent as a person of learning, especially: one with detailed knowledge in some specialized field. No mention of having to be disabled in some way.

    posted by Richard on 6-30-2010 at 2:29 pm

  25. Although I am otherwise normal, I have some savant ability, but I can’t control it. It usually happens as I am falling asleep. I will hear music – a song I’ve heard before during the day, and it will play back exactly as though I am listening to it on a stereo. Every word, every note of every instrument. I often wake up wondering who turned on the stereo, only to realize the music is playing in my head.

    Also, if I doze off while reading a familiar book, I will often dream that I am still reading, and will read several pages ahead, only to wake up and discover that I wasn’t really reading, I was only dreaming that I was reading, but the dreams are perfectly accurate.

    Oh, and I have a photographic memory for maps.

    posted by Jeff on 7-1-2010 at 10:21 am

  26. Somebody already mentioned, correctly, that a savant is a person (of any ability, generally speaking) with extensive, specialized knowledge.

    A savant with a mental disability is called an idiot savant, which is not so accurate, because the person may have a somewhat higher IQ than the threshold of the level which was once called idiot, the level is no longer termed as such, and the person is smarter than you and I in one regard, but that is the standard term.

    Thus, all the people above are savants, but only Patient X, Sabine, and Mr. Clemons are or were idiot savants. The rest are, outside of their savantism, of normal to above-normal-but-not-extremely-high intelligence.

    posted by Greta Hoostal on 10-18-2010 at 2:54 pm

  27. I have just learned that I am an acquired savant. At age nine I was walking home from school in my new gogo boots. I gathered steam to slide on a long patch of ice unaware the soles of my boots were very slick. I apparently fell and blacked out. My friend helped me home, although I do not remember. I do remember crying but not why. My mother called my friends house to discover what happened. I had a large egg on the back of my head and did vomit. It was determined I had a concussion. Just about a month later I visited my grandmother. She was a live-in with a family and an adult member was an artist. He asked to do a charcoal portrait of me. I asked to watch as he worked. It took about 40 mins. I was not any different than any other 4th grade student. I enjoyed art class and colored in coloring books. I asked him if I could use his pastels and paper the next day. He agreed. I did a portrait of his father that was comparable to a professional’s. From that day forward I have had artistic skills that have come without training or effort. I have pursued art as my field of interest and also write poetry which I also have never studied.

    I feel grateful for what I consider is a gift. I wish these studies were available at the time of my injury. It certainly would have made it much more understandable.

    posted by A. Estabrook on 10-22-2010 at 7:34 pm

  28. A. Estabrook: That is an amazing story! Thank you so much for sharing it with us.

    Is there any chance you might have some of your work online? I’m sure we’d all love to see it.

    posted by SpaceMonkeyX on 10-23-2010 at 12:32 am

  29. Yes I have recent work that was shown in Cambridge Ma. I can also show the actual portrait I did just after the concussion and a few others just following that time. I’ll have them in an album on face book under my name Alison Estabrook. I look forward to your comments. I’d also like to inform you that I’ve had another concussion at 20 and a MVA with severe whiplash at 38. Subsequently I have had medical problems with my pituitary and adrenal systems and a diagnosis of fibromyalgia. I question if these issues are not just results of the head traumas. In fact I’ve had hallucinations since the first accident, again after the second and sleep paralysis since the whiplash. I was never vocal about these happenings as they were quite disturbing. As I learn more about brain injury I’m coming to understand how bizarre the symptoms are. I feel so fortunate I received the blessing of my artistic skill even more so now.

    posted by A. Estabrook on 10-24-2010 at 5:09 pm

  30. I am one of those. But my CNS was a natural X not a catastrophe. Immune overcomes disfunction equals quantum progression.

    The perfect mutation is Gabe.

    posted by Gabe on 7-16-2011 at 5:38 pm

  31. To be honest,I used to have a skill that may or may not classify me as a savant. I used to feel compelled to write poetry from the age of 14 onward. While my IQ has been evaluated at approximately 80,slightly below average,I don’t know if it qulifies me. I seem to have acquired this skill during a hospitilazation in a mental health facility. I was having trouble sleeping and was diagnosed as manic depressive,or bi-polar. The doctor precribed me a drug cocktail,the names of medications elude me. Shortly after swallowing down this cocktail,I began experiencing stigmata type flashes in my head,Jesus and all(I was raised to be very religeous)and felt compelled to write,and hardly stopped filling up notebooks with short poems of a dark,but telling nature to eat or sleep. Up until about 5 years ago after going through a complete phychotic breakdown,I had that ability. Since it has gone away,to answer you question,I wish to gain my abilities back,or my need to compulsively write,so that once again,I may feel fulfilled.

    posted by PuttinTang* on 9-13-2011 at 2:33 am

  32. I would love to be able to speak any language after just hearing samples of it.

    And I would love to be able to draw people really well–the pencil sketch artist type… :D

    posted by Heather on 10-21-2011 at 4:07 pm

Comment

commenting policy