Daniel Tammet
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| Daniel Paul Tammet | |
|---|---|
| Image:Daniel Tammet at Reykjavik University.jpg Daniel Tammet speaking at Reykjavík University | |
| Born | January 31 1979 Template:Country data UK London, England, UK |
| Spouse | Neil Mitchell |
| Website | www.optimnem.co.uk |
Daniel Paul Tammet (b. January 31, 1979; London, England) is a British high-functioning autistic savant, gifted with a facility for mathematics problems, sequence memory, and natural language learning. He was born with congenital childhood epilepsy.
Biography
Synesthesia
Experiencing numbers as colors or sensations is a well-documented form of synesthesia, but the detail and specificity of Tammet's mental imagery of numbers is unique. In his mind, he says, each number up to 10,000 has its own unique shape and feel, that he can "see" results of calculations as landscapes, and that he can "sense" whether a number is prime or composite. He has described his visual image of 289 as particularly ugly, 333 as particularly attractive, and pi as beautiful.[1] Tammet not only verbally describes these visions, but also creates artwork, particularly watercolor paintings, such as his painting of Pi.
Tammet was the subject of a documentary in the UK entitled The Boy With The Incredible Brain, which was first broadcast on the British television Channel 5 on May 24, 2005.[1] The documentary showed highlights of his pi recitation feat, and his meeting with Kim Peek, another individual famous for having savant skills. In one emotional moment of the show, Peek hugged Tammet and told him, "Some day you will be as great as I am."
Pi
Tammet holds the European record for memorising and recounting pi to 22,514 digits in just over five hours.[1] This sponsored charity challenge was held in aid of the National Society for Epilepsy (NSE) on “Pi Day”, March 14, 2004, at the Museum of the History of Science, Oxford, UK.[1] The NSE was chosen to benefit from this event because of Tammet's experience with epilepsy as a young child. Professor Allan Snyder at the Australian National University said of Tammet: "Savants can't usually tell us how they do what they do. It just comes to them. Daniel can. He describes what he sees in his head. That's why he's exciting. He could be the 'Rosetta Stone'."[1]
Language mastery
Tammet speaks a variety of languages including English, French, Finnish, German, Spanish, Lithuanian, Romanian, Estonian, Icelandic, Welsh and Esperanto. He particularly likes Estonian, because it is rich in vowels. Tammet is creating a new language called Mänti. Mänti has many features related to Finnish and Estonian, both of which are Finno-ugric languages. Some sources credit Tammet as creating the Uusisuom and Lapsi languages as well.[1]
Tammet is capable of learning new languages very quickly. To prove this for a Channel Five documentary, Tammet was challenged to learn Icelandic in one week, a language with a popular reputation as one of the world's most difficult languages to learn.[1][1] Seven days later he appeared on Icelandic television conversing in Icelandic, with his Icelandic language instructor saying it was "not human." Segments of the interview showing Tammet responding to questions in Icelandic, were televised on the January 28, 2007 edition of the American News show 60 Minutes.[1]
Born on a Blue Day
In 2006, Tammet traveled to the United States to promote his memoir, Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant.[1] While in the US, he appeared on several television and radio talk shows and specials, including 60 Minutes and David Letterman's Late Show.[1] In February, 2007, Born on a Blue Day was serialised as BBC Radio 4's Book of the Week in the United Kingdom.
Personal life
Tammet and his domestic partner, software engineer Neil Mitchell, have been together for six years. They live together in Kent where they have a quiet regimented life at home with their cats, prepare their meals from their garden, and prefer their privacy.[1][1] Tammet and Mitchell together operate the online e-learning company, Optimnem, where they create and publish language courses. Tammet has publicly discussed his relationship with Mitchell, his savant abilities, and his sexual orientation.[1][1]
See also
References
External links
- A Look at an Autistic Savant's Brilliant Mind from NPR's Talk of the Nation
- Brainman program from The Science Channel
- Optimnem, Tammet's e-learning company
- Video excerpt from Daniel Tammet, the Brainman documentary
- Daniel, the Incredible Brain
- 60 Minutes report on Daniel Tammet
- Daniel Tammet on The Late Show
- Tammet, Daniel; Safer, Morely. (2006). 60 Minutes: Brain Man (.SWF) [video]. United Kingdom: CBS News; Yahoo! News. Retrieved on 2007-03-03.de:Daniel Tammet
et:Daniel Tammet fr:Daniel Tammet ko:다니엘 태멧 he:דניאל טאמט no:Daniel Tammetfi:Daniel Tammet sv:Daniel Tammet
Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content
Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .
