The discovery channel recently aired "The Real Superhumans and the Quest for the Future Fantastic," witness the amazing stories of real people with extraordinary super powers. http://www.discoveryhd.ca/shows/castlist.aspx?sid=4608 

 

 

Rüdiger Gamm of Welzheim, Germany, is The Human Calculator! At 35 years old, he can instantly solve complex mathematical formulas inside his head. Gamm can multiply higher powers and divide two prime numbers to 60 decimals - 84 to the power of 17; 42 to the power of 100; 31 divided by 61.

 

Elizabeth Sulser, of Zurich, Switzerland, is a 29-year old synaesthete. Synaesthesia is an extremely rare neurological condition characterized by the fusing of senses. For Sulser, this means the involuntary fusion of sound, sight and taste.

 

Esref Armagan, of Ankara, Turkey, is a 53-year-old blind painter. Blind since birth, Armagan is a gifted visual artist who can draw and paint in three dimensions; drawing comparisons to Renaissance architect Filippo Brunelleschi, the first artist to master three point perspective.

 

Wim Hof, a 47-year-old man who lives in Amsterdam, Netherlands, is the Iceman. Hof can endure extreme cold temperatures and has broken two world records to prove it. He once spent more than an hour buried up to his neck in ice. Then, only a few weeks later, he swam under the surface of a frozen lake for more than 50 metres wearing only trunks and goggles.

 

Today morning NPR while I was driving to work there was short segment about AJ (fictitious name to preserve her identity) about her remarkable autobiographical memory. She vividly remembers all her past personal daily events/details (How the house smelled; which restaurant she went on a randomly chosen day, etc) dating back to 1974.   Interestingly she had trouble remembering poetry, history dates in school and she writes down her grocery list.  She doesn’t use any conventional memorizing techniques (mnemonics, peg system etc) she just feels it – like going back in time to any given moment. Neuro-scientists say this is a remarkable and a rare phenomenon will open a whole new avenue of research in the study of learning and memory.

 

~ Srinath

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Did you get a chance to watch the Discovery channel show BrainMan -- about the incredible Daniel Tammet, who amazed with his Savant abilities?  Unfortunately I watched only from the middle -- his skills were tested at Vegas, then with Brain researchers testing his Math skills & finally learn language of Iceland (considered the most complex language) in 7 days & attend an interview on their national TV.  I am waiting for the The Real RainMan show due this spring about the world famous Kim Peek. Described as 'a living Google' & inspired the movie Rain Main played by Dustin Hoffman.

 

At the tail end of the show they mentioned about Dr. Darold Treffert who dedicated his life studying Savant Syndrome. Interesting site & resources.

 

~ Srinath