Brain Man

One Man's Gift May Be The Key To Better Understanding The Brain

(CBS)  Yet the limits of his autism are always there. "I find it difficult to walk in the street sometimes if there are lots of people around me. If there's lots of noise, I put my fingers in my ears to block it out,' he says.

That anxiety keeps him close to home. He can’t drive, rarely goes shopping, and finds the beach a difficult place because of his compulsion to count the grains of sand. And it manifests itself in other ways, like making a very precise measurement of his cereal each morning: it must be exactly 45 grams of porridge, no more, no less.

Daniel was recently profiled in a British documentary called “Brainman.” The producers posed a challenge that he could not pass up: Learn a foreign language in a week - and not just any foreign language, but Icelandic, considered to be one of the most difficult languages to learn.

In Iceland, he studied and practiced with a tutor. When the moment of truth came and he appeared on TV live with a host, the host said, "I was amazed. He was responding to our questions. He did understand them very well and I thought that his grammar was very good. We are very proud of our language and that someone is able to speak it after only one week, that’s just great."

"Do you think that Daniel, in a certain way, represents a real pathway to further understanding the brain?" Safer asks Dr. Ramachandran.

"I think one could say that time and again in science, something that looks like a curiosity initially often leads to a completely new direction of research," Ramachandran replies. "Sometimes, they provide the golden key. Doesn't always happen. Sometimes it's just mumbo-jumbo. But that may well be true with savants."

Daniel continues to volunteer for scientists who want to understand his amazing brain. But he is reluctant to become what he calls “a performing seal” and has refused most offers to cash in on his remarkable skills.

"People all the time asking me to choose numbers for the lottery. Or to invent a time machine. Or to come up with some great discovery," he explains. "But my abilities are not those that mean that I can do at everything."

But he has written a book about his experiences, entitled "Born on a Blue Day."

He also does motivational speeches for parents of autistic children-yet one more gift of his remarkable brain.

But at the end of the day-genius or not-that brain does work a little differently.

"One hour after we leave today, and I will not remember what you look like. And I will find it difficult to recognize you, if I see you again. I will remember your handkerchief. And I will remember you have four buttons on your sleeve. And I'll remember the type of tie you're wearing. It's the details that I remember," Tammet tells Safer.

And it’s the details that make us all so different. One man may see numbers as a tedious necessity of modern life, another sees them as the essence of life.

"Pi is one of the most beautiful things in all the world and if I can share that joy in numbers, if I can share that in some small measure with the world through my writing and through my speaking, then I feel that I will have done something useful," he says.

[kksg1996]

Would like to connect with wrighbower at 1:20 PM: Jan 29,2007. My granddaughter also has asperber's and she is 10 years old and looking for a penpal. It would be good for her to connect with someone who understand and someone that she can understand.
Please respond:Marilyn Pettigrew..Manchester NH
[e-mail]

[anotherjg]

Thank you for sharing a view of such intellect with 60-minutes viewers!! I am so excited to see such demonstration of intellect - most fascinated by the image of pi and would like to see the image of the golden section. Most wonderful to consider such beauty! Would Daniel show us?
Julie Grabel
Huntington Beach, CA

[anotherjg]

Thank you for sharing a view of such intellect with 60-minutes viewers!! I am so excited to see such demonstration of intellect - most fascinated by the image of pi and would like to see the image of the golden section. Most wonderful to consider such beauty! Would Daniel show us?
Julie Grabel
Huntington Beach, CA

[nsmom]

I thought last night's episode was great, but I thought the story on "Brain Man" was absolutely fascinating. What an insight to the human brain.

ABE25425's comment that Daniel didn't like the number 333 is incorrect. It was 289 he didn't like, and really liked 333.

[abe25425-2009]

Believe it was a mistake when Safer referred to 333 as chubby as response to Daniel saying it not so beautiful of a number to him. The discussion point was about how Daniel sees numbers as images, we saw how he sees Pi a couple times. When he was saying 333 was not beautiful he meant I believe how his translated image of the number apppears, but that image is not some coloring in of "333," rather it is an entirely different image that his mind translates. Safer's comment about 333 appearing chubby seemed to reveal he was missing Daniel's point.

[billzor]

Daniel's website is: www.optimnem.co.uk. he maintains a blog, offers tutoring, and you can order an autographed copy of his book. He is a remarkable, nice, soft spoken man. A true gentleman, in every sense. A hero for me.

[bswood1]

As my husband and I watched this segment, we were amazed at the similarities with our 6 year old son. He has been diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome as well. He can tell you the day of the week a particular date will or did fall on, which totally amazes others. He memorizes many things and is often obsessed with doing this. He is also quite sensitive to sounds and has difficulty with social interaction with peers. We would love to learn more and would like information on dealing with his various daily issues. Thanks for the wonderful story, it really hit home for us.

[desertmaid-2009]

My 7 yr old son has high funtioning autism. In a group of kids his own age, you cannot single him out. However, he has incredible math and memory skills. He also does the age/birthday calculations and calendar memoization. He is in 2nd grade, but is bored in his math class. He just told me recently, "My computer types it into my brain and then BAM! It tells me the answer. Then I tell my teacher." People who don't know about his condition don't notice anthing unique about him, until he starts telling them how old they will be in the year 2035! He amazes me every day.

[carole-line]

Thank you for that wonderful story. I will definately go out and buy the book, being the mom of an autistic child I appreciate all the "insight" I can get. For Daniel... 3.1416 is all I have to say. Cheers and thank you again.

[wmh_seattle]

Anyone who wants to learn more about synesthesia and incredible feats of memory should read A.R. Luria's "The Mind of a Mnemonist".

[wrightbower]

What an interesting and fabulous story! I can't wait to read the book. I appreciate any positive educational media production about Asperger's Syndrome as many people are unaware. I would not call Asperger's Syndrome a mild form of autism. My son has Asperger's Syndrome and there is nothing mild about his challenges. Please know that many individuals with Aspergers are gifted and quite bright; not every one is a savant. Learning and living in this world is a huge challenge for individuals with Asperger's Syndrome; they require specialized educational techniques and help with developing social skills and relationships. There needs to be more research about Asperger's Synrdome. Please support the Autism Society of America, MAAP, and other organizations which aspire to improve the lives of individuals with Asapergers and their families. Professor Linda Wright-Bower, Fort Wayne, Indiana

[swendoog]

Never underestimate the abilities of the man/woman next to you!

[narrator3]

CBS: fascinating story. Especially intriguing Daniel Tammet%u2019s images of numbers. They remind me of the images created by followers of anthroposophy & other meditative movements

[dashbaugh]

I work at a middle school with a child with aspergers. He will memorize word for word along with facial expression and actions every cartoon he watches. He is also very good with numbers. It was encoraging to watch your program last night. I see hope for my student to make it in this world. I can't wait to read "Born on a Blue Day."

[lkh85]

Interesting that Daniel had alot of siblings and can interact socially. My 17 yr. old son who was diagnosed at age 15 with high functioning aspergers, has problems with social skills. Not being able to put a finger on what made him different I overly protected him, and he just has one sibling. My son is some what a whiz at math and he loves keeping statistics. Very interested in finding Daniels book.

[random_radar]

If you are curious about the strange things that can happen to our brain, read the book "The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat" by Oliver Sacks. Really interesting things can happen due to brain lesions.

[joyalton]

Then there are those of us who can remember numbers fairly well eg. phone numbers and social security numbers but strike out on trying to remember names. The mind is a wonderous thing.

[tinacolada00]

I have a 20 year old autistic son. While he does not display any savant characteristics besides memorizing movies, jingles, voices, etc;
He can drive a car! Makes me nervous, but...
I look forward to reading Daniel's book as much as I read all of Temple Grandin's and Oliver Sacks's books. Temple is another one that can describe her brain processes: such as not they are not in words or pictures but a video tape.
Tina Cooper

[redrumjoe666]

Thanks for running this piece. Sharing many traits of Daniel myself, and many of his difficulties, its nice to see I'm not alone in the world.

[joshua141]

That piece really was something. I have a psychology teacher who would be really intrested in seeing it. Is there any way to get a copy?