Read the article. Seven sentences have been removed from the text. Choose from the sentences A – H the one which fits each gap. There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.
A Genius Explains
Daniel Tammet is an autistic savant. He can perform amazing mathematical calculations at incredible speeds. But, unlike other savants who can perform similar feats, Tammet can describe how he does it. Now scientists are asking whether his exceptional
abilities are the key to unlocking the secrets of autism.
Interview by Richard Johnson.
Daniel Tammet is talking. As he talks, he studies my shirt and counts the stitches. Ever since the age of three, when he suffered an epileptic fit, Tammet has been obsessed with counting. Now he is 26, and a mathematical genius who can figure out cube
roots quicker than a calculator and recall pi to 22,514 decimal places. пустоD He lives with an extraordinary ability and disability.
Tammet is calculating 377 multiplied by 795. Actually, he isn’t ‘calculating’: there is nothing conscious about what he is doing. пустоB Since his epileptic fit, he has been able to see numbers as shapes, colours and textures. The number five, for instance,
is a clap of thunder. ‘When I multiply numbers together, I see two shapes. The image starts to change and evolve, and a third shape emerges. That’s the answer. It’s mental imagery. It’s like maths without having to think.’
Tammet is a ‘savant’, an individual with an astonishing, extraordinary mental ability. An estimated 10% of the autistic population – and an estimated 1% of the non-autistic population – have savant abilities, but no one knows exactly why. пустоF
Professor Allan Snyder, from the Centre for the Mind at the Australian National University in Canberra, explains why Tammet is of particular scientific interest. ‘Savants can’t usually tell us how they do what they do,’ says Snyder. ‘Daniel can. He
describes what he sees in his head. That’s why he’s exciting. He could be the Rosetta Stone.’
Savants have usually had some kind of brain damage and it is this damage which creates the savant. пустоG While many savants struggle with language and comprehension (skills associated primarily with the left hemisphere), they often have amazing skills
in mathematics and memory (primarily right hemisphere skills). Tammet lives on the south coast of England, just a five-minute walk from the beach. But he never goes there – there are too many pebbles to count. пустоH ‘There’s too much mental stimulus.
I have to look at every shape, texture, price, and arrangement of fruit and vegetables. And instead of thinking, ‘What cheese do I want this week?’ I just feel really uncomfortable.’
Tammet has never been able to work 9 to 5. It would be too difficult to fit around his daily routine. For instance, he has to drink his cups of tea at exactly the same time every day. Things have to happen in the same order: he always brushes his teeth
before he has his shower. ‘I have tried to be more flexible, but I always end up feeling more uncomfortable. Retaining a sense of control is really important.’ пустоE Instead, he has set up a business on his own, at home, writing email courses in language
learning, numeracy, and literacy for private clients. It has had the added benefit of keeping human interaction to a minimum.
Autistic savants have displayed a wide range of talents. пустоA The blind American savant Leslie Lemke played Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto № 1 after hearing it for the first time, and he never had a piano lesson. And the British savant Stephen Wiltshire
was able to draw a highly accurate map of the London skyline from memory after a single helicopter trip over the city. Even so, Tammet could still turn out to be the most significant of all.
A Brain scans suggest that the right hemisphere might be compensating for damage in the left hemisphere.
B He also happens to be autistic, which is why he can’t drive a car, wire a plug, or tell right from left.
C He likes to do things in his own time, and in his own style, so an office with targets and bureaucracy just wouldn’t work.
D He arrives at the answer instantly.
E These range from reciting all nine volumes of Grove’s Dictionary of Music to measuring exact distances with the naked eye.
F Trips to the supermarket are always a chore.
G Few people on the streets have recognised Tammet since his pi record attempt.
H A number of scientists now hope that Tammet might help us to understand better.