[$_$]

Just finished watching this docu, it's really good. I've seen other movies about synesthesia, it's very interesting because he is one of the few that can describe it properly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbASOcqc1Ss

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfoGsXYLxcs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7oEdE2XjXE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqLzoiVzEY8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMz3gjl9x-M

[dogeatcookie]

LOL when I heard the name of the professor in the second vid, I had to double check cuz I thought he said Sasha Baron Cohen. That'd be fuckin hilarious!

[tiger_handheld]

i hope science does not chew him up and spit him out. hope he goes on to do something useful =)

[$_$]

For people interested in synesthesia, there is a japanese movie made called "Synesthesia" in 2006. It's kind of fucked up, and the movie itself is not that great, but how the portray synesthesia and those that have it is very interesting as well.

[tegz]

I had a teacher in grade 5 who memorized all the lord of the rings books word for word... When she told me this I picked up the book on her desk and told her to read page 63 of the book, and without hesitating she read the first paragraph and I was convinced!!

[soujiro]

Wow this was really a great watch, very thought provoking and really tells us how much there is to learn when it comes to the human mind. I think this was really well produced but it leaves you wanting more, which is also not bad because it does not overload your brain and gives you time to think things over.

Overall though, I think that they're doing a tremendous amount of research on this already but it hasn't really received a lot of public attention because it also stumbles on areas in science that might be regarded as potentially unethical... Like tweaking peoples brains at birth or even later on to become super smart or something.

[$_$]

Wow this was really a great watch, very thought provoking and really tells us how much there is to learn when it comes to the human mind. I think this was really well produced but it leaves you wanting more, which is also not bad because it does not overload your brain and gives you time to think things over.

Overall though, I think that they're doing a tremendous amount of research on this already but it hasn't really received a lot of public attention because it also stumbles on areas in science that might be regarded as potentially unethical... Like tweaking peoples brains at birth or even later on to become super smart or something.

Doesn't it fascinate you, while at the same time disappoint, knowing that people's brains might all have this kind of potential? I mean, these people don't seem extra-ordinary, they just seem to have parts of their brain either linked or awakened. If only we knew how to open up our minds fully, and use it to it's full capabilities. Imagine the things we could accomplish.

[hal0g0dv2]

wow the rain man is fucking sweet

[tegz]

Doesn't it fascinate you, while at the same time disappoint, knowing that people's brains might all have this kind of potential? I mean, these people don't seem extra-ordinary, they just seem to have parts of their brain either linked or awakened. If only we knew how to open up our minds fully, and use it to it's full capabilities. Imagine the things we could accomplish.

Yeah dude, I really wonder where neuroscience will be in 50 years.. There's literally no foreseeable limit to the human mind.. I'm scared of people purposefully doing alterations to their minds, kinda like surgeries, to open up their potential and getting way ahead in terms of the development of the human race...

[asahai69]

Mind Blasting

[Culture_Vulture]

great video,
this could be the founding of the X-Men in real life :lol

[m4k4v4li]

r u fucking serious he split the 7s twice and got 21X3 against a 10 !!!

[rien]

Rainman reads a page in 10 seconds each eye on a different page holy! Interesting watch
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)

[Berzerker]

I wanna see a special on the real rainman... that guy is epic.

Berz out.

[vahidpooyan]

I wanna see a special on the real rainman... that guy is epic.

Berz out.

Here you go...

Part 1 is blocked by Stanford, but you can watch it here: http://realrainman.blogspot.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJjAbs-3kc8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Auufbu_ZdDI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRPxMDj33S4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1aA5osvYgY

[TheKingdom2000]

This is just amazing because we aren't used to seeing this. Amazing none the less.

i'd rather have kobe's skills than this guys.

[jACEDesignsLtd]

Nice thread.

I remember, K., an autistic boy I helped tutor when he was small. K did what that Rain Man guy did with the dates and the days. As an example, I would open my calender and ask him like what day is Nov. 7, 2008 and K would pause for a bit... then he'd say "FRIDAY!" There were times that he was wrong but it was like a day earlier or after off--still super incredible to witness. The other thing K. did was memorize maps. I would ask him where this street in Vancouver was and he would flip to the map and point it out.

There's others who have autistic talents (these below come to mind):
Stephen W., who can draw landscapes from memory - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVqRT_kCOLI.
Temple, Autistic lady who holds a PhD - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_Grandin
Jason W. - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZH5DuAtM6s

incredible stories

[Levitron]

Overall though, I think that they're doing a tremendous amount of research on this already but it hasn't really received a lot of public attention because it also stumbles on areas in science that might be regarded as potentially unethical... Like tweaking peoples brains at birth or even later on to become super smart or something.

And indeed there is. Lots...actually the Baron Cohen guy is one of the leading autism researchers and I studied a lot of his stuff back when I was still in school. It was kind of weird seeing him talk in person on the video :)

Another guy who is famous for this stuff (and quite a bit more charismatic) is V.S. Ramachandran from the States. He's done a lot of pretty awesome research into how to hack the brain too.

I believe recently there's been some sort of new research that found that passing a current through the brain can improve math scores in normal people. Will need to dig that one up.

[Levitron]

Ramachandran: http://cbc.ucsd.edu/ramabio.html

"Overclocking your brain": http://hothardware.com/News/Overclocking-the-Brains-Math-Skills-With-Electricity/

[TOPEC]

humans only use 10% of their brains while savants probably use 90%

[jerche]

I just wikied kim peek and apparently he died last year in december at the age of 58. What a young age.

[Kamui712]

woa... we just need to find two savants... and we can have a
http://www.starcraft2forum.org/forums/images/avatars/Sc2SiteAvatars/Archon.gif

[1exotic]

http://i52.tinypic.com/2z9gtu9.png

[PiuYi]

i think this shows how much of our brains are devoted to social skills... its like a trade-off, if you lose part of your social skills and gain these phenomenal powers, doesn't it show how phenomenally complex social skills actually are?

and also as amazing as these powers are, they're really nothing to envy, these savants have essentially been born as computers, they are able to perform basic calculations/tasks almost perfectly, but alot of the time lack what makes humans humans

[Jeremy617]

humans only use 10% of their brains while savants probably use 90%


This actually isn't true at all. Normal humans use basically 100% of their brain.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10%25_of_brain_myth

What's sad about savants, is that while yes they are amazing occurrences of nature, none of them ever really seem to put their talents to use to accomplish anything. Daniel could do so much if he had a career, but he instead he's a personal tutor?

[Cillu]

Good watch was good.

[murd0c]

I love stuff like this, it's unbelievable what the human mind can do.

[$_$]

anyone else find it interesting that his interpretation of 1 is all .. bright and godly, while his interpretation of 6 was a void, "felt like nothing". what are the chances eh?

and the way he described PI. its like proving something .. but i don't what.

[soujiro]

anyone else find it interesting that his interpretation of 1 is all .. bright and godly, while his interpretation of 6 was a void, "felt like nothing". what are the chances eh?

and the way he described PI. its like proving something .. but i don't what.


Hmm yeah I thought about that too, and it really got me thinking about the way we view the world in a general scope. Even in modern times we associate some numbers with good and bad luck, depending on which cultures have influenced you or whether or not you are religious as well.

Would you rather be triple 6's or triple 7's? 4 is bad luck in chinese since it sounds like death, and one is special because its a mirror of multiplication. Its all really cool how he sees PI as a wonderful equation and really enjoys calculating it... 25,000 digits and on and on and on.

Also when he was at the casino playing blackjack, I wondered if that was really based on his genius or just pure, blind luck. Imagine if casinos were not filled with flashing lights and a lot of distractions everywhere, people would probably win a lot more since they would be more focused.
:D

[essel]

That is pretty amazing, really shows you what the human mind can do.
Those Japanese kids with the abacus skills are pretty good too

[rJZx]

Amazing post OP.

[dub.g]

hmm we should post more of these kinds of documentary... pretty damn amazing what humans can do

Found this while viewing the Daniel Tamment docu

The Boy who sees without Eyes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLziFMF4DHA

[urrh]

it would be great to be able to learn a new language in a week, but the math part is much more meh to me. we have computers to work the super long math equations for us.
i also wonder about his accent when learning a new language. it'd be cool if he sounded like a native speaker after a week as well

[soujiro]

^ That guy is the real batman

[dub.g]

damn RIP, apparently that blind kid is dead

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhtMXpNW1zc

[TOPEC]

This actually isn't true at all. Normal humans use basically 100% of their brain.


u know i was just being sarcastic right?

[essel]

^^ Damn that's pretty sad, too much taken from him. RIP

[ZenZa]

Great watch.

I was looking up some more info on him. He only ranks 6th in the world with 22514 digits memorized for Pi. The world record is 67890 digits, by a Chinese. Also, Daniel's gay.

[Grandmaster TSE]

sad to see all these people with these abilites pass away at such a young age

[soujiro]

RIP, this reminds me a lot of the Australian guy with no arms and legs

"I may not be able to hold your hands... But I can hold your heart."

[Integgyy]

hmm we should post more of these kinds of documentary... pretty damn amazing what humans can do

Found this while viewing the Daniel Tamment docu

The Boy who sees without Eyes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLziFMF4DHA

holy fuck a real living daredevil

[NinjaAceYork]

This has to be one of the best threads ever. :thumbsup:

[$_$]

The BBC's Fergus Walsh applies an electric current to his brain
Applying a tiny electrical current to the brain could make you better at learning maths, according to Oxford University scientists.
They found that targeting a part of the brain called the parietal lobe improved the ability of volunteers to solve numerical problems.

They hope the discovery could help people with dyscalculia, who may struggle with numbers.

Another expert said effects on other brain functions would need checking.

The findings are reported in the journal Current Biology.

Continue reading the main story
“
Start Quote

We are not advising people to go around giving themselves electric shocks”

Dr Cohen Kadosh
Some studies have suggested that up to one in five people have trouble with maths, affecting not just their ability to complete problems but also to manage everyday activities such as telling the time and managing money.

Neuroscientists believe that activity within the parietal lobe plays a crucial role in this ability, or the lack of it.

When magnetic fields were used in earlier research to disrupt electrical activity in this part of the brain, previously numerate volunteers temporarily developed discalculia, finding it much harder to solve maths problems.

Persistent benefits
The latest research goes a step further, using a one milliamp current to stimulate the parietal lobe of a small number of students.

The current could not be felt, and had no measurable effect on other brain functions.

As it was turned on, the volunteers tried to learn a puzzle which involved substituting numbers for symbols.

Those given the current from right to left across the parietal lobe did significantly better when given, compared to those who were given no electrical stimulation.

The direction of the current was important - those given stimulation running in the opposite direction, left to right, did markedly worse at these puzzles than those given no current, with their ability matching that of an average six-year-old.

The effects were not short-lived, either. When the volunteers whose performance improved was re-tested six months later, the benefits appear to have persisted.

There was no wider effect on general maths ability in either group, just on the ability to complete the puzzles learned as the current was applied.

Dr Cohen Kadosh, who led the study, said: "We are not advising people to go around giving themselves electric shocks, but we are extremely excited by the potential of our findings and are now looking into the underlying brain changes.

"We've shown before that we can induce dyscalculia, and now it seems we might be able to make someone better at maths, so we really want to see if we can help people with dyscalculia.

Continue reading the main story
“
Start Quote

Much bigger and more detailed research is required before any robust claims can be made about the electrical stimulation and maths ability”


Fergus Walsh
Medical correspondent, BBC News
Read more in Fergus's blog
"Electrical stimulation is unlikely to turn you into the next Einstein, but if we're lucky it might be able to help some people to cope better with maths."

Dr Christopher Chambers, from the School of Psychology at Cardiff University, said that the results were "intriguing", and offered the prospect not just of improving numerical skills, but having an impact on a wider range of conditions.

He said: "The ability to tweak activity in parts of the brain, turning it slightly 'up' or 'down' at will, opens the door to treating a range of psychiatric and neurological problems, like compulsive gambling or visual impairments following stroke."

However, he said that the study did not prove that the learning of maths skills was improved, just that the volunteers were better at linking arbitrary numbers and symbols, and he warned that researchers needed to make sure other parts of the brain were unaffected.

"This is still an exciting new piece of research, but if we don't know how selective the effects of brain stimulation are then we don't know what other brain systems could also be affected, either positively or negatively."

Sue Flohr, from the British Dyslexia Association, which also provides support for people with dyscalculia, said the research was welcome.

She said: "It's certainly an under-recognised condition, but it can ruin lives.

"It makes it very hard to do everyday things like shopping or budgeting - you can go into a shop and find you've spent your month's money without realising it."


Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11692799

[SB7]

Long watch but well worth it. Probably one of the most interesting things i've watched in a while.... In regards to that electric shock therapy above. It sounds like something they should try in Jackass in the next movie. Perhaps they will become savants after...

[Levitron]

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11692799

I posted this already last page! :thumbsup:

[Levitron]

And indeed there is. Lots...actually the Baron Cohen guy is one of the leading autism researchers and I studied a lot of his stuff back when I was still in school. It was kind of weird seeing him talk in person on the video :)

Another guy who is famous for this stuff (and quite a bit more charismatic) is V.S. Ramachandran from the States. He's done a lot of pretty awesome research into how to hack the brain too.

I believe recently there's been some sort of new research that found that passing a current through the brain can improve math scores in normal people. Will need to dig that one up.

Ramachandran: http://cbc.ucsd.edu/ramabio.html

"Overclocking your brain": http://hothardware.com/News/Overclocking-the-Brains-Math-Skills-With-Electricity/

Here you go!

[optiblue]

The whole reason why we only use a small percentage of our brains is to allow us to perform normal tasks. Aside from that guy who can do math and function properly, all other savants couldn't even tell you what might happen tomorrow based on facts. In most cases, the cost is higher thinking. They might be able to do math at speeds we can't comprehend, memorize entire libraries, or draw in great detail, but there is no innovation. The more "ability" that they have, the less normal they can function. It seems like those born that way get it worse than those who attain it later!
Posted via RS Mobile (http://www.revscene.net/forums/announcement.php?a=228)