ACCIDENTAL GENIUS

Better than Genius

I find it quite incongruous that savants are NOT considered geniuses. Although savants lack many skills, they are EXCEPTIONALLY good in one area.  They may be thought as “mentally retarded people,” but I think that they are remarkable, gifted people.

According to Dr. Darold Treffert, there are three types of savants: a normal savant (who has a skill that is not useful), a gifted savant (who has a conspicuous skill), and a prodigious savant (who has an amazing skill). George Widener, Leslie Lemke, and Tommy McHugh are all savants.

George is a “Calendar Calculator” - he can tell the day of the week of any date he is given. After Neurologist Joy Hirsch conducted an MRI on his brain, she discovered that George’s brain is unusually organized. Leslie Lemke is another inspirational savant; he is blind, but can play any piece of music on the piano after hearing it.

After Tommy McHugh had an accident that caused him brain impairment, he became a savant. He began to paint amazingly, but his wife was actually scared and left him. Tommy wanted help, so he wrote 60 letters in rhyme to doctors around the world. Dr. Alice Flaherty, from Harvard, understood his case because she herself had suffered from a trauma. She studied Tommy’s brain scans and discovered that bleeding had caused pressure in his frontal and temporal lobes, producing instability and creativity.

Cases like these ones have revealed that savants have a more dominant Right Hemisphere, the part of the brain that focuses on creative skills. Kim Peek and Daniel Tammet are staggeringly prodigious savants. I was shocked when I realized what their abilities were. Kim Peek memorized 9,000 books and can read 500 pages in 1 hour, reading two different pages at the same time. Daniel Tammet recited the first 22,514 digits of Pi. So how come savants are not considered geniuses?

I deeply reckon that savants don’t lack learning disabilities; on the contrary, they have a greater learning capacity than anyone. Whether savants are born that way, like George, or made that way, like Tommy, does not matter. Savants are better than geniuses.

Photos:

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NATURE VS. NURTURE: INTELLIGENCE

Practice Makes Perfect

            In the 1970s, chess was mastered by men. But Susan Polgar would prove otherwise. Susan Polgar was born in 1969, and currently, she lives in NYC. As a little girl, his father wanted to teach her mathematics, but accidentally, Susan found a chess game.

            Her father taught her how to play chess and took her to chess competitions, where she won against male competitors. Susan became an instant genius. When she was 15 years old, Susan was the best chess player in the world and at 21, Susan was the #1 chess player in between 600 male players. Nowadays, she defeated USA champion in less than 60 seconds. According to a maze experiment, women only look at specific details and not at the big picture, as men do. “Looking at the big picture” helps men play chess better than women, but Susan was able to prove that women can also master chess.

            How does Susan succeed at chess? “Chunking,” a technique that consists of breaking things apart to remember them better, is used by Susan. As a girl, Susan practiced chess for 6 hours a day. During her practices, she saw 100,000 different chess chunks, which turned into LONG-TERM MEMORY. There are about 4 billion possibilities of chess moves. The brain uses INTUITION, a learned skill that relies on calculating patterns, to select the correct chess moves. 

            Scientists have conducted brain scans on Susan’s brain. The MRI revealed that the part of her brain that recognizes faces is mostly used to play chess. Susan is able to recognize chess moves in about 1 second.

            Susan’s son and sisters, Sophia and Judith, are also chess players. Susan’s little boy is presently a USA champion. However, chess is NOT a genetic thing, it is a SKILL THAT IS PRACTICED. Playing chess develops the brain; the more you practice, the more you will do well at it. Susan’s chess practice as a little girl shaped her genius chess skills as an adult.

Photo:

http://www.newswise.com/images/uploads/2009/03/12/fullsize/0_Susan_TT.jpg

NATURE VS. NURTURE: INTELLIGENCE

Genius: Something Innate? 

One would think that 8-year-old Mark is a child prodigy due to nurture. When Mark was 2 years old, he went to a birthday party, heard a melody, and played it on the piano. Moreover, his mother stimulated him to play the piano because as a girl, she was denied piano lessons due to her family’s Chinese tradition. Before he had 3 years old, his mother had already taught him Cantonese, a very difficult language. In the late 1960’s, a group of psychologists in North Carolina conducted the “Abecedarian Project.” According to this study, stimulated children have better chances of succeeding in their learning and education. In the end, one would assume that Mark acquired his amazing piano skills from his surroundings.

But this is not the case with this outstanding little boy. Doctor Godfrey has spent the last 15 years studying geniuses and believes that Mark is one of them. Mark can recognize sounds and pitches perfectly; only one in one million people have that gift. He also plays 40 classical piano pieces out of memory. Besides, Dr. Godfrey is sure that child prodigies are born that way because normal children wouldn’t stand practicing the piano 8 hours a day, like Mark does. Dr. Godfrey stated, “Really gifted kids drive themselves.”

“While each child is born with his or her own distinct genetic potential for physical, social, emotional and cognitive development, the possibilities for reaching that potential remain tied to early life experiences and the parent-child relationship within the family.” This quote by Bernice Weissbourd relates much to Mark’s situation. Yet, although Mark was stimulated by his mother to play the piano, he was NEVER FORCED. Mark plays the piano under his own will, drive, and curiosity, and he has excelled at it. Hence, I believe that there is a gene for genius and that Mark was in fact BORN one. Genius can never be taught; it is something innate.

Quote:

http://quotes.dictionary.com/subject/nature%20vs.%20nurture

Picture: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_HR3JtqIfTiE/Sbx09kdIODI/AAAAAAAAA6k/1_HyxAZ38h0/s400/Albert+Einstein.jpg

NATURE VS. NURTURE: HOMOSEXUALITY

They Are Not the Problem; We Are

It is difficult for someone to accept oneself completely; yet, it is more difficult for homosexuals to accept themselves due to society’s intolerance and criticism. I never thought that gays were born gays; I always thought they were MADE gays due to the influence of the environment. This week in psychology class I saw a video that revealed the biological basis of homosexuality.

To my surprise, homosexuality is more nature than nurture. The video showed a case of Childhood Gender Nonconformity: two twin brothers were utterly different. One of the twins was masculine; his room was filled with cars and soldiers. The other twin, however, was more feminine. He was using nail polish, his room was pink, and he played with Barbies.

The twins’ mother said that at 18 months old, the feminine twin had asked for a Barbie. I am glad that his mother accepts him the ways he is. Although kids could bully him in school, his mother lets him be who he is because hiding yourself from your family is worse than getting bullied. She said, “If I change him into a macho boy, he will only change from the outside and not from the inside.”

Although we do learn how to behave in a masculine or feminine way, scientists believe that homosexuality is genetic. What I found interesting is that even though twins have the same genetic makeup, one twin can be straight and one can be gay. What does this mean? Does it prove that gay behavior also comes from the environment?

Scientists have found a biological explanation for homosexuality, known as the “Older Brother Theory.” Studies have shown that the more older brothers a man has, the more likely he will become gay. The more older brothers a man has, the more antibodies his mother’s body creates, producing more FEMALE hormones. I found this discovery to be incredibly fascinating. In addition, statistics reveal that in most cases, left-handed boys are exempted from this theory. Why is this so?

At the end of the day, this is still a very divisive topic. Is homosexuality genetic? Is it influenced by the environment? Or does it depend on both? Additionally, what about lesbians? Are they born or made that way?

The answers to these questions should not determine how society treats homosexuals. Nowadays, homosexuality is terribly discriminated. Why? Maybe they are not the problem, maybe we are. People should not live to please others, they should live to please themselves. If not, what’s the point in living if you’re not happy?   

Picture:

http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonview.asp?search=site&catref=rmgn131&NC_Category=&ANDkeyword=homosexuals&ORkeyword=&TITLEkeyword=&NEGATIVEkeyword=

THE MIND OF A MURDERER

There is a Reason Behind Everything

It is easy to judge incorrectly; it is not easy to judge correctly. After seeing the video “Mind of a Murderer,” I became aware that most of the time, human beings misinterpret others’ actions. We are often blind when it comes to judge people.

I myself have always criticized people by what they seem, not by what they really are. But, now I know that there is a reason behind everything – there is even an explanation behind a murderer’s actions.

Throughout my life, I have felt a deep grudge against criminals and their merciless assassinations. I used to believe that they had no feelings and that there was no valid justification for their crimes. But I was wrong.

According to Dr. Dorothy Lewis, there is an explanation for their criminal behavior. After conducting evaluations on the subject, she discovered that the three reasons behind their criminal behavior are: brain damage, abuse, and mental illnesses.

This discovery explains why 42 year-old Terrance Rainright killed his wife. After hearing his wife “flirting” on the phone, he stabbed her to death. Dr. Lewis studied Terrance’s case, which actually did match her studies. Terrance Rainright had brain damage from a car accident, his mother had abused him when he was a child, and he suffered from bipolarity and depression. As a child, Terrance had witnessed how his mother was sexually abused by his father and also how his mother stabbed her own husband.

Terrance’s case definitely proves Dr. Lewis’ theory. Assassins are not born, they are MADE. The environments in which they live have a negative influence on them. In spite of that, Terrance was sentenced to murder in the first degree. After seeing this video, I firmly believe that mentally unstable criminals should not be imprisoned; instead, they should seek psychiatric help. Punishing them in jail does not help them and it does not change anything.

The wrongdoings of an assassin have more to do with their brain damage than with their morality or evilness. Does that mean that they are innocent? That they should not be incarcerated? That they have morals?  Whatever the answer is, the murderers are people who are in a desperate need of help.

Picture:

http://www.cartoonstock.com/sitesearch.asp?performSearch=TRUE&mainArchive=mainArchive&newsCartoon=newsCartoon&vintage=vintage&animation=animation&ANDkeyword=prison

LIVING WITH TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY

The Truest of the Life Philosophies

           

            Every once in a while, I found myself feeling pity for someone with traumatic brain injury. But, last week’s video showed me the other side of the coin: “Suffering becomes beautiful when anyone bears great calamities with cheerfulness, not through insensibility but through greatness of mind” (Aristotle).

In the video, a man named Brian, who suffers from brain injury, talked about his philosophy on life. His words really blew me away. He said: “I might look different, sound different, but I still matter.” He taught me that being happy does not imply having a perfect life; instead, being happy means seeing beyond life’s obstacles. I deeply admire Brian for that; he even has a son.

In addition, last week’s video briefly explained the three types of brain injuries: the contusion, the axonal injury, and bleeding inside the brain. According to the video, the contusion is a bruise; the axonal injury is neuron damage; and the bleeding (hematoma) accumulates pressure inside the brain.

It is unbelievable how a brain injury can completely change your life style. Everything changes; the way people look at you, the way your family treats you, and the way you feel about yourself. Essentially, the brain is YOU; the brain is WHO YOU ARE. Suffering from a brain injury is like losing a part of you. But, at the end of the day, accepting yourself is the best that you can do to live your life to the fullest.

Picture:

 http://www.dghugo.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/tda0043l1.jpg

Quote:

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/aristotle148497.html

MIND READING

What Do We Want?

It is astounding how something that was once impossible now possible. The Functional MRI, or “Thought Identification,” actually reads the human mind. What was known as science fiction has now become true reality.

Although scientists have made an exceptional job in creating the MRI, they want to go beyond mind reading: they also want to read PEOPLE’S INTENTIONS.

 Yet, many questions arise concerning the MRI and the future technological inventions: Will their use have certain regulations? What are their positive and negative effects? Will there be an invasion of your thoughts? Which group of people will lead and make use of this contemporary instrument: the scientists or the policemen?

In the long run, what really matters is the drastic change that our society will face. Eventually, if the MRI is used inappropriately, dark secrets may be unleashed, which could become the cause of wars. On the other hand, this scientific technology could benefit our communities. The judiciary system would be more efficient, candid, and just in its decisions.

I believe that the MRI’s positive and negative effects balance out. However, it is intimidating to know that our thoughts could be interfered. As Shakespeare once said, “Thought is free.” Without the privacy of our thoughts, we will NOT LIVE IN FREEDOM.

Picture:
http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonists/mba/lowres/mban1357l.jpg

Quote:
http://thinkexist.com/quotation/thought_is_free/145237.html