Do You Know What Characterizes The Mysterious Scientist Syndrome?

It is known as “Scientist Syndrome”. It was first described in 1789, after physician Benjamin Rush discovered that one of his patients was able to calculate people’s ages in seconds.

From that moment on, we studied it in a deeper way, but science has never managed to explain it.

This syndrome occurs when some people who have mental illnesses or brain damage develop extraordinary skills in one or more areas. In many cases, these abilities activate after a brain injury.

It is an extremely rare condition, and so far only 50 people have been diagnosed with this syndrome. In any case, this figure is worrying, and even more so if we realize that 50% of these “scientists” are autistic.

The characteristics of this syndrome

The only thing that has been established so far is that these people are developing their skills through the use of their brain hemispheres in a totally different way than an average human being would.

We were also able to determine the fields in which the new skills could develop:

• Calculation of dates. Some of them can memorize entire calendars and remember data characteristic of each day of the year.

• Mathematical calculation. Many can perform mathematical operations instantly and with great precision. Some are capable of dividing up to one hundred decimal places in a fraction of a second.

• A prodigious memory. These people are capable of storing a huge amount of data even though they find it difficult to use it.

• Mechanical and spatial skills. Some can measure objects or distances accurately, without the use of any instruments. They easily memorize maps and directions.

• In some cases, they acquire skills to learn several languages, and to measure time without any device. They also develop artistic skills. 

Famous cases

One of the most famous cases is that of Kim Peek, the person who served as the inspiration for the making of the movie “Rain Man”.

In real life, Peek was born with macrocephaly and permanent brain damage. Despite this, he was able to memorize everything in an incredible way. He remembered 98% of the 12,000 books he had read.

He could also read two pages simultaneously, one with each eye, and it took barely 8 seconds to do so.

However, his intellectual coefficient was lower than that of a normal person and he barely knew how to button his shirt.

Richard Wawro suffered from mental retardation and autism. When he returned to school, he began to paint with great skill. One of the works he produced when he was barely 12 was classified as a “major work”.

Professor Marian Bohusz-Szyszko described his painting as “incredible, with the precision of a mechanic and the vision of a poet”. He made more than 100 individual exhibitions and sold more than a thousand works all over the world.

Derek Amato had an accident and suffered a concussion. After his recovery, he discovered that he had acquired extraordinary skills in music. All this seems to indicate that his brain has reorganized in such a way that it activated musical memory.

Others claim that his sensory perception has changed and this allows him to listen in a different way.

These cases are just a few of the examples that show the extraordinary power of the marriage between chance and the human brain.

Provided by Mundo Desconcertante