Savant syndrome
Savant syndrome is a condition in which a person with a mental disability, such as an autism spectrum disorder, demonstrates profound and prodigious capacities or abilities far in excess of what would be considered normal.[1][2][3] People with savant syndrome may have neurodevelopmental disorders, notably autism spectrum disorders, or brain injuries. The most dramatic examples of savant syndrome occur in individuals who score very low on IQ tests, but not always. In some very rare and extreme cases, some people with savant actually had an average to even a higher IQ while demonstrating exceptional skills or brilliance in specific areas, such as rapid calculation, art, memory, or musical ability.[4][5][6][7] In spite of the name "syndrome", it is not recognized as a mental disorder nor as part of mental disorder in medical manuals such as the ICD-10[8] or the DSM-V.[9] Characteristics[edit] Mechanism[edit] Savant syndrome is poorly understood. Epidemiology[edit] History[edit] See also[edit]
American Psychological Association (APA)
10 Ways Our Minds Warp Time
How time perception is warped by life-threatening situations, eye movements, tiredness, hypnosis, age, the emotions and more… The mind does funny things to our experience of time. Just ask French cave expert Michel Siffre. In 1962 Siffre went to live in a cave that was completely isolated from mechanical clocks and natural light. When he tried to measure out two minutes by counting up to 120 at one-second intervals, it took him 5 minutes. But you don’t have to hide out in a cave for a couple of months to warp time, it happens to us all the time. 1. People often report that time seems to slow down in life-threatening situations, like skydiving. But are we really processing more information in these seconds when time seems to stretch? To test this, Stetson et al. (2007) had people staring at a special chronometer while free-falling 50 metres into a net. 2. We’ve all experienced the fact that time seems to fly when we’re having fun. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Time is relative
psychologists aim to help computers understand you better
By Brooke Donald L.A. Cicero Noah Goodman, right, and Michael Frank, both assistant professors of psychology, discuss their research at the white board that covers the wall in Goodman's office. Language is so much more than a string of words. Consider the phrase, "Man on first." Present these widely quoted scenarios to a computer, however, and there would likely be a communication breakdown. But a pair of Stanford psychologists has taken the first steps toward changing that. In a new paper published recently in the journal Science, Assistant Professors Michael Frank and Noah Goodman describe a quantitative theory of pragmatics that promises to help open the door to more human-like computer systems, ones that use language as flexibly as we do. The mathematical model they created helps predict pragmatic reasoning and may eventually lead to the manufacture of machines that can better understand inference, context and social rules. That is what Frank and Goodman sought to address. Media Contact
10 Most Fascinating Savants in the World
Sometimes the most amazing abilities of the human brain are revealed exactly when things go wrong with it. Take, for example, savants - people who have mental abilities that could only be characterized as superhuman (like having photographic memory, playing music perfectly after hearing it just once, or doing complex mathematical calculations in one's head) but otherwise severely disabled in every day cognitive functions and social interaction. Does the human brain have latent savant-like abilities? Does our higher cognitive functions somehow block these abilities, and why? And can we have savant-like abilities without the accompanying autism and/or developmental disabilities? Most savants are born with their abilities (and unfortunately, their developmental disorders), but not all: severe brain injuries can, in very rare instances, cause savant-like abilities to surface (see, for example: The Case of the "Sudden" Savant). 1. Kim Peek was born with severe brain damage. 2. [YouTube clip]
15 styles of Distorted Thinking
15 styles of Distorted Thinking Filtering: You take the negative details and magnify them while filtering out all positive aspects of a situation. Polarized Thinking: Things are black or white, good or bad. You have to be perfect or you're a failure. There is no middle ground. Checklist for Hidden Anger Procrastination in the completion of imposed tasks.
Consciousness
Representation of consciousness from the seventeenth century At one time consciousness was viewed with skepticism by many scientists, but in recent years it has become a significant topic of research in psychology, neuropsychology and neuroscience. The primary focus is on understanding what it means biologically and psychologically for information to be present in consciousness—that is, on determining the neural and psychological correlates of consciousness. The majority of experimental studies assess consciousness by asking human subjects for a verbal report of their experiences (e.g., "tell me if you notice anything when I do this"). Etymology and early history[edit] John Locke, British philosopher active in the 17th century A related word was conscientia, which primarily means moral conscience. In the dictionary[edit] Philosophy of mind[edit] The philosophy of mind has given rise to many stances regarding consciousness. The coherence of the concept[edit] Types of consciousness[edit]
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The Rain Man's Disorder: Savant Syndrome
The 1988 movie Rain Man introduced people to a rare but amazing disorder called savant syndrome. In the movie, Dustin Hoffman sensitively portrays the character Raymond Babbitt, who has autistic disorder. When Raymond's brother, Charlie, comes to visit, he discovers that Raymond also has an astounding memory for baseball statistics, the phone book, and the ability to count cards in Las Vegas. Occurs with brain dysfunction Savant syndrome is extremely rare. People with autistic disorder, developmental disability, or mental retardation may be born with it. It can also develop later in childhood or even adulthood after a brain injury or with a certain type of dementia. Range of skills All people with savant syndrome have an amazing memory that is very focused in one area. Formerly called idiot savant People with savant syndrome were described in the medical literature as early as 1751, but the name "idiot savant" was not applied until 1887, when Dr.
Mind
A phrenologicalmapping[1] of the brain. Phrenology was among the first attempts to correlate mental functions with specific parts of the brain. A mind /ˈmaɪnd/ is the set of cognitive faculties that enables consciousness, perception, thinking, judgement, and memory—a characteristic of humans, but which also may apply to other life forms.[3][4] A lengthy tradition of inquiries in philosophy, religion, psychology and cognitive science has sought to develop an understanding of what a mind is and what its distinguishing properties are. Important philosophers of mind include Plato, Descartes, Leibniz, Kant, Martin Heidegger, John Searle, Daniel Dennett and many others. Etymology[edit] The original meaning of Old English gemynd was the faculty of memory, not of thought in general. The meaning of "memory" is shared with Old Norse, which has munr. Definitions[edit] Which attributes make up the mind is much debated. Mental faculties[edit] Mental content[edit] Memetics[edit] Relation to the brain[edit]
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