Born on a Blue Day

If you haven't read Daniel Tammet's autobiography "Born on a Blue Day" about his life as a savant, I highly recommend it.

You'll be awed by the possibilities of our human brain and probably wonder, as I have been, why some people have access and better use of certain areas of their brains while others do not.

In his book, Tammet gives readers a tour through the mind of a high-functioning savant. He explains why he finds so much comfort in numbers, as he experiences them both visibly, in his mind's eye, and emotionally.

By associating colors, textures and landscapes with numbers, he is able to retain, and foresee dates, times, calculations and digits with unbelievable accuracy. In fact, he was able to recite 22,514 digits of pi without error!

Not only does he have a super-ability with numbers, but also with languages, which was demonstrated to the world through a British-based Science Channel show called "Brainman," where he learned enough of the Icelandic language in one week's time to be interviewed on Iceland's national morning show entirely in Icelandic. He has a keen ability to remember vocabulary and word structures by pairing them with images, again in his mind's eye, and can speak ten languages. He even created his very own language called Mänti.

I could keep rambling on about this guy because he's blown my mind, but you really should just go out and get the book yourself. Or, if I know you, borrow it from me:)

First, go check out his interview with David Letterman here.

...ramble on...