One of the world's fifty living autistic savants is the first and only to tell his compelling and inspiring life story--and explain how his incredible mind works. Worldwide, there are fewer than fifty living savants, those autistic individuals who can perform miraculous mental calculations or artistic feats (think Dustin Hoffman's character in Rain Man ). Until now, none of them has ever been capable of discussing his or her thought processes, much less undertake the writing of a book. Daniel Tammet is the first. From ...
Read More
One of the world's fifty living autistic savants is the first and only to tell his compelling and inspiring life story--and explain how his incredible mind works. Worldwide, there are fewer than fifty living savants, those autistic individuals who can perform miraculous mental calculations or artistic feats (think Dustin Hoffman's character in Rain Man ). Until now, none of them has ever been capable of discussing his or her thought processes, much less undertake the writing of a book. Daniel Tammet is the first. From childhood, Tammet's problems were immediately apparent. He was shunned by his classmates and often resorted to rocking and humming quietly. Yet he could memorize almost anything, and his math and language skills were astonishing. By the time he entered high school, Daniel was diagnosed as autistic, and he began to discover his own superhuman abilities--calculating huge sums in his head in seconds, learning new languages in one week, and memorizing more than 22,000 digits of pi. With heart-melting simplicity and astonishing self-awareness, Born on a Blue Day tells Daniel's story--from his childhood frustrations to adult triumphs--while explaining how his mind works. He thinks in pictures. He sees numbers as complex shapes; thirty-seven, for example, is lumpy like porridge, while eighty-nine reminds him of falling snow. Today, Daniel has emerged as one of the world's most fascinating minds and inspiring stories. While his brain has amazed scientists for years, everyone will be moved by this remarkable man's life story.
Read Less
Add this copy of Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an to cart. $21.55, like new condition, Sold by GreatBookPrices rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Columbia, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2007 by Tantor Audio.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
Fine. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
Add this copy of Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an to cart. $21.77, new condition, Sold by GreatBookPrices rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Columbia, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2007 by Tantor Audio.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
New. In Stock. 100% Money Back Guarantee. Brand New, Perfect Condition, allow 4-14 business days for standard shipping. To Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. protectorate, P.O. box, and APO/FPO addresses allow 4-28 business days for Standard shipping. No expedited shipping. All orders placed with expedited shipping will be cancelled. Over 3, 000, 000 happy customers.
Add this copy of Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an to cart. $53.44, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2007 by Tantor Audio.
This is a very interesting book for those interested in human behaviour. The author gives the reader a view of his mind - how he thinks and behaves, and why he reacts to circumstances and events in the way he does.
In certain instances he is a bit detailed (e.g. a card game that he devised), but this is how he thinks.
A very interesting read, which I highly recommend.
ReadtheBestBooksFirst
Apr 26, 2007
Rainbow Brilliance
Curiosity is piqued among thinkers, readers, and academicians about savants---what goes on in their heads, and how do they arrive at ideas and solutions which evade the rest of us? Born on a Blue Day gives great insight into these mysteries from the personal point of view of Daniel Tammet, an autistic savant living in England. He is uniquely able to describe what he "sees" as he thinks about numbers and mentally completes mathematical calculations. His life story is engagingly told with occasional glimpses into the difficulties he encounters in social situations. It was especially revealing to follow Daniel's fascination with pi that led to his memorization and recitation of its digits to 22,514 places, setting the European record. In the book he includes illustrations of the groupings of color he sees in his head which help him recall the order of the digits of pi. The very human side of Daniel is refreshing as he describes his best friend, intellectual challenges, and how he is making a living via the internet. This book will make you feel better about our world and the people in it.
gofish
Apr 11, 2007
*****
I found the book interesting as it spoke to anthropological origns of thought in the feeling and textures, synesthesias, created by sensory data as this man tries to integrate and relate to the world at large. There is a gestalt found in between the categories of his external ordering and categorization that reveals how he know s and feels.