EINSTEIN EFFECT: SAVANTS AND CREATIVITY

Resource #
DVD • EESD814W

Price $149.95

Program Contents:  54 minutes

Captioning: Closed Captioned

Copyright Date: 2006

Available in the United States Only

In the field of brain research there is no subject more intriguing that the savant, an individual with mental, behavioral, or even physical disability who possesses acute powers of observation, mathematical aptitude, or artistic talent.

Mute until the age of nine, Stephen Wiltshire learned to communicate through realistic, richly detailed drawings. Alonzo Clemens sculpts clay animal figures with great precision, even though he can barely form a sentence. Matt Savage faced extraordinary developmental problems as a child but has become a teen prodigy among jazz musicians. What is the relationship between creativity and autistic behavior? Why does slow learning—such as the young Albert Einstein experienced—sometimes conceal genius? This program focuses on these questions and other aspects of autistic brain research, revealing fascinating links between the realms of savants and prodigies.