--Original published at Emily's Blog
For this week I watched Daniel Tammet’s TED talk on “Different Ways of Knowing.” David Tammet is an autistic man with savant syndrome. When others learn about his condition, he gets asked repeatedly to describe different things like he is some sort of wizard. He then jokes about not wanting to give the audience a show and goes on to talk about perception. He asks the audience to think about their reactions and perceptions of different examples he gives them. Tammet goes on to explain he believes our perceptions are how we gain knowledge and learning. He believes his condition gives him a heightened view of his senses. Tammet has synthesia, “an unusual cross-talk between the senses.” He identifies colors, shapes, numbers, and objects as one. For example, Tammet sees five as yellow. Tammet then tells the audience the answers to the different examples he gave them earlier and explains why they can get the answers correct through their senses.
This is a very intriguing concept. I believe it could help memory in learning, retaining, and encoding information faster because of chunking. It also can help in relating unknown concepts with other memories you may hold. For instance, if there is five of an object which is yellow it would be easier to remember because he already associates the number five with the color yellow. This condition could almost act like a super power as it gives people a different perspective on the world around us. Maybe someone with synthesia could help explain something in a more vivid way than anyone else ever could.
I think it could be helpful, but it could also be difficult. If one is to rely too heavily on their senses, then they may struggle if their feelings are incorrect or they perceived something in a different way than it was intended. It would be very challenging to have this condition when trying to relate to others. This condition was hard for me to understand. It must be difficult for others when Tammet or someone else with the condition is trying to explain something if people cannot understand. Overall, people with this condition have learned how to live with it as it is all they have ever known. It is a very interesting way of looking at life and it in no way inhibits people with this condition.