Get acquainted with your antenna brain:
Try to imagine
that your brain is similar to an antenna on a television
set (I know, in today's cable and satellite world, there
will be youngsters who will cock their head with a blank
look). When the antenna is pointed to the correct
location and is tuned to a strong enough signal, the
picture is perfect--brilliant colors and perfect audio.
You can flip to other channels and see that each and
every one is the same. In the real world, TV
antennas give you about two good channels and about four
seriously crappy ones. Even on some of the decent
ones, the picture is grainy and sound is riddled with
static.
Interestingly,
that's not far off from the human brain. Have you
ever wondered why little Trudy Durskey was such a whiz at
history but sucked at math? What about those
particular kids that are terrific at science and history,
but had trouble understanding the structure of sentences?
If we approach discrete forms of thinking as
different channels, I know that my 'Math Channel' comes in
exceptionally weak. Some of my channels come in
great--these are the ones that I probably excelled in at
school, or that I feel comfortable with
today.
A typical,
well-balanced child will come complete with good reception
to the standard channels allowing them to adapt to life
well in the public eye.
Special
Antennas:
But what about
people that aren't receiving some of their channels well?
In some cases, scientists give them names such
as
Savant or
Autistic . Every
parent asks the professional making the diagnosis the same
question: "How?" At the very least, they will get a
shrug of the shoulders. That is (for the scientific
community) the culmination of their knowledge.
Others, uncomfortable with not knowing the answer will pull
up a chart explaining, "one in every 1,400 live births
shows some symptoms of autism."
These
children
are special.
Most have no visible or physical attributes that would show
differences from any other child. Scientists have
poured over the brain scans, blood tests and even bone
densities to try to find a difference. The greatest
coroner walking the planet would not be able to determine
which of two bodies were autistic.
Differences
observed:
In the more
remarkable cases of Savants, some are capable of exhibiting
masterful dexterity in certain subjects. Some can
play any song on a piano that they've just heard over the
radio--flawlessly. Some virtuosos can claim the same
ability perhaps, but the savants that we are discussing
differ greatly. They have not received a lesson on how to
play an instrument.
Some can
calculate with such incredible speed, that most computers
could not perform the same calculation at such a rate.
What these
people have in common with each other, are the inability to
perform 'standard' tasks expected by the general public.
It may be shopping or the ability to dress
themselves.
Going back to
the metaphor of the brain as an antenna, you might say that
their favorite channel was coming in crystal clear--better
than how most people perceive the same one.
Unfortunately for them, other channels aren't so clear and
some are almost off the air entirely.
"This is quite a
reach--I mean, saying the brain is an
antenna that is improperly tuned, rather than a
dysfunctional brain. What gives?"
We are simply
making these statements based on observation. If a
cat's paw touches something hot like the hood of a car in a
hot summer day, he reacts the same as a human. We
communicate to each other by voice if we are in the same
room. For longer distances, we use a telephone--we
realize that if our voice is hoarse, the receiver in the
room can't make out our sounds very well. If we have
problems with the line or microwave signal, it is
essentially the same.
