Lili's slightly amazed thought of the day
In all seriousness, "extrasensory perception" is listed here as a savant skill, and the author is citing the work of another researcher who is recognized as an expert. Is this science?http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2677584/
Hello Lili! Greeting from the antipodes (posting from France)!
ReplyDeleteMore on this:
"In his book, Extraordinary People, Treffert also mentions that as many as 10% of autistic savants may have extrasensory perception, and reincarnation is mentioned as a possible explanation for savantism in at least one case.[10] A story of a girl with telepathy was also considered a possible case of savant syndrome.[11]
[quote from D. Treffert] (...) Dr. Bernard Rimland describes several instances of extrasensory perception in his autistic savants. In his sample of approximately 5,400 autistic children, 561 cases, or approximately 10 percent, were reported to have special abilities. ... In one case, the parent reported that "teachers have also noticed that George probably has ESP. He seems to be very psychic."
From: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savant_syndrome - 1: Characteristics
Enlightening, isn't it? ^.^
I've got a yellowed paperback edition of that book on my shelf. I've not read most of it. I was so horrified after I read about Treffert's highly questionable method for sorting kids into diagnostic categories at the beginning of the book that I wondered if reading it was a wise use of my limited spare time.
ReplyDeleteSure enough, there is about a page in the book about ESP. I'll take a look at it.
The anecdotes that Rimland apparently presented as cases of ESP in "autistic savant" children, as reported by Treffert in his book Extraordinary People can be explained as examples of acute hearing, perfect pitch, prior knowledge or superior intelligence, and in one instance Treffert admits that acute hearing could be an adequate explanation. All of the above traits can be found along with the syndrome that we call autism. Offering ESP as an explanation for this stuff is ridiculous, and should serve as a warning about the work of Rimland and Treffert.
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