Monday, April 11, 2016
Lili's question for the day
Could this be the popularised new theory about the nature of savants, prodigies, autistic special talents and the gifted that will replace Treffert's popular writing on autism and savants with something better? Does this book have scientific or commonsensical credibility?
Interestingly, the word "savant" can't be found in this article outlining the book's ideas, even though the article is all about the relationship between child prodigies and autism, and the concept of savantism very often appears to belong at the intersection between the world of autism and related intellectual disability and the world of G&T, prodigies and genius. So why aren't the authors writing about savantism? Do they think there is something wrong with the concept?
The authors do mention savants - specifically, the book mentions "an extraordinary British savant, Daniel Tammet".
ReplyDeleteJust like the scientists who studied Tammet, Ruthsatz fails to recognise when she is studying someone who has studied memory techniques. See this post here for a starter:
http://mt.artofmemory.com/forums/does-natural-exceptional-memory-exist-3472.html#comment-12136
I've read the book and a number of Dr Ruthsatz's papers, and have unearthed a number of errors in her papers and some interesting facts (such as the true identity of the "prodigy" in the book's title, a successful musician who is anonymised in the book). I will be writing more on the subject when I have some free time...
Tomas
As usual you are way ahead of me Tomas! Free time is also a resource in short supply in my life. I have returned to formal study, trying to get good grades while unable to take the game seriously. I hadn't realised how much publication bias is a normal and accepted part of the "science" of psychology.
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting how many folks who cite Mozart as evidence of innate genius forget to mention that he had a pop who is a notable music teacher, who taught his kids from an early age. Why didn't Mozart's sibling have the same fame? Sexism I'm guessing. Nice to see a quote from K Anders Ericsson pointing out Mozart's free access to heaps of expert musical tuition from an early age.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your studies!
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, K Anders Ericsson has just published a new book "Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise"; I got my copy today. The book appears to have quite a bit on savants and prodigies (including Mozart), arguing that their abilities can be explained by deliberate practice. I'm looking forward to reading it.
Tomas
I've got one question about this new book, and I think you can guess what it is.
ReplyDelete