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Top positive review
8 people found this helpful
4.0 out of 5 starsA useful addition to the collection of memoirs by acquired savants
Bytreekilleron January 12, 2017
Struck by Genius is a useful addition to the growing collection of memoirs written by acquired savants-- and I think is primarily of interest to those who have a particular interest in this topic. Some reviewers complain about the inclusion of detailed mathematical discussion of Jason Padgett's drawings. However, other reviewers wish there were actually more math, and lament the many pages devoted to descriptions of Jason's personal challenges in dealing with his accident and its consequences. Others (and I count myself in this camp) are put off by the persistent self-congratulatory remarks throughout the book, and I find myself wondering how these survived the influence of a co-writer, agent, and editor. Nevertheless, what the majority of readers seem to agree upon, is that the brain is an exquisitely complex and mysterious organ, and that Jason Padgett's account of his experience leads us to contemplate the remarkable possibilities as we progress in unlocking the brain's secrets.
Top critical review
4 people found this helpful
3.0 out of 5 starsDisappointing
ByBook Loveron May 18, 2014
I love books about the workings of the human mind, and the true story of a party boy who becomes a mathematical genius after surviving a mugging seemed like it was right up my alley. Unfortunately his newly-discovered genius did not extend to writing, and even with a co-author, the writing was labored and repetitive. What would have been a fascinating article in the New Yorker was a dull slog through the self-absorbed ramblings of a Rain Man wanna-be. Do yourself a favor and skip this in favor of Born On A Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant by Daniel Tammet, a much more interesting memoir on a similar subject.
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ByJudyon May 15, 2014
I could not put the book down. Jason underwent traumatic experiences with little help for a long time. What a strong, determined guy. Putting his early life in context helped the reader to understand what a dramatic change has taken place. Maureen's writing is excellent and perfectly chronicles Jason's ordeal. When I saw his interview on Fox, I had to read his story. So glad I did. Becoming a "mathematical genius" is an understatement. The other problems and gifts are truly amazing.
4 people found this helpful
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ByRobin Russellon May 28, 2017
This guy tells a compelling story.
He is very interesting to talk to in person.
Very, very interesting book.
RRussell
He is very interesting to talk to in person.
Very, very interesting book.
RRussell
ByAmazon Customeron October 21, 2014
Ten Stars! Stunning true story Unbelievable journey of an ordinary guy turned into math/physics
ByGeni Holmeson June 30, 2014
I read and loved "Brain on Fire" which I assumed would be similar to "Struck by Genius". How wrong I was. This book reads like a technical manual or a textbook. There was very little story about the main character and what little story there was is written in a way that you have zero empathy for the guy, which is a shame. I wanted to feel bad for him, but I just couldn't. I think the book needed a better co-author, maybe to keep it on track. If you love or even like math, you will probably "get it". If not, I would skip it (and read "Brain on Fire")!
ByREVIEW JUSTICEon August 21, 2014
I have a soft spot for these kind of books, Born on a Blue Day, Curious Incident, etc. But this one wasn't as well written. An interesting read, but the guy came off as a bit arrogant after a while.
My short review of this book is that it should have been a magazine article, but they padded it with completely extraneous material to make it the length of a short book and then published it like that. Supposedly "Struck by Genius" tells the story of Jason Padgett, an ordinary guy who is mugged and left with a traumatic brain injury that, when healed, leaves him with a strange new way of looking at the world. Ok great, that sounds like a pretty good story.
The problem though is that there really isn't all that much to the Padgett story. Enough to fill 75 or 100 pages, tops. So what do we get? Tons of filler along the lines of "I learned X. and that reminds me of the well known story about Einstein...." and then a page long anecdote about someone discovering something that isn't really related to anything Padgett is doing. This happens at least 15 times in a 200 page book.
Then you get filler like "and so i showed this guy at the deli my drawings, and explained to him how i see the world now, and *he* was amazed too!" about 45 times, literally. Every single person Padgett talks to is amazed at how awesome and special he is, no matter what/where/when he tells them about his new abilities. Jason works at a futon store, and instead of selling futons, he tells customers about geometry and various Discovery Channel specials he watched that week. NONE of them ever have a problem with this, which I find more amazing than anything else in this book.
Jason's co-author is a big fan of over-dramatic language, which doesn't help anything either. Jason self-diagnoses himself with PTSD and OCD, and then as a humorous aside he mentions that his step dad also had OCD, because he didn't like scuff marks on the carpet. That's not really OCD Jason, sorry.
The whole book is just full of the authors stretching, trying to make what is a pretty interesting story even more interesting or incredible by making connections that aren't really there or trying to exaggerate the importance of Jason's experiences. And tbh I just found that to be pretty tiresome after awhile. They should have just told the story the way it was and left the reader to draw his own conclusions, I think.
Anyway, google this guy or something instead of wasting money on this book, that's my advice.
The problem though is that there really isn't all that much to the Padgett story. Enough to fill 75 or 100 pages, tops. So what do we get? Tons of filler along the lines of "I learned X. and that reminds me of the well known story about Einstein...." and then a page long anecdote about someone discovering something that isn't really related to anything Padgett is doing. This happens at least 15 times in a 200 page book.
Then you get filler like "and so i showed this guy at the deli my drawings, and explained to him how i see the world now, and *he* was amazed too!" about 45 times, literally. Every single person Padgett talks to is amazed at how awesome and special he is, no matter what/where/when he tells them about his new abilities. Jason works at a futon store, and instead of selling futons, he tells customers about geometry and various Discovery Channel specials he watched that week. NONE of them ever have a problem with this, which I find more amazing than anything else in this book.
Jason's co-author is a big fan of over-dramatic language, which doesn't help anything either. Jason self-diagnoses himself with PTSD and OCD, and then as a humorous aside he mentions that his step dad also had OCD, because he didn't like scuff marks on the carpet. That's not really OCD Jason, sorry.
The whole book is just full of the authors stretching, trying to make what is a pretty interesting story even more interesting or incredible by making connections that aren't really there or trying to exaggerate the importance of Jason's experiences. And tbh I just found that to be pretty tiresome after awhile. They should have just told the story the way it was and left the reader to draw his own conclusions, I think.
Anyway, google this guy or something instead of wasting money on this book, that's my advice.
"Struck By Genius: How a Brain Injury Made Me a Mathematical Marvel" (2014 publication; 255 pages) is the memoir of Jason Padgett (co-authored with Maurenn Seaberg). At the beginning of the book, we get a brief glimpse of what the author refers to as "Jason 2.0", before we go back in time and get to know the original "Jason 1.0", a somewhat brash kid who loved nothing more than to go out and party and have a good time. One evening in September, 2002 on his way home from a bar, Jason is mugged by a couple of guys, and along the way Jason suffers a traumatic brain injury. Then strange things start happening... To tell you more would spoil your reading experience, you'll have to read for yourself how it all plays out.
Couple of comments: first, I cannot even begin to comprehend what a life-changing event this must be for someone. Comments Jason: "I was able to compare the me from before the mugging and the me after it, and they didn't match up, which was very confusing to me". A good part of the book comes from this self-reflection and confusion about the "old" and "new" Jason Padgett. Second, the book is full of semi-medical talk of things like "synesthesia", "sudden-onset savant syndrome" and the like. While I assume all of it is correct (I personally wouldn't know), it just goes on and on and frankly feels tedious after a while. Far more interesting (to me anyway) are the things happening in Jason's personal life, and his retelling of the courtship of a Russian young woman named Elena, which leads him to visit her in St. Petersburg and Pskov, is the highlight of the book. The book then really nosedives towards the end when Jason gets more and more involved in the "society of synesthetes" (my words), speaking at conferences etc. It feels a bit like a cult to me, but more importantly the descriptions of the conferences and the speeches at the conferences go on way too long to keep the reader's interest.
Bottom line: the mugging of and ensuing brain injury to Jason Padgett was horrible, yet some great things happened to him as a result. It seems that Mr. Padgett is a genuinly "nice guy" and I wish him nothing but the best. That said, this memoir is not the most compelling, and in the end feels as if it is written only for those who have a particular interest in "synesthesia/savant syndrome".
Couple of comments: first, I cannot even begin to comprehend what a life-changing event this must be for someone. Comments Jason: "I was able to compare the me from before the mugging and the me after it, and they didn't match up, which was very confusing to me". A good part of the book comes from this self-reflection and confusion about the "old" and "new" Jason Padgett. Second, the book is full of semi-medical talk of things like "synesthesia", "sudden-onset savant syndrome" and the like. While I assume all of it is correct (I personally wouldn't know), it just goes on and on and frankly feels tedious after a while. Far more interesting (to me anyway) are the things happening in Jason's personal life, and his retelling of the courtship of a Russian young woman named Elena, which leads him to visit her in St. Petersburg and Pskov, is the highlight of the book. The book then really nosedives towards the end when Jason gets more and more involved in the "society of synesthetes" (my words), speaking at conferences etc. It feels a bit like a cult to me, but more importantly the descriptions of the conferences and the speeches at the conferences go on way too long to keep the reader's interest.
Bottom line: the mugging of and ensuing brain injury to Jason Padgett was horrible, yet some great things happened to him as a result. It seems that Mr. Padgett is a genuinly "nice guy" and I wish him nothing but the best. That said, this memoir is not the most compelling, and in the end feels as if it is written only for those who have a particular interest in "synesthesia/savant syndrome".
This is truly an amazing story that had me wondering about the power and potential of the human brain. This story involves Jason Padgett who, before his brain injury, was a lot like most of us (especially me). Just a typical guy living his life. Like me, Jason struggled through school and was not a genus. In fact, Jason was like me in that he was just your average math student and had the same thoughts as I do, "When will I ever need this stuff?"
And then there is Jason 2.0. After a brain injury, for whatever reason that even doctors can't explain, Jason becomes a mathematical genus. Nearly overnight his brain now allows Jason to see the world as he never saw it before, through the lens of mathematics.
I enjoyed that in the midst of the story, Jason tells the brain potential and how we all are using only small parts of our brains. We are wonderfully created (Psalm 139:14) and I was in awe of the power that is in our brains that we are not using. I also enjoyed the stories of others who have had their brains untapped if you would. I was amazed to see how ordinary people have become above life through their brains.
Great story. Easy to read. I highly recommend it to all.
And then there is Jason 2.0. After a brain injury, for whatever reason that even doctors can't explain, Jason becomes a mathematical genus. Nearly overnight his brain now allows Jason to see the world as he never saw it before, through the lens of mathematics.
I enjoyed that in the midst of the story, Jason tells the brain potential and how we all are using only small parts of our brains. We are wonderfully created (Psalm 139:14) and I was in awe of the power that is in our brains that we are not using. I also enjoyed the stories of others who have had their brains untapped if you would. I was amazed to see how ordinary people have become above life through their brains.
Great story. Easy to read. I highly recommend it to all.
It's a fascinating story: the average party-animal guy almost predictably sustains serious physical damage in an attack or fight, and turns into a mathematical, geometric, synthesthetic genius. Not something you see around the house every day.
Jason Padgett lays out his story well. Its narrative is clear and easy to follow. The character of pre-damage Jason is clearly drawn and you know that you've met a hundred guys just like him. This serves to make the results of the cranial damage he suffers when he's struck by a 2x4 all the more interesting and makes the story much more compelling, but there are definite problems with his writing.
Not surprisingly, he retells the pre-damage portion of his story in a very clinical way. The story is complete and descriptive but it read like a report given by a disinterested third-party. Of course, Jason is in the odd position of *being* a disinterested third party to his own story. He no longer has any mental or emotional connection to that person who shares his name and who occupied his body. He knows what happened, and he tells you all about it, but it is only tangentially related to the person he is today.
Jason's emotional connection to his earlier life is almost entirely manifest through his reactions to skills, abilities and reactions that he has no previous connection to. He's synthesthetic now, so even the most normal thing, like water flowing from a tap looks like a series of triangles; he's a mathematical and geometric genius, so he sees in those triangles patterns and relationships that were invisible to his old mind. His resulting panic, OCD and agoraphobia are the most understandable and accessible portions of the book.
As he pulls himself together, he returns to the far more studied way of writing that characterized the first part. This time it seems to be more that this is where his mind now lives. It's where he's comfortable and how he naturally reports things. But it is still somewhat alien.
This is a great book in terms of the events, the results, the history of his condition and an excellent, detailed telling of Jason's story. Read it if those things interest you. It is not a compelling read; no compulsive page turner here, which is somewhat sad, since I can't escape believing that the life he's lived, of itself, is worthy of a compelling book.
Jason Padgett lays out his story well. Its narrative is clear and easy to follow. The character of pre-damage Jason is clearly drawn and you know that you've met a hundred guys just like him. This serves to make the results of the cranial damage he suffers when he's struck by a 2x4 all the more interesting and makes the story much more compelling, but there are definite problems with his writing.
Not surprisingly, he retells the pre-damage portion of his story in a very clinical way. The story is complete and descriptive but it read like a report given by a disinterested third-party. Of course, Jason is in the odd position of *being* a disinterested third party to his own story. He no longer has any mental or emotional connection to that person who shares his name and who occupied his body. He knows what happened, and he tells you all about it, but it is only tangentially related to the person he is today.
Jason's emotional connection to his earlier life is almost entirely manifest through his reactions to skills, abilities and reactions that he has no previous connection to. He's synthesthetic now, so even the most normal thing, like water flowing from a tap looks like a series of triangles; he's a mathematical and geometric genius, so he sees in those triangles patterns and relationships that were invisible to his old mind. His resulting panic, OCD and agoraphobia are the most understandable and accessible portions of the book.
As he pulls himself together, he returns to the far more studied way of writing that characterized the first part. This time it seems to be more that this is where his mind now lives. It's where he's comfortable and how he naturally reports things. But it is still somewhat alien.
This is a great book in terms of the events, the results, the history of his condition and an excellent, detailed telling of Jason's story. Read it if those things interest you. It is not a compelling read; no compulsive page turner here, which is somewhat sad, since I can't escape believing that the life he's lived, of itself, is worthy of a compelling book.
ByBarbaraon August 3, 2014
This is one of the most fascinating books I have ever read. It's an amazing true story. I learned so much about the brain and it's capabilities by reading this book.
Jason is a regular guy who sells furniture for a living. He's a party animal with little math ability. While leaving a bar one night, he is mugged and suffers a brain injury. He wakes up in a lot of pain and also with special gifts he did not have before the injury. He now has math and science savant ability & he also has synesthesia - a blending and heightened awareness of the senses.
As an admitted math nerd, I found Jason's observations, theories, and drawings about math and science fascinating. I also found his observations of what it feels like on the inside - emotionally - to survive trauma very moving. He takes you through the stages of his recovery - first pain and anger, then depression and isolation, then forgiveness and moving on with his life - discovering and using his new gifts and making a new life for himself.
The book is heavily researched and includes lots of interesting information on others with synesthesia ability. I learned from reading the book that many performers I knew of - ex. Billy Joel - have this amazing ability. I also found Jason's belief that this ability is inside each of us and that we may be able to tap into this through certain forms of meditation very interesting.
I am so happy that Jason is finding ways to use his gifts. I appreciate that he did not give up on life after the accident and that he is sharing his observations and knowledge with others in this powerful book. I hope he writes another book and that he continues to find ways to share and use his gifts. I wish him only the best in life. I hope his family continues to be a source of happiness and inspiration and support for him.
Also, recommended on this subject is Daniel Tammet's book "Born on a Blue Day." Daniel was born with his extraordinary language and memory gifts. Jason in "Struck by Genius" did NOT inherit his gifts - he acquired them after an injury to his brain.
Jason is a regular guy who sells furniture for a living. He's a party animal with little math ability. While leaving a bar one night, he is mugged and suffers a brain injury. He wakes up in a lot of pain and also with special gifts he did not have before the injury. He now has math and science savant ability & he also has synesthesia - a blending and heightened awareness of the senses.
As an admitted math nerd, I found Jason's observations, theories, and drawings about math and science fascinating. I also found his observations of what it feels like on the inside - emotionally - to survive trauma very moving. He takes you through the stages of his recovery - first pain and anger, then depression and isolation, then forgiveness and moving on with his life - discovering and using his new gifts and making a new life for himself.
The book is heavily researched and includes lots of interesting information on others with synesthesia ability. I learned from reading the book that many performers I knew of - ex. Billy Joel - have this amazing ability. I also found Jason's belief that this ability is inside each of us and that we may be able to tap into this through certain forms of meditation very interesting.
I am so happy that Jason is finding ways to use his gifts. I appreciate that he did not give up on life after the accident and that he is sharing his observations and knowledge with others in this powerful book. I hope he writes another book and that he continues to find ways to share and use his gifts. I wish him only the best in life. I hope his family continues to be a source of happiness and inspiration and support for him.
Also, recommended on this subject is Daniel Tammet's book "Born on a Blue Day." Daniel was born with his extraordinary language and memory gifts. Jason in "Struck by Genius" did NOT inherit his gifts - he acquired them after an injury to his brain.
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