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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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Bysatchi ron May 30, 2017
The author was a speaker at the Pro-Mega Consciousness Conference in Madison 5/17 and I was astonished by this story, by his drawings and weeping by the end at how much we truly don't know about human capacities. The book goes much more deeply into the journey and research out there with persons exhibiting Acquired Savant Syndrome and Synesthesia, triggered by Traumatic Brain Injury. Very readable as a good story and useful as a map to help others struggling to find meaning from pain and trauma.
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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.
4.0 out of 5 starsBut if this book is saying take a look at this individual who has made a remarkable recovery through his astounding achievements
ByAmazon Customeron January 18, 2016
Interesting book although Jason has recovered from a very serious Head injury and this book very inspiring about his new life, it should be noted that it was not the head injury that makes Jason a prodigy of his remarkable talent in mathematics. It is without doubt he had this undiscovered talent before the injury. But he never had the to opportunity to utilise it until he began his therapy during or after his recovery. Let be known if Jason discovered this talent before his injuries who knows what what he would have accomplished. Dispite the myth of Isaac Newton getting hit in the head with an apple Eurika he now understands gravity. Head injuries can cause serious impairments especially when they are as traumatic as this book is stating. If the author of this book is saying or is thinking ha go out and have a Head injury a wow you'll become a genius this is very misleading and very very dangerous. But if this book is saying take a look at this individual who has made a remarkable recovery through his astounding achievements great. But believed me those who knows about head injuries and about those who've recovered from them will know it is not a very good thing to have a Traumatic Brain Injury.
Jason Padgett is one of an estimated 1.7 million Americans who annually suffer traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). Jason's head trauma happened twelve years ago outside a karaoke bar where he was brutally and repeatedly punched and kicked in the head. After that, his life changed dramatically. Before the TBI, Jason's only goal was to live life 24/7 as an adrenaline-seeking, hard-partying extrovert. He describes himself at that time as a math and artistic dunce. He was an I-don't-care college dropout. He was the type of person who constantly needed something stimulating happening around him because he was incapable of just being quiet and entertaining himself from within his own mind.
After the TBI, Jason's whole personality and worldview was completely upended. Suddenly, he found an unlimited rich new world of numbers, geometry, and shapes; they endlessly fascinated him. He was completely entertained from within his own mind. He became a hermit-like introvert. He had little interest outside totally focusing on discovering and visualizing all the geometric fractal shapes he saw around him in everyday life. He started to draw these shapes and discovered he had a marvelous new ability to create artwork out of the shapes he saw all around him. He developed a keen new interest in math and, after going back to community college to learn some fundamental mathematical concepts, he started to delve into mathematical theory. He became a "mathematical marvel."
On the downside--and I learned from this book that there are always major downsides to TBIs--Jason developed an intense case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). He also suffered the onslaught of frequent panic attacks. Perhaps most interesting of all, Jason became an extreme empath, i.e., at times he could feel the psychological and physical pain of other people so acutely that it would become seriously harmful to his own body.
I found Jason's life story and transformation extraordinarily fascinating, but also mightily puzzling and frustrating. The book held my attention throughout, yet I was also a bit disappointed. I wanted "more" and that intangible "more" wasn't there.
I was never fully convinced that Jason had become the "math marvel" that the book promised. Yes, he'd uncovered an amazing latent ability to understand math at a fairly advanced level, but this could hardly be called a math marvel much less a math genius. Neither did I find Jason's art to be all that compelling or creative. Yes, it is beautiful--you can look at his work on the Fine Art America Website--but it seems to be the natural by-product of his OCD focus on visualizing fractals rather than anything truly outstanding in its own right. I get the theory behind the pi drawing, but it doesn't make me ecstatic. I'm sure it provides him with a great deal of inner peace and tranquility to spend thousands of hours producing these highly repetitive designs--designs that a computer could easily be programmed to do on its own--but I couldn't help but feel sad for all those "lost hours" that might have been more productively used...for example increasing his knowledge of math, or focusing on learning the medical details of OCD and PTSD.
In the book, Jason repeatedly highlighted his prodigious new skill at narrowly focusing on a topic of interest and learning all he could about it from the Internet, yet so far, he has never been drawn to begin a highly-focused, in-depth study of OCD or PTSD...and this despite the fact that both disorders intervene enormously in his ability to live a normal life. For example, should Jason have taken the time to learn all he could, in depth, about the human microbiome, he might be able to break himself of the harmful practice of excessively lathering his entire body in antimicrobial lotions. Perhaps another habit might emerge to replace the one lost, a habit that might be less harmful and life-disabling.
An extrovert is predominantly concerned with obtaining gratification from what is outside the self, while an introvert is predominantly concerned with obtaining gratification from his or her own interior mental life. (I highly recommend reading Susan Cain's magnificent book "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking" for more on this topic). This aspect of the book--at least for me--was the number one profound change that took place in Jason. The TBI propelled him from an extreme extrovert to an extreme introvert. I'd have liked to have seen more neurological interest and discussion in this book on that aspect of his transformation.
But I have to remind myself that this book is the intimate private story of Jason's life, not the life I would have wanted Jason to live. So I have no reason to be disappointed or frustrated.
I have nothing but sincere admiration for Maureen Seaberg's talent at writing this book. She did a remarkable job of getting inside her subject and channeling him in an authentic first-person narrative.
I recommend this book highly. It is unique and fascinating. However, if you read it, know that it may leave you with more questions than it answers. But isn't that always the case with life? It is infinitely mystifying.
I wish Jason all the best in his life ahead. I marvel at all he has achieved since his TBI. If he and Maureen were to update this book in another ten years, I suspect that we'd all see an even greater transformation in the years to come.
After the TBI, Jason's whole personality and worldview was completely upended. Suddenly, he found an unlimited rich new world of numbers, geometry, and shapes; they endlessly fascinated him. He was completely entertained from within his own mind. He became a hermit-like introvert. He had little interest outside totally focusing on discovering and visualizing all the geometric fractal shapes he saw around him in everyday life. He started to draw these shapes and discovered he had a marvelous new ability to create artwork out of the shapes he saw all around him. He developed a keen new interest in math and, after going back to community college to learn some fundamental mathematical concepts, he started to delve into mathematical theory. He became a "mathematical marvel."
On the downside--and I learned from this book that there are always major downsides to TBIs--Jason developed an intense case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). He also suffered the onslaught of frequent panic attacks. Perhaps most interesting of all, Jason became an extreme empath, i.e., at times he could feel the psychological and physical pain of other people so acutely that it would become seriously harmful to his own body.
I found Jason's life story and transformation extraordinarily fascinating, but also mightily puzzling and frustrating. The book held my attention throughout, yet I was also a bit disappointed. I wanted "more" and that intangible "more" wasn't there.
I was never fully convinced that Jason had become the "math marvel" that the book promised. Yes, he'd uncovered an amazing latent ability to understand math at a fairly advanced level, but this could hardly be called a math marvel much less a math genius. Neither did I find Jason's art to be all that compelling or creative. Yes, it is beautiful--you can look at his work on the Fine Art America Website--but it seems to be the natural by-product of his OCD focus on visualizing fractals rather than anything truly outstanding in its own right. I get the theory behind the pi drawing, but it doesn't make me ecstatic. I'm sure it provides him with a great deal of inner peace and tranquility to spend thousands of hours producing these highly repetitive designs--designs that a computer could easily be programmed to do on its own--but I couldn't help but feel sad for all those "lost hours" that might have been more productively used...for example increasing his knowledge of math, or focusing on learning the medical details of OCD and PTSD.
In the book, Jason repeatedly highlighted his prodigious new skill at narrowly focusing on a topic of interest and learning all he could about it from the Internet, yet so far, he has never been drawn to begin a highly-focused, in-depth study of OCD or PTSD...and this despite the fact that both disorders intervene enormously in his ability to live a normal life. For example, should Jason have taken the time to learn all he could, in depth, about the human microbiome, he might be able to break himself of the harmful practice of excessively lathering his entire body in antimicrobial lotions. Perhaps another habit might emerge to replace the one lost, a habit that might be less harmful and life-disabling.
An extrovert is predominantly concerned with obtaining gratification from what is outside the self, while an introvert is predominantly concerned with obtaining gratification from his or her own interior mental life. (I highly recommend reading Susan Cain's magnificent book "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking" for more on this topic). This aspect of the book--at least for me--was the number one profound change that took place in Jason. The TBI propelled him from an extreme extrovert to an extreme introvert. I'd have liked to have seen more neurological interest and discussion in this book on that aspect of his transformation.
But I have to remind myself that this book is the intimate private story of Jason's life, not the life I would have wanted Jason to live. So I have no reason to be disappointed or frustrated.
I have nothing but sincere admiration for Maureen Seaberg's talent at writing this book. She did a remarkable job of getting inside her subject and channeling him in an authentic first-person narrative.
I recommend this book highly. It is unique and fascinating. However, if you read it, know that it may leave you with more questions than it answers. But isn't that always the case with life? It is infinitely mystifying.
I wish Jason all the best in his life ahead. I marvel at all he has achieved since his TBI. If he and Maureen were to update this book in another ten years, I suspect that we'd all see an even greater transformation in the years to come.
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.
Jason Padgett suffered a traumatic brain injury during a mugging and underwent significant personal and mental changes. Among other things, he is now synesthetic, meaning that he perceives things in multiple ways simultaneously. Most synesthetes see numbers, letters, or musical tones as having particular colors. Padgett sees a particular geometry overlaid on the entire world, particularly lights, running water, reflections, and certain other phenomena. As a result, he becomes obsessed with drawing his "impressions" of particular numbers or phenomena, particularly the irrational number pi and his understanding of certain subatomic processes. Most of these drawings are the kind of line drawings a bored young person with a straightedge and compass might draw to kill some time: many lines intersecting in a single point with a spirograph-like set of intersecting lines around the central point, forming an approximation of a circle. To Padgett, these drawings literally are how he "sees" these concepts.
The synesthesia is interesting, and I have no reason to doubt it. The story took a stranger and more disturbing turn, however, when Padgett holed up for four years with almost no human contact in an apartment that was literally falling apart (there were pigeons living in a hole in the roof) and spending all of his time on the internet. In the process, he diagnosed himself with synesthesia, savant syndrome, PTSD, OCD, agoraphobia, depression, and various other potential maladies. The internet may be a great tool, but a reliable source of lay diagnoses of medical and psychiatric conditions it is not. Most of these self-diagnoses were never confirmed, at least not in the book, and it is not clear how many of the purported diagnoses are, in fact, diagnoses, as opposed to casual conversation with persons in the medical, psychiatric, or academic fields. Moreover, he was subjected to almost no testing for years after the incident, and so most of the purported diagnoses are presented as musings, not as declarative statements.
The real hole in the book, however, is this: there is nothing in it that supports the title. Nothing in it indicates genius or Padgett's status as a "mathematical marvel." He certainly gained a new interest in math, especially geometry, but almost nothing in the book demonstrates that he actually understands any mathematical concepts beyond how to create his drawings. There is one equation in the book, a needlessly complex (and, in practical terms, useless) method of calculating pi. The remainder of the "math" consists of Padgett's geometric "impressions" of various formulae, which he believes reflect a deep insight into the very nature of the universe. Speaking as a math major, I can state that none of Padgett's impressions or theories are more sophisticated than those presented in a trigonometry or precalculus class, if not earlier.
I do not doubt Padgett's suffering, the sincerity of his interest in mathematics, or that he has many daily struggles to overcome in light of his attack, and I do not mean to criticize him in any way. Rather, I simply want to warn readers that this book does not actually demonstrate that Padgett was "struck by genius" or became "a mathematical marvel." Instead, it is a very biographical book that demonstrates, at most, that Padgett's experience gave him synesthesia and an interest in subjects that he previously ignored, primarily math and physics. He was, apparently, a bright student in school who simply didn't apply himself to certain subjects. What the book demonstrates is merely that he developed an interest in some of those subjects after his injuries.
The writing itself requires a brief comment. This is not a well-written book. It rambles and delves into extended discussions of minutiae that do not add anything to the story. As I have said, it is mostly biography, including a huge amount of material related to his party-hard lifestyle before the attack. The substance of the book -- the impacts the attack has had on Padgett's mind -- might make for a interesting and short article, but no more. Instead, it is more than 200 pages long, rambling, full of commentary that often borders on outright narcissism, and devoid of content related to the main point: Padgett's purported new mathematical abilities.
I recommend taking a pass on this book; it simply does not deliver on its promises.
The synesthesia is interesting, and I have no reason to doubt it. The story took a stranger and more disturbing turn, however, when Padgett holed up for four years with almost no human contact in an apartment that was literally falling apart (there were pigeons living in a hole in the roof) and spending all of his time on the internet. In the process, he diagnosed himself with synesthesia, savant syndrome, PTSD, OCD, agoraphobia, depression, and various other potential maladies. The internet may be a great tool, but a reliable source of lay diagnoses of medical and psychiatric conditions it is not. Most of these self-diagnoses were never confirmed, at least not in the book, and it is not clear how many of the purported diagnoses are, in fact, diagnoses, as opposed to casual conversation with persons in the medical, psychiatric, or academic fields. Moreover, he was subjected to almost no testing for years after the incident, and so most of the purported diagnoses are presented as musings, not as declarative statements.
The real hole in the book, however, is this: there is nothing in it that supports the title. Nothing in it indicates genius or Padgett's status as a "mathematical marvel." He certainly gained a new interest in math, especially geometry, but almost nothing in the book demonstrates that he actually understands any mathematical concepts beyond how to create his drawings. There is one equation in the book, a needlessly complex (and, in practical terms, useless) method of calculating pi. The remainder of the "math" consists of Padgett's geometric "impressions" of various formulae, which he believes reflect a deep insight into the very nature of the universe. Speaking as a math major, I can state that none of Padgett's impressions or theories are more sophisticated than those presented in a trigonometry or precalculus class, if not earlier.
I do not doubt Padgett's suffering, the sincerity of his interest in mathematics, or that he has many daily struggles to overcome in light of his attack, and I do not mean to criticize him in any way. Rather, I simply want to warn readers that this book does not actually demonstrate that Padgett was "struck by genius" or became "a mathematical marvel." Instead, it is a very biographical book that demonstrates, at most, that Padgett's experience gave him synesthesia and an interest in subjects that he previously ignored, primarily math and physics. He was, apparently, a bright student in school who simply didn't apply himself to certain subjects. What the book demonstrates is merely that he developed an interest in some of those subjects after his injuries.
The writing itself requires a brief comment. This is not a well-written book. It rambles and delves into extended discussions of minutiae that do not add anything to the story. As I have said, it is mostly biography, including a huge amount of material related to his party-hard lifestyle before the attack. The substance of the book -- the impacts the attack has had on Padgett's mind -- might make for a interesting and short article, but no more. Instead, it is more than 200 pages long, rambling, full of commentary that often borders on outright narcissism, and devoid of content related to the main point: Padgett's purported new mathematical abilities.
I recommend taking a pass on this book; it simply does not deliver on its promises.
On a September night in 2002, Jason Padgett was brutally beaten outside a bar. He suffered a traumatic brain injury that literally turned him into a different person. Before the crime, he was a happy-go-lucky, 31-year-old bar-hopping player. Afterward, he became a "mathematical marvel," as the subtitle says, obsessed with the geometric fractal patterns he sees everywhere -- in a stream of running water, a line of trees, a ray of light glinting off a car hood.
The world becomes a fascinating place for Padgett. He obsessively draws precise pictures of what he sees and discovers their connection with math concepts he'd never known: sine and cosine, tangents, even particle fusion and relativity. Eventually, he is diagnosed as being the only known person in the world with having "acquired savant syndrome," an acute giftedness in a particular area (often math), and "acquired synesthesia," a condition in which one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another; for example, seeing numbers as colors or shapes.
I was fully immersed in Padgett's story for a few chapters, but then I have to admit that it became repetitive. I can't imagine what he's seeing, no matter how many times he describes it. I don't see the point of the elaborate drawings he makes and can't make the math connection for myself. Not only that, but the more he reveals about his life, the sadder I became for him. Finding his place in the small community of people with his abilities assures him that he isn't mentally ill, and for that I'm glad. But although he is delighted with his new perceptions, they are accompanied by severe drawbacks: for years he is an agoraphobic hermit, venturing out only to grocery shop; he has obsessive compulsive disorder and practically bathes in antibacterial gel after touching someone; his sense of empathy is so keen he becomes physically ill when he hears the sad stories of others.
I also question some of the statements he makes. Can he really be the only person diagnosed with this acquired syndrome? The Department of Defense says that since 2000, close to 300,000 U.S. military members have sustained a TBI. Add to that the sports-acquired TBIs (and crime victims) and you have a cohort group of about 1.7 million sufferers a year. More importantly, I was put off by his statement that people with his heightened awareness alone are positioned to enjoy real spiritual insights. What a sad world it would be if only a few hundred people could lay claim to true spirituality.
I do commend Padgett's ghostwriter, Maureen Seaberg. She's done a terrific job of translating arcane mathematical concepts and fantastical visions into layman's terms. At times, though, I feel the scenes she and Padgett chose to depict showed only the upside of his injury. Padgett works at his family's futon store, and time and again he corners customers with convoluted math monologues, mostly about pi. Everyone is depicted as being enthralled. Honestly, if I were trapped by a salesperson with that agenda, I would escape at the first possible moment!
I would highly recommend two other books in this genre: the recent book, The Answer to the Riddle Is Me: A Memoir of Amnesia, a story of a man who suffered a psychotic break as the result of taking anti-malarial medication, and My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey, by a woman who suffered a stroke at a young age and discovers the joys of more fully engaging the intuitive, kinesthetic right side of the brain.
The world becomes a fascinating place for Padgett. He obsessively draws precise pictures of what he sees and discovers their connection with math concepts he'd never known: sine and cosine, tangents, even particle fusion and relativity. Eventually, he is diagnosed as being the only known person in the world with having "acquired savant syndrome," an acute giftedness in a particular area (often math), and "acquired synesthesia," a condition in which one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another; for example, seeing numbers as colors or shapes.
I was fully immersed in Padgett's story for a few chapters, but then I have to admit that it became repetitive. I can't imagine what he's seeing, no matter how many times he describes it. I don't see the point of the elaborate drawings he makes and can't make the math connection for myself. Not only that, but the more he reveals about his life, the sadder I became for him. Finding his place in the small community of people with his abilities assures him that he isn't mentally ill, and for that I'm glad. But although he is delighted with his new perceptions, they are accompanied by severe drawbacks: for years he is an agoraphobic hermit, venturing out only to grocery shop; he has obsessive compulsive disorder and practically bathes in antibacterial gel after touching someone; his sense of empathy is so keen he becomes physically ill when he hears the sad stories of others.
I also question some of the statements he makes. Can he really be the only person diagnosed with this acquired syndrome? The Department of Defense says that since 2000, close to 300,000 U.S. military members have sustained a TBI. Add to that the sports-acquired TBIs (and crime victims) and you have a cohort group of about 1.7 million sufferers a year. More importantly, I was put off by his statement that people with his heightened awareness alone are positioned to enjoy real spiritual insights. What a sad world it would be if only a few hundred people could lay claim to true spirituality.
I do commend Padgett's ghostwriter, Maureen Seaberg. She's done a terrific job of translating arcane mathematical concepts and fantastical visions into layman's terms. At times, though, I feel the scenes she and Padgett chose to depict showed only the upside of his injury. Padgett works at his family's futon store, and time and again he corners customers with convoluted math monologues, mostly about pi. Everyone is depicted as being enthralled. Honestly, if I were trapped by a salesperson with that agenda, I would escape at the first possible moment!
I would highly recommend two other books in this genre: the recent book, The Answer to the Riddle Is Me: A Memoir of Amnesia, a story of a man who suffered a psychotic break as the result of taking anti-malarial medication, and My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey, by a woman who suffered a stroke at a young age and discovers the joys of more fully engaging the intuitive, kinesthetic right side of the brain.
Jason Padgett was, by his own account, a shallow, pleasure-seeking goof-ball, until the night he was viciously beaten after stumbling out of a karaoke bar. He suffered severe traumatic brain injury from which he has never fully recovered. His symptoms have been mainly psychiatric, including PTSD, OCD, and spells of depression. He also developed a remarkable new interest in mathematics, geometry, the significance of pi, and fractals. He began to see mathematical concepts in visual forms, and expressed his discoveries in detailed drawings. There was nothing in his previous background or training to explain these interests and abilities.
This book is a detailed memoir of Jason's journey through hell and back and into his new life as a mathematical savant who also experiences synesthesia (the blending of sensory modalities). These abilities are uncommon, and to acquire them in adult life is extremely rare indeed. Jason's experience raises difficult questions about the brain and its workings, and about consciousness itself, and Jason meets many fascinating people as he seeks answers to these riddles. He takes the reader on an amazing journey of discovery--still unfinished as of the writing of the book.
Author Jason Padgett and co-author Maureen Seaberg have written an interesting and moving memoir about experiences that most of us can barely understand. The writing is not polished, often repetitious, and sometimes rambling. Still, I managed to finish it in a day. If you liked Treffert's "Islands of Genius," or if you have any interest in the savant syndromes or synesthesia, you will surely want to get hold of his book. I recommend it. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.
This book is a detailed memoir of Jason's journey through hell and back and into his new life as a mathematical savant who also experiences synesthesia (the blending of sensory modalities). These abilities are uncommon, and to acquire them in adult life is extremely rare indeed. Jason's experience raises difficult questions about the brain and its workings, and about consciousness itself, and Jason meets many fascinating people as he seeks answers to these riddles. He takes the reader on an amazing journey of discovery--still unfinished as of the writing of the book.
Author Jason Padgett and co-author Maureen Seaberg have written an interesting and moving memoir about experiences that most of us can barely understand. The writing is not polished, often repetitious, and sometimes rambling. Still, I managed to finish it in a day. If you liked Treffert's "Islands of Genius," or if you have any interest in the savant syndromes or synesthesia, you will surely want to get hold of his book. I recommend it. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.
BySTEPHEN PLETKOon August 2, 2014
XXXXX
"I struggled to my feet. Not only was I in a lot of pain, but I was having trouble getting my bearings. The world looked different: off-kilter, dreamlike. Everything that moved had trails of colored light following close behind it.
There were triangles and squares in repeating patterns wherever I looked, from the windows to the lampposts to the street signs...
I rubbed my eyes. The glow of the streetlights seemed amplified. I could see the cars going by, little chipped shapes bouncing off their hoods."
The above is what was experienced after a brutal mugging and is found in this fascinating book by Jason Padgett (and Maureen Seaberg). Padgett is now an aspiring number theorist. He's an award-winning artist who hand-draws the stunning geometric patterns he sees everywhere. (Seaberg is an author with several forms of synesthesia (see below). She has written for numerous notable publications.)
This book briefly describes Padgett's life before his TBI (traumatic brain injury) that resulted from a mugging and his long struggle to understand what was happening to him after his TBI. Padgett is determined to overcome psychological and neurological trauma and fully embrace his new mind that now has an extraordinary gift.
What is that extraordinary gift? Answer: acquired savant syndrome (the first documented case) with mathematical synesthesia.
(Savant in the term "savant syndrome" is one whose mental capabilities are quite limited but who possesses some extraordinary talent. Padgett's talent is mathematics and his other mental capabilities seem not to be affected as in the typical savant. Synesthesia is a process in which one type of stimulus produces a secondary, subjective sensation, as when some colour evokes a specific smell. In Padgett's case, he associates shapes with numbers.)
What's even more amazing is that before his TBI, Padgett was a party-loving jock and a college dropout who did not make it past pre-algebra.
This is a true story of sorrow and joy, of falling in love, finding a passion for mathematics and physics, and above all, discovering a profound sense of wonder for the order in our seemingly chaotic world.
Finally, there are twelve colour photographs near the center of this book. My favourite has the following caption:
"My conception of particle fusion [or nuclear fusion where two atomic nuclei combine to form a more stable heavier atomic nucleus resulting in a considerable amount of energy being released]. I imagine the center hexagon [in the photo] as the inert iron core of a star [like our sun] and the six surrounding hexagons [in the photo] as the outer mass, collapsing due to the immense pull of gravity. I'm fascinated by the process of fusion and the possibility of harnessing it to create unlimited, clean energy."
In conclusion this is a well-written book about the story of an ordinary man who was transformed when a traumatic brain injury left him with an extraordinary gift.
(first published 2014; a note from Maureen; 18 chapters; main narrative 225 pages; acknowledgements; bibliography; index)
<<Stephen PLETKO, London, Ontario, Canada>>
XXXXX
"I struggled to my feet. Not only was I in a lot of pain, but I was having trouble getting my bearings. The world looked different: off-kilter, dreamlike. Everything that moved had trails of colored light following close behind it.
There were triangles and squares in repeating patterns wherever I looked, from the windows to the lampposts to the street signs...
I rubbed my eyes. The glow of the streetlights seemed amplified. I could see the cars going by, little chipped shapes bouncing off their hoods."
The above is what was experienced after a brutal mugging and is found in this fascinating book by Jason Padgett (and Maureen Seaberg). Padgett is now an aspiring number theorist. He's an award-winning artist who hand-draws the stunning geometric patterns he sees everywhere. (Seaberg is an author with several forms of synesthesia (see below). She has written for numerous notable publications.)
This book briefly describes Padgett's life before his TBI (traumatic brain injury) that resulted from a mugging and his long struggle to understand what was happening to him after his TBI. Padgett is determined to overcome psychological and neurological trauma and fully embrace his new mind that now has an extraordinary gift.
What is that extraordinary gift? Answer: acquired savant syndrome (the first documented case) with mathematical synesthesia.
(Savant in the term "savant syndrome" is one whose mental capabilities are quite limited but who possesses some extraordinary talent. Padgett's talent is mathematics and his other mental capabilities seem not to be affected as in the typical savant. Synesthesia is a process in which one type of stimulus produces a secondary, subjective sensation, as when some colour evokes a specific smell. In Padgett's case, he associates shapes with numbers.)
What's even more amazing is that before his TBI, Padgett was a party-loving jock and a college dropout who did not make it past pre-algebra.
This is a true story of sorrow and joy, of falling in love, finding a passion for mathematics and physics, and above all, discovering a profound sense of wonder for the order in our seemingly chaotic world.
Finally, there are twelve colour photographs near the center of this book. My favourite has the following caption:
"My conception of particle fusion [or nuclear fusion where two atomic nuclei combine to form a more stable heavier atomic nucleus resulting in a considerable amount of energy being released]. I imagine the center hexagon [in the photo] as the inert iron core of a star [like our sun] and the six surrounding hexagons [in the photo] as the outer mass, collapsing due to the immense pull of gravity. I'm fascinated by the process of fusion and the possibility of harnessing it to create unlimited, clean energy."
In conclusion this is a well-written book about the story of an ordinary man who was transformed when a traumatic brain injury left him with an extraordinary gift.
(first published 2014; a note from Maureen; 18 chapters; main narrative 225 pages; acknowledgements; bibliography; index)
<<Stephen PLETKO, London, Ontario, Canada>>
XXXXX
"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".
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