The Boy With the Incredible Brain

January 24th, 2007 · or link to (permalink)

Extraordinary documentary about Daniel Tammet whose mental arithmetic, linguistic and memory skills are such that he has recited Pi to 22,514 places. A feat which took 5 hours. To test him, he is to learn a new language in a week, for the film makers. Includes an interview with the real life person that was the inspiration for Dustin Hoffman’s character in Rain Man.

Trivia: The celebrated Cambridge Psychologist, Simon Baron Cohen, who examines Daniel in this film, is a second cousin of ‘Borat’ (Sacha Baron Cohen).

Running time: 48 mins.

Link

tags: science

5 responses so far »

Erika : Jan 26, 2007 at 1:36 am

Amazing… I had a smile on my face for the entire 48 minutes! Thank you.
Jean-Noël : Jan 26, 2007 at 7:24 pm

That was brilliant. I’ve seen documentaries about Savants before but I particularly like this one as Daniel comes across as a regular guy with incredible talents rather than a freak, which is sometimes the impression (or the portrayal) you get in other documentaries about individuals that are that highly gifted.

Thanks for sharing this.
Think or Thwim » Daniel Tammet - Savant : Jan 26, 2007 at 9:13 pm

[…] :: SmashingTelly […]
steph : Jan 27, 2007 at 5:30 pm

Tammet’s blog is here: http://www.optimnem.co.uk/blog/
James Donahue : Mar 9, 2007 at 3:02 am

I really really want to purchase this documentary on Daniel Tammet. I am a father of an autistic daughter and a teacher (HS and JC). How can I purchase it?