Paperback: £15.99 / $29.95
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2001, 234mm x 156mm / 9.25in x 6in, 192pp
ISBN: 978-1-85302-932-5, BIC 2: ABA
JM
JMP
Hardback: £29.95 / $70.00
add to cart
2001, 234mm x 156mm / 9.25in x 6in, 192pp
ISBN: 978-1-85302-931-8, BIC 2: ABA
JM
JMP
'Some autistic people have singular talents of various sorts, existing in strange isolation from the rest of their minds. While such 'savant' talents have been described, anecdotally, for a century or more, Beate Hermelin has been a pioneer in their scientific investigation. In Bright Splinters of the Mind, she brings together the results of her more than twenty years' research, and presents a highly original and systematic analysis of a range of autistic talents - artistic, musical, linguistic, mathematical - showing that while they might seem to be so odd and special, they provide essential clues to the nature of all intelligent thinking. This analysis is embedded in an engrossing narrative of Dr. Hermelin's own personal involvement and passion. This then is research which is rigorous, but has an intensely human face. Bright Splinters of the Mind is simply but beautifully written, and will, I think, fascinate and move a wide range of readers.'
- Oliver Sacks
'succeeds in making what hitherto appeared complicated and unknowable seem simple and understandable... She portrays her goal as giving readers an understanding of the mental strategies that underlie the extraordinary talents shown by so-called idiots savants, most of whom are autistic. She achieves that objective in splendid fashion but, in doing so, she accomplishes the more difficult feat of conveying both why science is so exciting, and how scientists tackle the task of testing hypotheses that pit one explanation against others. The book, incidentally, also shows what a special talent Beate Hermelin has for writing about science for a broader audience. But this book is a 'must' for scientists as well as for the general public, because of the clarity of its expression of an experimental approach to special skills and disabilities. Read on to understand the science, but also read on to appreciate the excitement of being a scientist involved in making discoveries.'
- Sir Michael Rutter, from the Foreword
The extraordinary talents of some people with autism are well-documented, yet little is understood about the nature of their gifts. Drawing on 20 years of research, Beate Hermelin describes not just what autistic savants do, but how they do it. During her studies she and her collaborators examined savants alongside neurotypical individuals talented in the same domain, as well as people with the same level of intelligence as the savants but with no special abilities. In her fascinating and highly informative book she describes her investigations into the nature of the talents of savants who are gifted at poetry, foreign language acquisition, the visual arts, music, and calendar and numerical calculations. The work of a scholar but immensely readable, Bright Splinters of the Mind is not only a thorough exploration of autistic gifts, it is also a book which reaches radical conclusions on the very nature of talent and its relationship to intelligence.
