Accidental Genius

 

More proof that we have no idea how the human brain actually functions. A 41 year old college drop out is brutally mugged outside of a Tacoma, Washington nightclub. After awakening with a concussion, he becomes obsessed with numbers, specifically the mathematics principle of pi (3.14- remember Geometry class?). He even begins drawing strange visual representations of it...


The 41-year-old does not see the world in the same way that most people do. Everywhere he looks, he sees complex mathematical formulas -- like the Pythagorean theorem, for example. “Every single little curve, every single spiral, every tree is part of that equation.”  Padgett turns these formulas into intricate diagrams called fractals. He says that fractals are "shape(s) that when you take the shape a part into pieces, the pieces are the same or similar to the whole." 

For instance, he can produce a visual representation of Pi, the infinite mathematical constant which begins with 3.14. According to the Daily Mail, Padgett is the only person in the world known to have this skill.

Sounds like this man's life has become a Richard Pryor movie. Before the attack, he couldn't even draw. Now, he's selling elaborate Mathematical drawings (which he does by hand) on the internet.

After Head Injury, Man Becomes Math Genius

Accidental Genius: College Dropout Jason Padgett Became Mathematical Savant After Brutal Mugging

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