Born On A Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant | Daniel Tammet

Born On A Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant | Daniel Tammet | Fascinating and heart warming!

books:

Born On A Blue Day...

	Born On A Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant Daniel Tammet Free Press, 2007 - 256 pages average customer review:based on 129 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Born on a Blue Day is a journey into one of the most fascinating minds alive today -- guided by the owner himself. Daniel Tammet is virtually unique among people who have severe autistic disorders in that he is capable of living a fully independent life and able to explain what is happening inside his head.

He sees numbers as shapes, colors, and textures, and he can perform extraordinary calculations in his head. He can learn to speak new languages fluently, from scratch, in a week. In 2004, he memorized and recited more than 22,000 digits of pi, setting a record. He has savant syndrome, an extremely rare condition that gives him the most unimaginable mental powers, much like those portrayed by Dustin Hoffman in the film Rain Man.

Fascinating and inspiring, Born on a Blue Day explores what it' s like to be special and gives us an insight into what makes us all human -- our minds.

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Either totally engrossing or terribly tedious...

Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammet is an autobiography that you will either find totally engrossing or terribly tedious. Fortunately, I was one who was enthralled by Tammet and his incredible story.

Tammet is unusual in many ways. First, he was diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome (a high level form of Autism), but not until he was 24 years old. He describes in great detail his childhood experiences and how different he was from others. Second, he is a savant with extraordinary abilities in math and languages. In fact, he is so unique that he was featured in a documentary called "Brainman," a take-off on the movie about another savant, "Rainman." And last, what makes him truly incredible is that he is able to express and explain to others how he views his world--something very difficult for people with Autism.

I found Tammet's entire story fascinating--how he sees numbers as colors and shapes, how his loving family supported this difficult but gifted child, his schooling, his journeys to other countries to teach English, the scientific studies that have been done on him and most of all, how he copes as an adult. I found it especially interesting as an educator to see how the Autistic mind works.

How very fortunate we are that Daniel Tammet was able to give us his story in Born on a Blue Day.

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Fascinating and heart warming!

I absolutely could not put this book down! What an amazing individual Daniel is. I would love to meet him. I was amazed at how fluid the book was given it was written by an autistic person. I HIGHLY recommend this book!

A Literate "Rainman"

Although autistic savants often amaze us with their feats of memory, typically they lack the communication and people skills to be able to share their stories with others. Daniel Tammet, a high-fuctioning autistic savant with Asperger's Syndrome, has lived an atypical life. He was featured in a documentary, "Brainman," and has appeared on numerous television shows around the world. The title of the book comes from David's synethesia. He identifies numbers and words as colors or shapes. Thus his Wednesday birthdate translates to "a blue day" because the word "Wednesday" is colored blue in his mind's eye. If you enjoyed the movie, "Rainman," you'll appreciate reading about this most unusual autistic man.

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Meticulous detail about the rhythm and routine of the author's life

Daniel Tammet has penned his account of his life, through his 27th year, as a British autistic savant who has navigated through his life with Asperger's syndrome and synesthesia. He captures with meticulous detail the rhythm and routine of his life and recounts his events and experiences though offers few thoughts about his inner thinking.

His prose (and one has to wonder how heavy or light a hand his editors wielded) is precise and measured--not surprisingly--but the overall story does not crackle with excitement or energy. Hence, Mr. Tammet's biopic no doubt seems oddly dry as he does not rely on embellishment or stray from his point, but tends to present the facts in a straightforward and thrifty manner.

Mr. Tammet admittedly leads an insular, interior life, and that perspective also infuses his writing here. Yet there are surprises along the way: his first experience with tears, his acceptance of Christianity, his falling in love. In some ways, his advanced abilities in math and language are secondary to the rituals of life that he relies on to keep him grounded and functioning.

Yet, I somehow wanted more from this book, perhaps more insights into the inner working of someone with Asperger's syndrome and a bit more detail of how Mr. Tammet's mind functions.

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