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EMBRACING THE WIDE SKY
A Tour Across the Horizons of the Mind
Free Press Hardback $25.00
Publication date: 6 January 2009
As one of the world's 50 living autistic savants, Daniel Tammet�author of the 2007 New York Times bestselling memoir, Born on a Blue Day�possesses a truly astonishing mind. He can recite 22,514 digits of pi from memory and learn a foreign language in just one week. Now, in his eagerly anticipated second book, Tammet explores how his abilities and disabilities shed light on the inner workings of the human brain. In EMBRACING THE WIDE SKY: A Tour Across the Horizons of the Mind (Free Press; January 6, 2009; $25.00), Tammet couples his own unique experiences with the latest scientific research, embarking on a journey through the complex, multi-dimensional workings of the brain in order to demystify the savant mind and reveal the hidden potential in all of us.
In EMRACING THE WIDE SKY, Tammet explores the brain from the various perspectives of neuroscience, psychology, and linguistics to compose a richly detailed portrait of the human mind. The book�inspired by an Emily Dickinson poem, which begins "the brain is wider than the sky" � reveals the complex relationship between intelligence and achievement, explains how his memories are like symphonies, and shows how our natural intuitions can help us learn foreign languages and do math. Tammet also describes the link he discovered between Shakespeare's creativity and the private languages of twins, how optical illusions fool our brains, and why 'thinking by numbers' can help us all avoid common mistakes and make smarter decisions. Combining astonishing stories of neurological disorders with his own insightful theories, Tammet investigates the myriad functions of the brain, producing a penetrating investigation of how we think, learn, remember, and create.
A rare insider's look into the neurological underpinnings of extraordinary talent and human potential, EMBRACING THE WIDE SKY vividly depicts the ways in which Tammet's own mind processes and transforms information. Living with synesthesia�an unusual brain condition that jumbles the senses�Tammet describes how he experiences numbers as complex shapes and textures, and how this unique ability coupled with an innate empathy for numbers provides the foundation for his amazing numerical aptitude. Debunking the popular myth that savants' minds operate like machines, he says, "Computers may crunch numbers but I dance with them."
And yet, Tammet asserts savants' brains are much more similar to those of the general population than previously imagined. He describes the spontaneous development of a new sign language in an isolated Nicaraguan school for the deaf and the phenomenon of "twin speak" to illustrate how the human brain is uniquely hard-wired to create and understand language. Citing research that shows that children as young as five months old can intuitively perform basic arithmetic, Tammet demonstrates that the mind possesses an innate ability to understand numbers. Tammet believes that savants and young children both "let their minds run riot � jumping from word to word or number to number, discovering all kinds of patterns and relationships along the way that help us to think, learn, and remember rapidly and imaginatively."
Because of his profound understanding of the complexities of the mind, Tammet believes that everyone's brain holds untapped potential, and writes that "Genius, in all its forms, is not due to any mere quirk of the brain; it is the result of far more chaotic, dynamic, and essentially human qualities such as perseverance, imagination, intuition, and even love." At once illuminating and provocative, EMBRACING THE WIDE SKY ultimately reveals that the "average" brain is actually just as astonishing as a savant's.
Daniel Tammet is a writer, linguist, and educator. His memoir, Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant, was a New York Times bestseller and made Tammet an international celebrity and much sought-after speaker. A 2008 British poll named him one of the world's "100 living geniuses." He lives in Avignon, in the south of France. To view an interview with Daniel, please visit: Book Videos.tv
To schedule an interview with Daniel Tammet, please contact: Heidi Metcalfe, phone: 212.698.2358; fax: 212-632-4989; [email protected]
A rare condition, a difficult life, an incredible story
BORN ON A BLUE DAY by DANIEL TAMMET
A memoir of Asperger's and an extraordinary mind
Hodder & Stoughton Hardback �16.99
Publication date: 13th July 2006
Daniel Tammet is a real-life Rain Man. He has savant syndrome, an extremely rare form of Asperger's syndrome (high functioning autism). He sees numbers as shapes, colours and textures and can perform extraordinary maths�in his head. He can also learn to speak a language fluently from scratch in a week. However he cannot drive a car, finds emotions difficult to understand and has trouble telling left from right.
One of fewer than fifty such people living worldwide, Daniel is unique in his ability to articulate his savant experience.�Daniel's childhood was full of challenges. For the first couple of years of his life he cried constantly. Then at four he suffered a series of epileptic seizures. At school he was an outsider, unable to mix with the other children. His big, loving family�helped and supported�him throughout, as did his own determination�to overcome his difficulties.
Discovery of high-functioning autism is often delayed and Daniel had no answers to his separateness until the Autism Research Centre at Cambridge University eventually diagnosed him at the age of 25.
This is the story of a truly amazing man, who has taught himself 'normal' behaviour that most people are able to take for granted -�how to make eye contact, when to laugh at a joke,�the intricacies of�conversation�- and to work around his social and emotional deficits, counting to himself whenever he feels anxious or unhappy. Daniel also explains in�remarkable detail�the inner workings of his extraordinary mind. �DANIEL TAMMET has been working with scientists to understand the implications of his condition for neuroscience and our understanding of consciousness and has been described as autism's 'Rosetta Stone'. Able to lead a fully independent life, he lives with his partner in Kent where he runs his own internet-based teaching business.
For further information please contact Kerry Hood: 020 7873 6173
Hodder & Stoughton Press Office, 338 Euston Road, London NW1 3BH
