Idiot-Savants?

Question

What are your thoughts? Your explanations?

Answer 1

well for one thing, thats not a very politically correct term.

Answer 2

if you're serving specials needs kids you shouldn't be calling them idiots, you bit*h. secondly intelligence is relative and everybody has their gifts.

Answer 3

98% of the people here on Yahoo Answers.

Answer 4

They are people who generally have brain injuries but in one specific area they can function exceptionally well. Some say they focus all their energy on the one area of their interest. Others say they may have been gifted but the rest of their brain was injured except that part.

Answer 5

What is an idiot savant?

Current research theories show that intelligence is non-local and not bound to the brain. Sometimes nature offers insight into a particular subject by presenting a baffling enigma and contradictory example. Intelligence's contradictory enigma is the idiot-savant.

The word idiot usually refers to a simpleton, in contrast to the word "savant" in French that means "learned one." Idiot savants are a subgroup of a class of people called idiots with an IQ of about 25.

Idiot savants are a group of humans that are incapable of learning, writing or reading, yet they have unlimited access to specific, accurate knowledge in the fields of mathematics, music, and other precise areas. Now the irony of an idiot-savant is that this group of individuals does not acquire knowledge by learning as the average human does. They mysteriously 'know' explicit, exact, correct information. One may wonder: "How do idiots savants know certain information or possess certain skills?" By whatever means they obtain this information, they undermine current definitions about intelligence. Does their knowledge show that a source of intelligence exists? Is it possible to tap into this source and not know of its existence?

Dustin Hoffman made idiot-savants famous in the Hollywood movie "Rain Man." He played the role of a mathematical genius able to keep track of cards at the casino, yet unable to go to the bathroom alone or to make simple decisions about what clothes to wear or foods to eat. Modern science cannot explain this phenomenon.

Answer 6

I'm assuming by this you mean autistic-savants? Idiot Savant is an outdated and offensive term. In my experience, it is very rare. Certain people with autism have an uncanny talent of some kind- music, math, etc  but are unable to function in the world in a typical way. The movie Rainman with Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise portrayed an autistic savant with some stereotypical autistic abilities. I did work with a young man who had an uncanny ability with numbers. He could look at objects and tell you exactly how many, add up any pile of change almost instantaneously, but he is the only person with autism I have ever worked with who could possibly be an autistic savant. Overall, a very rare condition in very few people with autism. Probably the typical person someone unfamiliar with the disability thinks of when autism is mentioned.

Answer 7

They are amazing but I don't envy them

Answer 8

It's OK. You can't find out if you don't ask!

It usually refers to an autistic person or otherwise mentally challenged person who has unexplained genius capabilities or talents, usually mathematics or musically based.

Answer 9

I think there is some confusion in terms here. "Idiot savant" as you correctly stated, is politically incorrect. However, it is related to mentally retarded people who have some rare abilities that far exceed the scope of their intelligence. There is not a better term for them, but we should think of one fast! It is sad.

There are other types of savants. Autistic savants are people who are diagnosed with autism who don't have the ability to communicate very well, but who have amazing splinter skills.

We have a middle school boy in one of our autism classes who does not communicate except by using "scripts" he has heard on television. However, he draws amazing comic books that have conversation bubbles. In the conversation bubbles, he has perfect grammar and syntax. These comic books can be 50 pages long and have a plot and good sequencing.

Some people with Asperger's Syndrome can also be savants. They may have terrible social skills, but will be a genius in a narrow field, usually science or mathematics.

Finally, regular people can also be savants, having absolutely genius in a splinter area.