Beautiful Minds
(1) Memory Masters - The Mysterious World Of The Savants
Beautiful Minds approaches the vast field of brain research through its most fascinating subjects: the savants. Around one hundred recognised savants with extraordinary abilities are currently known worldwide. Savants can multiply five-digit numbers in their heads, recite 12,000 books from memory, or play back a melody on the piano after hearing it just once. For brain researchers, savants represent a remarkable window into the workings of the mind. Scientists around the world are now asking themselves: is it infact a deficit that unlocks genius?
Rüdiger Gamm, who demonstrates his abilities as a human calculator for Beautiful Minds, is a rare case. Like a true savant, he can perform extraordinary mathematical calculations in his head in seconds — yet he appears to have no disabilities, and scientists do not classify him as a savant. His talents remain unexplained. Rüdiger represents a bridge between savants and people with ordinary minds.
Orlando Serrell was ten years old when a baseball struck him on the temple. Since then, he has been able to recall every detail of every day of his life — from what he had for lunch to the colour of the socks he was wearing three years earlier. And the archive in his head keeps growing. He is an “acquired savant.”
Kim Peek from Salt Lake City is the real Rain Man. The Hollywood film Rain Man was based on Kim’s story, with Dustin Hoffman playing a fictionalised version of him under the name Raymond Babbitt. Hoffman won an Oscar for the role.”
Kim Peek passed away in 2009, shortly after Beautiful Minds was made. During filming he was in good health. Kim didn’t read books — he scanned them: one eye taking in one page while the other read the facing page, all within eight seconds. He absorbed data like a computer hard drive: melodies, names, historical dates, every area code in the United States. But Kim paid a price for his remarkable abilities. Until his sudden death at 58, the mega-savant had never been able to live independently. He remained in the care of his father, Fran Peek.
Howard Potter has been able to calculate the exact number of peas on his plate at a glance since childhood — yet he has depended on his mother’s help in daily life for over 40 years. Howard loves square roots and prime numbers, and more than anything: the endless reservoir of football results. Not for the sport itself, but for the numbers.”
Where does memory come from? Why do we remember some things and forget others? What filters determine what is stored and what is discarded? Or do we record everything — as Prof. Gerhard Roth of the University of Bremen suggests? And if we do — how can we unlock the hidden chambers of memory, as savants apparently can?
Rüdiger Gamm, who demonstrates his abilities as a human calculator for Beautiful Minds, is a rare case. Like a true savant, he can perform extraordinary mathematical calculations in his head in seconds — yet he appears to have no disabilities, and scientists do not classify him as a savant. His talents remain unexplained. Rüdiger represents a bridge between savants and people with ordinary minds.
Orlando Serrell was ten years old when a baseball struck him on the temple. Since then, he has been able to recall every detail of every day of his life — from what he had for lunch to the colour of the socks he was wearing three years earlier. And the archive in his head keeps growing. He is an “acquired savant.”
Kim Peek from Salt Lake City is the real Rain Man. The Hollywood film Rain Man was based on Kim’s story, with Dustin Hoffman playing a fictionalised version of him under the name Raymond Babbitt. Hoffman won an Oscar for the role.”
Kim Peek passed away in 2009, shortly after Beautiful Minds was made. During filming he was in good health. Kim didn’t read books — he scanned them: one eye taking in one page while the other read the facing page, all within eight seconds. He absorbed data like a computer hard drive: melodies, names, historical dates, every area code in the United States. But Kim paid a price for his remarkable abilities. Until his sudden death at 58, the mega-savant had never been able to live independently. He remained in the care of his father, Fran Peek.
Howard Potter has been able to calculate the exact number of peas on his plate at a glance since childhood — yet he has depended on his mother’s help in daily life for over 40 years. Howard loves square roots and prime numbers, and more than anything: the endless reservoir of football results. Not for the sport itself, but for the numbers.”
Where does memory come from? Why do we remember some things and forget others? What filters determine what is stored and what is discarded? Or do we record everything — as Prof. Gerhard Roth of the University of Bremen suggests? And if we do — how can we unlock the hidden chambers of memory, as savants apparently can?
Facts
Shot in HDTV on original locations in Germany, France, USA, Australia, Italy, Ireland and the United Kingdom
Beautiful Minds was licenced to more than 50 countries around the world.
It was nominated for the German TV Prize (Deutscher Fernsehpreis), the Adolf- Grimme-Prize and for Prix Europa.
First aired:
20th February 2006, 19.00 pm on Arte, 15th March 2006, 23.15 pm on ARD, 26th April 2006, 20.15 pm on 3 Sat, 22nd May 2006, 20.15 pm on Phoenix.
Credits
Written, directed and produced by: Petra Höfer and Freddie Röckenhaus
Director of Photography: Axel Petrovan
Video Editor: Jörg Wegner
Producer: Francesca D‘Amicis, Ralf Hoppe, Friederike Schmidt-Vogt
Line Producer: Svenja Mandel
Narration: Benjamin Völz
Commissioning Editors: Gerhard Widmer (Radio Bremen)
A colourFIELD production commissioned by Radio Bremen and ARTE
