Prodigies: Introduction
By Alexia Kim, Cesar Arduino and Grace Armstrong
In the chapter Prodigies of the book An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales, Oliver Sacks describes prodigies and savants as individuals with a certain talent in a specific area in which they develop extraordinary skill at an unusually fast pace. Despite having excelled abilities in one area, such as art, mathematics, or spacial organization, prodigies lack the ability to comprehend, ultimately delaying their learning starting from a young age. Sacks specifically characterizes their learning as “wholly phonological and syntactic, without any sense of meaning” (192), illustrating how a large part of a prodigal perspective is completely dominated by the observation of concrete concepts as they are with the absence of abstraction and emotion. However, prodigies also have extraordinary memory in that they are able to recall exact details without much effort. For example, Sacks describes a patient of Dr. J Langdon Down’s who was able to read the entirety of Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire once and remember every word, making a single sentence mistake. Although prodigies have extreme memorizing capabilities, they are still limited by the absence of meaning and depth in their perspectives. These different characteristics illustrate how prodigies have outstanding talents yet experience difficulties in social contexts.
Sacks observes a young boy named Stephen Wiltshire, who possesses a unique talent for drawing. He began his childhood at age five by creating detailed art of a multitude of subjects he enjoyed, such as cars and buildings. Stephen surpassed all other children his age in drawing, skipping the basic drawing stages of simple shapes, and going straight to interesting angles, shadows, and incredible detail. These abilities came innately, he did not need to focus directly on his art while in the process of creating it. It seemed like second nature to him. However, despite his remarkable abilities in the arts, Stephen lacked the most basic communication skills. He was practically mute, distressed by other children, and unable to make complex relationships. After initially being put into a school for disabled children, he was replaced into an art school after his talents were discovered. From then, Stephen was met by many colleagues interested in his condition, including Oliver Sacks. The chapter Prodigies in An Anthropologist on Mars by Sacks details Oliver’s unique interactions with Stephen, and the insight in entials on the mind (188-243).
While Stephen Wiltshire is affected by autism spectrum disorder, commonly considered a detrimental condition, his extraordinary ability to skillfully draw clearly demonstrates that such a disorder can lead to rare, gifted individuals.
Ultimately, the case of autistic savant Stephen Wiltshire not only gives insight into the personal and social limitations that the disorder can place on an individual, but also the unique talents it may offer.
