On Fri, May 9, 2008 at 3:02 AM, Richard Loosemore <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I have a vague memory of coming across this research to duplicate savant > behavior, and I seem to remember thinking that the conclusion seems to be > that there is a part of the brain that is responsible for 'damping down' > some other mechanism that loves to analyze everything in microscopic detail. > It appears that the brain could be set up in such a way that there are two > opponent processes, with one being capable of phenomenal powers of analysis, > while the other keeps the first under control and prevents it from > overwhelming the other things that the system has to do. ... > Anyhow it is very interesting. Perhaps savantism is an attention mechanism > disorder? Like, too much attention.
Another possibility is that the analytic and microscopic detail method of thinking doesn't scale well to real life (particularly in modelling OTHER minds), which might be why autistics are often unable to function in every day society without assistance, and why non-autistic people may have the capability to display similar characteristics with proper stimulation of certain parts of the brain, possibly disabling a generality or abstraction system. J ------------------------------------------- agi Archives: http://www.listbox.com/member/archive/303/=now RSS Feed: http://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/303/ Modify Your Subscription: http://www.listbox.com/member/?member_id=8660244&id_secret=101455710-f059c4 Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com
