October• 2018 | 31READER’S DIGEST
ANYONE LOST A HOUSE?A US police department was left with something too big to be
handed into lost and found, when an entire prefabricated house
was discovered abandoned on a Delaware street. The road was
closed while the police tried to find the owners.FOXNEWS.COMnon-musician hears music, they
perceive the big picture: melodies.
Amato, Snyder says, hears individual
notes. It’s thediference between just
hearing a symphony and being able to
pick out thelute. Dr Miller’s demen-
tia patients have artistic skills because
they are drawing what they see: details
and not simply broad strokes.
Psychologist and neuroscientist
JonKaasofVanderbiltUniversitysays
ourtendencyto“seethebigpicture”
–tolookatabunchoftreesandseea
forest – makes evolutionary sense. If
weallowedourselvestogetcaughtup
indetailsandnottheoverallpicture,
we could get hopelessly and danger-
ously distracted. We might get hung
up, for instance, on the shining eyes
orintricatetangleofhaironthehead
ofthebiganimalbythewateringhole
–insteadofrealisingit’salionthat
mighteatusfordinnerandthatwe’d
better run.
“If you are in a semi-dangerous en-
vironment, it’s important to be aware
of what’s changing,” he says. “You
don’t want to get distracted or lost in
the details.”
M
USICAL RENOWNhas yet to
follow for Amato, though he
did release an album, per-
formed with the famed jazz-fusion
guitarist Stanley Jordan, and was
asked to write the score for a Japa-
nese documentary. Still, the former
anonymoussalestrainerisanin-
spirationalsymbolofhumanpossi-
bility for music lovers dreaming of
grander things.
Savant expert Dr Treffert, neuro-
scientist Snyder and others spoke
enthusiastically about unravelling
the phenomenon of acquired savant-
isminordertoonedayenableallof
us to explore our hidden talents.he
DerekAmatosoftheworldprovide
aglimpseofthatgoal–untapped
human potential lies in everyone.
In Amato’s playing, there is expres-
sion, melody and undeniable skill.
And if this can emerge spontaneously
in Amato, who’s to say what potential
might lie dormant in the rest of us?To hear Amato play, search
‘Derek Amato: I Am Savant’
on YouTube.
FROM THE BOOKTHE BODY BUILDERS: INSIDE THE SCIENCE OF THE ENGINEERED HUMANBY ADAM PIORE.
© 2017 BY ADAM PIORE. REPRINTED BY PERMISSION OF ECCO, AN IMPRINT OF HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS.