Struck by Genius

January 20, 2014
Padgett was, at 31, a man who seemed to care more about his biceps than his career—until a brutal mugging completely changed the floundering course of his life. What initially manifested as an altered, more intense experience of visual phenomena developed into dizzying synesthesia and a newfound, savant-level capacity for mathematics. Pi quickly replaced partying in Padgett’s life. But there were physical ramifications, too: Padgett’s muscles withered into a leaner frame and the former gadfly became almost dangerously prone to isolation, the outside world too stimulating for his new senses. Yet Padgett ultimately reemerges into society by attending community college, meeting his eventual wife, pursuing yoga, and continuing to learn about his condition. Psychology Today blogger Seaberg serves as witness and scribe to the events of Padgett’s life, though the clear and personable tone that she and Padgett collectively strike won’t fully sate readers’ curiosity about the book’s miracles. The arc of the story, however, upholds the notion that positive turns come from unexpected places, and the implication that we all possess an inherent type of genius, whatever its truth, is sure to garner at least a modicum of public attention. 17 b&w drawings, 8p. 4-color insert.

Starred review from April 15, 2014
When Padgett suffered a traumatic brain injury after a violent mugging, his sense of perception was profoundly altered. Overnight, his life as a fun-loving salesman changed into one dominated by unprompted geometric visualizations and the unexpected insights of newfound mathematical brilliance. The effect of the author's injury was as complex as it was sudden. In addition to seeing crystalline and fractal patterns as part of the properties of objects and spaces around him, he developed a paralyzing fear of being among people and germs. Further debilitated by a series of personal losses, Padgett spent years in isolation, spending all his time investigating the concepts that suddenly held his mind hostage: math and science but also medical theories that might explain his neurological transformation. Based on his research, he suspected he had developed a form of synesthesia--a condition in which sensations are perceived in unusual ways, such as seeing letters or numbers as inseparable from specific colors--as a result of his injury. He was right. Padgett was officially diagnosed as having acquired savant syndrome and mathematical synesthesia, making him the only person with this diagnosis in the world. Throughout his transformation and recovery, the author compulsively drew pictures of the shapes that materialized and refracted before his eyes. These drawings, stunning in their complexity and also important to the author as a therapeutic method, have since been recognized internationally. Also important is that advanced technologies have provided images of his brain in unprecedented detail, resulting in a broader understanding of synesthesia as it affects the brain's chemistry. To put his remarkable story in writing, he partnered with Seaberg, a fellow synesthete who writes about synesthesia for Psychology Today. The result is a beautiful, inspiring and intimate account of Padgett's struggles and breakthroughs. An exquisite insider's look into the mysteries of consciousness.

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March 15, 2014

In September 2002, author Padgett was brutally mugged as he exited a Tacoma karaoke bar. The hospital medical exam revealed a profound brain concussion, and Padgett was treated and released. The next day, the author began to experience a keen ability to understand high levels of math and physics, as well as grasp developed skills for drawing complex geometric shapes that he started to see in everything. Padgett's diagnosis was acquired savant syndrome, a condition that had formerly been diagnosed in only 30 other individuals. Padgett's skills also included the unusual characteristics of synesthesia--the ability to hear colors, smell sounds, or perceive words and numbers in different hues, shapes, and textures. This combination placed him in the rarified, select group of only one person in the world with both diagnoses. Before his assault, Padgett admits to being an ordinary, not terribly bright worker in his father's furniture shop and never progressing beyond pre-algebra. Now a renowned mathematician and number theorist, he continues to work with neuroscientists and other medical researchers on the intriguing possibility that his brain might reveal how similar higher functioning expertise might exist in dormancy within the brains of others. VERDICT Padgett's heartfelt story of learning to cope with his new faculties, the onset of OCD that accompanied them, the intensive clinical testing and research that continue today, and how his experience changed his life, will appeal to fans of the films Rain Man and A Beautiful Mind, as well as the works of Oliver Sacks.--Dale Farris, Groves, TX

Copyright 2014 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2014
In a tale worthy of Ripley's Believe It or Not!, Padgett tells how a traumatic brain injury inflicted by muggers at a karaoke bar turned him into a mathematical marvel. At 31, the former math-averse underachiever turns into a hermit fascinated by pi. He gradually finds out that he is not like the other 1.7 million or so Americans each year who suffer from traumatic brain injuries. Instead, he learns that, while healing, he has become an accidental genius with sudden-onset savant syndrome, or acquired savant syndrome. He also finds out that he has acquired synesthesiaa blending of the senses that lets him see the world in beautiful geometric patterns. Padgett struggles with setbacks, including dependence on pain medication. But overall, he stays positive as he tells his tale with the help of coauthor Seaberg: Cases like mine prove a far greater plasticity of the brain in its ability to heal itself than was previously thought. This memoir sends a hopeful message to families touched by brain injury, autism, or neurological damage from strokes.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)