This is not something we have discussed in class but lately I have been considering savants and what they mean to the debate of multiple intelligences. Savant Syndrome is characterized by a person demonstrating abilities that far exceed normality, usually in one of five areas: art, musical abilities, calender calculations, mathematics, and spatial skills. 50% of savants are autistic and the other 50% have some other type of central nervous system injury or disease. Some savants score extremely low on IQ tests and then exhibit these extraordinary abilities in another area.
This, to me, is very strong evidence towards the belief in multiple intelligences. How else could such a phenomenon be explained. Savants exhibit such incredible abilities and struggle in other areas. For example, a calendrical savant, also known as a human calender, is able to calculate the day of the week on a specific date far in the past or future at an extremely quick pace. However, they would struggle in other areas as all savants do. This confirms that intelligence is not one quality. It can not be assigned as a characteristic one simply has or does not have. Intelligence can be present in some areas and completely absent in others.
I think you bring up a good point that we didn't talk much about in class. Savants are definitely a great example of how intelligence is multiple traits and not just one thing. But do you think we still have some sort of intelligence threshold? Such as we all have at least a certain amount of intelligence in all areas to be considered typical?
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