Though a child is usually prefixed with prodigy, the concept can be applied to adults, as well. A prodigy is a person with exceptional talent in a particular field.
A prodigy does not necessarily translate into a genius later on in his life, and when this does happen, the person is described as precocious talent that did not deliver as an adult. A savant is a person who may give the impression of being exceptionally talented in one field, though; he may not have the intelligence to put his perceived skill into good effect or use.
In fact, a savant may not even understand the implication of his extraordinary skill level in a particular field. Most savant persons are retarded and in conjunction have autism. Frequently seen splinter skills include a preoccupation with, and huge memory for, music and sports trivia, license plate numbers, calendars, maps, and historical facts; as well as more unusual niche categories such as the many different models of vacuum tubes, and the appliances they were used in.
A common feature of all savants, regardless of the particular skill area in which they excel, is clearly an extremely deep and detailed memory, though only for a very narrow range of information. Some rare savants, referred to as prodigious savants, develop a skill to such a high level that it would be extremely impressive and outstanding even in a nonhandicapped person. Some doctors estimate that as many as one in ten autistic patients have some degree of savant skill; and about one in 2, persons with mental retardation have it, although, owing to the much higher incidence of mental retardation, only about 50 percent of savants are autistic.
Tony DeBlois, an autistic savant in Massachusetts, is an excellent example of this highly unusual combination of ability and disability. MyChart Login. See more blog posts. Comments Blog post currently doesn't have any comments. Leave comment Subscribe. Please enter a name. Please enter an email address. Please enter some comments. Daniel Tammet , a writer and autistic savant, has both high IQ and extraordinary savant skills; his abilities suggest that the traditional interpretation of prodigies as children with extremely high intelligence, and savants with extremely low intelligence, is more complicated than originally thought.
It seems then that the hallmark differential characteristic between prodigies and savants is not necessarily intellectual deficit, but rather the occurrence of a developmental disability, such as but not always Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Individuals with a developmental disability who demonstrate skills that stand in contrast to their overall disabilities, regardless of the extremity of these skills, are classified as savants, and cannot be classified as prodigies, even if these skills are exhibited before the onset of adolescence.
So if the distinction between these two groups of precocious individuals can be initially indiscernible, do they then simply represent two sides of the same coin?
Again, maybe not. While the perceivable outcomes of both groups can often be identical, it seems that what differs is how the two groups attain their skills. For prodigies, it is the speed in which their skills develop that is their hallmark characteristic.
The learning approaches of savants, on the other hand, can be classified as atypical, for not only can the early onset of savant skills become noticeable in the absence of any formal training, but their skill development may skip typical learning steps. Prodigies and savants may therefore remain two exceptional and distinct groups of individuals.
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