Brain Damage and Art Extraordinaire

Last time, I posted about the brain and creativity, which lobe was associated with creativity and about making use of the entire brain for better yields in creativity. This time, however, I've got something extraordinary for you.
      We've all heard of brain damage. Movies such as Memento, Ghajini, Regarding Henry and Rain Man have publicized the ill and adverse effects brain damage can have on individuals. However, being only fictional portrayals, they may not be quite accurate.
      And not all incidents of brain damage lead to ill effects. In fact, there are known cases where such injury has resulted in marvels.

The Curious Case of Sandy Allen

Sandy Allen was diagnosed with a tumor on her brain's left lobe hence had to undergo surgery to get it removed. As commonly known, the left lobe deals with literacy, logic and analytic thinking and Sandy found it challenging to understand instructions, plots and had difficulty in communication. 

    However, the right lobe of her brain seemed to spark and function better, leading her to acquire a heightened skill in artistry. Previously, Sandy had been more of a science student, but in the post-surgery period of her life, she grew closer to art and art therapy. Having being unable to sketch a stick figure prior to the incident, she now spends hours drawing.

     So this has led to the realization that certain damages to the brain can in fact cause the patient to uncover abilities that he/she never knew to exist. Please do not take it that we promote people to damage their brains in hopes of gaining some super skill!

Extraordinary Artists

Stephen Wiltshire, British architectural artist, at work

Simply Google for super-human and you'll come across a hit on Wikipedia containing information about Naturally Superhuman People. Listed under this topic is Stephen Wiltshire (above), an artist with savant syndrome that allows him to draw panoramic landscapes of cities after a short helicopter ride over them. 

Savant syndrome is a condition where people with certain mental disorders seem to acquire superhuman skills beyond the ordinary layman's. Such individuals fare badly in social life and IQ tests but are unparalleled in the skills they are profound in.

Historians now believe that maybe even Michelangelo, artist of the Rennaisance, may have had a certain form of autism due to records of his antisocial behaviour.