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Amazing insight into 'world's biggest brain'

00:00, 20 May 2005

DANIEL TAMMET: "Autism isn't a life sentence and you can live very happily"
DANIEL TAMMET: "Autism isn't a life sentence and you can live very happily"

AUTISTIC genius Daniel Tammet is to be featured in a television documentary on Monday.

Television cameras are set to give viewers an insight into the world of the Kent man hailed as the "world’s biggest brain".

He achieved international renown last year when he set a new world record and succeeded in reciting pi to 22,514 places in five hours to raise money for the National Society for Epilepsy.

The choice of charity was not random as Mr Tammet’s own mental anomalies were triggered by an epileptic fit as a child.

Since then he has been able to complete amazing mathematical and linguistic feats such as learning to speak Icelandic in a week.

Mr Tammet, 26, of Hunters Chase, Broomfield, baffles scientists not only with his amazing brain power but also his seemingly unique ability to explain the thought processes behind his achievements.

Talking about Mr Tammet’s amazing skills Professor Allan Snyder, from the Centre for the Mind at the Australian National University said: "Savants can’t usually tell us how they do what they do, it just comes to them. Daniel can. He describes what he sees in his head. That’s why he’s exciting."

The documentary follows Mr Tammet to America where he is given the chance to meet real 'Rain Man' and fellow savant Kim Peek before travelling to a Las Vegas casino, where he is allowed the opportunity to try his hand at using his amazing mathematical skill to beat the house.

"They knew we were coming so we could only use play money," he explained.

The gambling was out of character for this unassuming genius who usually limits himself to quiz nights at his local church in between creating online study courses and inventing his own language Manti which he currently only uses to speak to his cats.

Explaining his decision to allow this intrusion into his carefully routined life – he has to have a cup of tea at exactly the same time every day and must count how many items of clothing he is wearing before leaving the house – Mr Tammet said: "I am happy to talk about it.

"If one autistic child or one parent can see me and realise that autism isn’t a life sentence and that you can live very happily, then it must be worthwhile."

AMAZING

Daniel Tammet’s achievement’s so far include:

* Reciting pi to 22,514 places;
* Learning Icelandic - one of the hardest languages - in just one week;
* Learning Spanish in a weekend;
* Creating his own language Manti, based on Finnish and Estonian;
* Simultaneoulsy holding an intellectual conversation and memorising last week’s football atendances.

* The Boy With The Incredible Brain is on Five on Monday, May 23 at 9pm.

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