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diagrams, but didn't know what they were. mathematics is as beautiful and natural as the world around us. When asked if he thought his talent was a burden or a gift, Padgett said it was a mixture of both. "Sometimes | would really like to turn it off, and it won't,” he said. "But the good far outweighs the bad. I would not give it up for anything." (Source: ABCNews.go.com, Medical Unit, 27 April 2012, http://tinyurl.com/866msww) © COLLEGE DROPOUT TURNS GEOMETRY GENIUS AFTER MUGGING ason Padgett, 41, sees complex J mathematical formulas everywhere he looks, and he turns them into stunning, intricate diagrams that he can draw by hand. He's the only person in the world known to have this incredible skill, which he obtained by sheer accident just a decade ago. "I'm obsessed with numbers, geometry specifically," Padgett said. "| literally dream about it. There’s not a moment that I can't see it, and it just doesn't turn off." Padgett doesn't have a PhD, a college degree or even a background in mathematics. His talent was born out of a true medical mystery that scientists around the world are still trying to unravel. One night, 10 years ago, when leaving a karaoke club in Tacoma, Washington, Padgett was brutally attacked by muggers who beat and kicked him in the head repeatedly. At the time, doctors said he had concussion, but within a day or two Padgett began to notice something remarkable. This college dropout who couldn't draw became obsessed with drawing intricate fractal MILVIVILIINE ULINIUS ~~ 7 ao oe To - 7 AFTER MUGGING "I see bits and pieces of the When asked if he thought his Pythagorean theorem everywhere," talent was a burden or a gift, Padgett he said. "Every single little curve, said it was a mixture of both every single spiral, every tree is part "Sometimes | would really like to of that equation." turn it off, and it won't," he said. To better understand how his brain "But the good far outweighs the bad. works, Dr Berit Brogaard, a _ | would not give it up for anything." neuroscientist and philosophy (Source: ABCNews.go.com, Medical Unit, 27 professor at the Center for April 2o12, http://tinyurl.com/866msww) co Neurodynamics a he University o Missouri-St Louis, and her team flew Padgett to Finland o run a series 0 ests. A scan ° Padgett’s brain showed damage hat was forcing his brain to overcompensate in certain areas that most people don't ave access to, Dr Brogaard explained. described Padgett as an "acquired savant". Padgett said that is goal now is to each others that ason Padgett, 41, sees complex J mathematical ormulas everywhere he looks, and he turns them into stunning, intricate diagrams that he can draw by hand. He’s the only person in the world known to have this incredible skill, which he obtained by sheer accident just a decade ago. "I'm obsessed with numbers, geometry specifically," Padgett said. "| literally dream about it. There's not a moment that | can't see it, and it just doesn't turn off." Padgett doesn't have a PhD, a college degree or even a background in mathematics. His talent was born out of a true medical mystery that scientists around the world are still trying to unravel One night, 10 years ago, when leaving a karaoke club in Tacoma, Washington, Padgett was brutally attacked by muggers who beat and kicked him in the head repeatedly. She At the time, doctors said he had concussion, but within a day or two Padgett began to notice something remarkable. This college dropout who couldn't draw became obsessed with drawing intricate fractal tests. as JUNE - JULY 2012 NEXUS ¢ 67 Examples of Jason Padgett’s hand-drawn diagrams. The bottom right illustration represents the infinite number pi. www.nexusmagazine.com