# Can a tapeworm turn you into a savant genius ?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-tapeworm-turn-you-into-a-savant-genius/736759>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 5, 2015, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-tapeworm-turn-you-into-a-savant-genius/736759 "2015-11-05T21:12:45Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\
**Post date:** [November 5, 2015, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-tapeworm-turn-you-into-a-savant-genius/736759/1 "2015-11-05T21:12:45Z")

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There are numerous examples of brain injury or disease leaving a person with [superb mental talents](http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/05/eureka-when-a-blow-to-the-head-creates-a-sudden-genius/257282/) (as well as problems), could neurocysticersis do this ?

> [@](#):
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> Muybridge is actually one of a number of people who’ve miraculously developed artistic, musical, or mathematical abilities as a result of a brain injury. There’s [Orlando Serrell](http://www.orlandoserrell.com/), who was struck in the head with a baseball as a 10-year-old and found he could remember the weather for each day following his accident. There’s [Derek Amato](http://www.wisconsinmedicalsociety.org/savant_syndrome/savant_profiles/derek_amato), who woke up after hitting his head at the bottom of a pool and became a master pianist at 40, despite lacking any sort of musical training. There’s [Alonzo Clemens](http://science.discovery.com/tv/ingenious-minds/bios/alonzo-clemons.html), whose verbal and cognitive abilities stopped developing at the age of three due to a head injury but who can assemble incredibly detailed sculptures of animals in a matter of minutes.