Dear Lazyweb: #7

[loosechanj]

When I was a kid, there was this fundie christian piano playing retard act. It was an old woman and her husband, who claimed they'd adopted this retarded kid, and one night he just "slid off the bed onto the piano bench" and started playing like a pro. They'd trot him out, have people hum a few bars and he'd play it by ear like he was ringin' a bell. It was a "miracle" of course, the Holy Spirit was playing through him and such nonsense.

Anyone know what I'm talking about? Google isn't being my friend on this.

Edit: I know there are real "idiot savant" cases, but I remember reading that this one in particular was a hoax.

Comments

[jeffpalmatier.livejournal.com]

They used to be called Idiot Savants. Nowadays, I think they're just called savants. Sometimes people who are developmentally stunted in one area have an amazing ability to do other things in other areas. There have been many examples of retarted people who were able to play by ear the most complex musical passages imaginable after hearing a recording of said music only once.

[loosechanj.livejournal.com]

No no, I do remember reading somewhere this was a hoax.

[jeffpalmatier.livejournal.com]

Type into Google: Idiot savant music. In particular, check out the wikipedia article. I'm sure that there might have been a hoax, but from what I understand savants is a documented fact in the medical literature.

[jeffpalmatier.livejournal.com]

Ugh. Sorry. I didn't read your reply closely enough. If you don't find anything after typing: idiot savant music hoax into Google, then I don't know how you'd find it.