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02/23/2005 Archived Entry: "Savant for a day"

Gordon P. writes, Fascinating and somewhat disturbing article on a method for artificially inducing "savant like" abilities in a subject's brain by temporarily "shutting off" some of their higher cognitive functions using transcranial magnetic stimulation. I am disturbingly reminded of Vernon Vinge's novel "A Deepness in the Sky," in which the totalitarian megalomaniac "Emergents" converted a large portion of the Qeng Ho fleet's crew into autistic savants and forced them to service their New Cosmic Order.