Did a Brain Injury Turn This Man Into a Mathematical Genius?

Jason Padgett looks like a normal middle-aged man, but once you get to know him, you'll realize he possesses an extraordinary mathematical ability. Also referred to as savant's syndrome, he sees the world through a geometric kaleidoscope, constantly analyzing his surroundings in numbers. Unlike every other recorded case of savant's syndrome, however, Padgett was not born with this ability but rather developed it as a result of a brain injury.

Padgett Emerges From a Brain Injury as a Mathematical Savant

It all happened back in 2002, when Padgett was brutally beaten while leaving a karaoke bar. During the attack, two men allegedly punched and kicked Padgett in the head, knocking him unconscious at one point. The ambulance arrived on scene and took him to the nearest hospital, at which point he was diagnosed with a bleeding kidney and severe concussion.

Padgett noticed something peculiar upon his return to the conscious realm: math was now melded into his normal everyday world. Padgett explains this phenomenon as seeing numbers in a coffee swirl, or being able to identify minute imperfections in circles, because as any skilled mathematician knows there's no such thing as a perfect circle. When Padgett confronted doctors about this newfound ability, they agreed that the injury may have 'unlocked' a portion of his brain that was previously untapped.

"I see shapes and angles everywhere in real life, from the geometry of a rainbow, to the fractals in water spiraling down a drain." Padgett told Live Science. "It's just really beautiful."

What's even more interesting is that Padgett was your typical athletic sports fanatic before the incident, paying little attention to geometry and mathematics. In fact, he admits to making it no further than pre-algebra before the math region of his brain clicked on. Padgett suffered from PTSD and social anxiety following the attack, but this gradually went away as he began to embrace his new ability.

Struck By a Genius

Padgett talks about the attack and his extraordinary mathematical skills in his book, Struck By a Genius. The book recounts Padgett's journey from being brutally attacked at random to becoming a mathematical savant.

"No one sees the world as Jason Padgett does. Water pours from the faucet in crystalline patterns, numbers call to mind distinct geometric shapes, and intricate fractal patterns emerge from the movement of tree branches, revealing the intrinsic mathematical designs hidden in the objects around us," wrote the synopsis of Padgett's book, Struck By a Genius.