From: Terry W. Colvin (fortean1@mindspring.com)
Date: Tue Jun 24 2003 - 11:49:44 MDT
< http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/22/magazine/22SAVANT.html?pagewanted=all >
> On Sat, 21 Jun 2003, James Lund wrote:
>
>> Don't tell the scientologists:
Reminder:
_______________
In a concrete basement at the University of Sydney, I sat in a chair
waiting to have my brain altered by an electromagnetic pulse. My forehead
was connected, by a series of electrodes, to a machine that looked
something like an old-fashioned beauty-salon hair dryer and was sunnily
described to me as a ''Danish-made transcranial magnetic stimulator.''
This was not just any old Danish-made transcranial magnetic stimulator,
however; this was the Medtronic Mag Pro, and it was being operated by
Allan Snyder, one of the world's most remarkable scientists of human
cognition.
_________________
> So is the guy nuts, or on to something?
>
Or neither?
I presented at a conference with Allan Snyder and spent a fair bit of time
a few years ago listening to him on this theory. I met savants and experts
on the whole range of exceptionally (the politically correct term for
non-normal intelligences, whatever that may be) during that conference. I
am supposedly an expert on smart kids - hence my involvement. His theories
have been well documented in New Scientist and such like over the years.
In my humble opinion his scientific credentials stand up well and his
skepticism of his own theories, and willingness to reject them if they
don't stand up to testing, lets me conclude he is a legitimate scientist,
working in the radical fringe areas. His confidence may be such that it
blinds him a bit - not sure on that one. He is very confident and
theatrical.
Consequently he may lead to an incredible change in our understanding of
the human brain, or he might have an interesting theory which doesn't
stand up to testing. I think the jury is still out, but he's worth
following - he is never dull. Strange, but never dull.
cheers,
Lynne
-- Terry W. Colvin, Sierra Vista, Arizona (USA) < fortean1@mindspring.com > Alternate: < fortean1@msn.com > Home Page: < http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Stargate/8958/index.html > Sites: * Fortean Times * Mystic's Haven * TLCB * U.S. Message Text Formatting (USMTF) Program ------------ Member: Thailand-Laos-Cambodia Brotherhood (TLCB) Mailing List TLCB Web Site: < http://www.tlc-brotherhood.org >[Vietnam veterans, Allies, CIA/NSA, and "steenkeen" contractors are welcome.]
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