Published: 2014
Author: Jason Padgett (with Maureen Ann Seaberg)
Fascinating, but possibly a little too heavy
Before I start this review I have to declare an interest – I hate Maths. Hated it at school and still break out in a cold sweat if anyone expects me to do anything maths related. This isn’t some sort of false vanity – I got 8% in my Higher Prelim. I am bad at Maths, I don’t understand it, I don’t like it and it doesn’t interest me in the slightest. The thought of reading Jason Padgett’s memoir Struck by Genius: How a Brain Injury Made Me a Mathematical Marvel
In 2002 Jason Padgett was, by his own admission, a bit of a screw-up. He worked in his dad’s futon showroom and spent his time drinking and visiting karaoke bars. His relationship history is chequered and his academic achievements even more so. He even sported a mullet for goodness sake.
Jason’s life changed completely when he was mugged outside a karaoke bar in Tacoma, Washington State. He was badly beaten and suffered an injury to his brain. The change was almost instantaneous. He began to see shapes everywhere – in running water, in the structure of his house, in his drinks. He also developed a fascination for maths and physics, subjects which had previously baffled him. For years Jason struggled with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and the confusion of why he had changed so dramatically. He finally discovers that his traumatic brain injury has led to his newly found genius – acquired savant syndrome and synaesthesia.
Struck by Genius is Jason’s account (co-written with Maureen Ann Seaberg, who also has synaesthesia) of his life before and since his attack. The book follows Jason’s story from his days drifting from job to job through to his painful experiences suffering from PTSD and on to finding comfort through education.
Some parts of Struck by Genius worked much better for me than others. I found Jason’s honesty truly moving and the description of his PTSD and depression was harrowing but brilliant to read. Jason isn’t always the most likeable person but that makes everything more real and more appealing. Nothing is sugar-coated which is a welcome break from many of the memoirs that are about today – perhaps because Jason is a “normal” person (ie non-celeb), he’s less bothered about making a good impression and more concerned with telling the truth. I need that in an autobiography and it’s sadly quite rare.
Where Struck by Genius didn’t quite work for me was in the mathematic details and Jason’s account of his synaesthesia. I completely understand why he is so passionate about maths and his artwork and that comes over brilliantly in the book but some of it was a little over my head. Actually, most of the maths talk was miles over my head and I skipped through those pages to get to more of the personal details. That, however, may be related to my bafflement at all things Maths related and someone with a firmer grasp of the topic may find the full book fascinating.
Struck by Genius is the first hand story of one of only a handful of people who have acquired savant syndrome as a result of a brain injury and is a fascinating read, just be aware that some of the detail may be a little confusing for some people.