232 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



IDIOTS SAVANTS. 



Bt FKEDEEICK PETERSON, M.D., 



CHIEF OF CLINIC, DEPAETMENT OF NEEVOrS AND MENTAL DISEASES, VAUDERBILT CLINIC, 

 COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SUEGEONS. 



THE term idiots savants is applied to all such idiots, imbeciles, 

 or feeble-minded as exhibit special aptitudes of one kind or 

 another, always out of proportion to their intellectual develop- 

 ment in other directions, and often remarkable as compared with 

 similar accomplishments or faculties in normal individuals. 



There are many cases of the kind recorded in literature, and it 

 Is not at all uncommon to hear of idiots in our newspapers and 

 museums who are exhibited as musical prodigies, "calculating 

 boys," and the like. Beyond the fact of the existence of such 

 curiosities, and the record of their deeds, there has been little or 

 nothing written in explanation of these jjhenomena. The psy- 

 chology of the condition is exceedingly obscure, and even were 

 the physiological processes which underlie special aptitudes un- 

 derstood, there would still remain the mystery of the manifesta- 

 tion of particular talents or faculties in minds otherwise blank or 

 defective. It is the aim of this brief paper rather to present the 

 nature of the facts which we have to consider, and to indicate 

 lines of study that might be pursued with advantage, than to add 

 any material knowledge to the psychology or etiology of the con- 

 dition. 



In the first place, then, let us inquire concerning the kinds of 

 aptitudes which may be developed to an unusual degree in men- 

 tally deficient individuals. The aptitudes may be summarized as 

 follows : 



Arithmetical faculty, musical faculty, special memories, imi- 

 tative faculty, modeling faculty, delineative faculty, faculty for 

 painting, aptitude for games (draughts, etc.), aptitude for buf- 

 foonery. 



This is not a classification, but merely an arrangement for 

 examination of the instances cited under each heading. Some of 

 these captions really include others. Thus, special memories 

 would cover usually the musical faculty. The imitative faculty 

 should include possibly the repetition of musical airs and compo- 

 sitions, drawings and paintings from objects, as well as imitations 

 of gestures and actions. Arithmetical faculty is a qualification 

 which perhaps encompasses too much, since this aptitude in the 

 mentally defective is generally restricted to calculation only. 

 The term " musical faculty " also is to be understood in a limited 

 sense, since the musical prodigies of this description rarely ex- 

 hibit more than a phenomenal memory for musical compositions. 



