Here’s a link to a NY Times article that deals with the mind and body.  It’s about Daniel Tammet who has Asperger’s syndrome, a high level form of autism.  First the link, then some quotes from the article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/15/garden/15savant.html

“I live in two countries, one of the mind and one of the body, one of numbers and one of people,”

“But he still speaks of numbers with affection and says that for him they have individual personalities, particularly the smaller ones. The number four, for instance, is shy, and reminds him of himself; nines are scary and imposing. Ones are shiny and bright, eights are blue, fives are loud, and 333 is beautiful.”

Comments on raising money for charity by reciting the numbers of pi to 22,514 digits: “[I]n my mind’s eye I could see all the numbers — all 22,000 numbers in my head — and I actually turned around in my head and waved them good-bye, because I knew that I wasn’t going to see them again, I wasn’t going to do something like that again.”

Thanks, Rob,

That's another good one. Liked your previous recommendation on this forum too.

The mind has quite a range of abilities, eh? Labels get stuck on some of them. Some are so far away from cultural norms that they scare even their own owners.  If we could look at all these abilities as gifts appropriate for some aspect of life, rather than trying to fit everyone into the same mold, wouldn't life be richer?

Love, Bets