How can one be an idiot savant?

I know Rain Man was definitely definitely an example. Yes definitely.

But what exactly does it take to be an idiot savant?

with high intelligence in one specific area.

20 minutes to Wapner!

THat is to say, intellectually subnormal, with a measured IQ of below 70. And you have to be a savant...utterly brilliant, skilled or talented at ONE THING and one thing only. A memory whiz. Or able to perform complex calculations in your head instantly. Or able to play a Bach fugue flawlessly by ear after hearing it once.

And it's "autistic savant" these days, btw.

http://www.plim.org/2idiots.html

What is an idiot savant?

Current research theories show that intelligence is non-local and not bound to the brain. Sometimes nature offers insight into a particular subject by presenting a baffling enigma and contradictory example. Intelligence's contradictory enigma is the idiot-savant.

The word idiot usually refers to a simpleton, in contrast to the word "savant" in French that means "learned one." Idiot savants are a subgroup of a class of people called idiots with an IQ of about 25.

Idiot savants are a group of humans that are incapable of learning, writing or reading, yet they have unlimited access to specific, accurate knowledge in the fields of mathematics, music, and other precise areas. Now the irony of an idiot-savant is that this group of individuals does not acquire knowledge by learning as the average human does. They mysteriously 'know' explicit, exact, correct information. One may wonder: "How do idiots savants know certain information or possess certain skills?" By whatever means they obtain this information, they undermine current definitions about intelligence. Does their knowledge show that a source of intelligence exists? Is it possible to tap into this source and not know of its existence?

Dustin Hoffman made idiot-savants famous in the Hollywood movie "Rain Man." He played the role of a mathematical genius able to keep track of cards at the casino, yet unable to go to the bathroom alone or to make simple decisions about what clothes to wear or foods to eat. Modern science cannot explain this phenomenon.

He also definitely definitely made Kmart in Cinninnati famous too.

are total idiots in other areas of their lives because, for some unknown reason, they simply channel ALL of their intelligence into the one thing that they are brilliant at. I remember reading a story once about a schizophrenic boy very withdrawn from life and reality but with an amazing savant level expertise with dates and numbers. He was otherwise retarded. After years of therapy, he began to interact with reality and other people more and more - and at the same time there was a corresponding drop in his savant abilities.

can make brilliant life-like drawings of people and things.

The savant takes awhile. They must be pursued separately.