Daniel is one of the best known ‘autistic savants’ – the condition portrayed in Rainman. He battled to learn the skills that others take for granted (like the ability to look someone in the eye), but he speaks a dozen languages and calculates extraordinary sums. He has also recited Pi to 22,514 decimal places. In his speech Daniel explains: “If you’re able to look at the world in a different way, you will find solutions and opportunities you would otherwise miss.”
View / Submit“An inspiring story told in an utterly mesmerising style – I could have listened all day”
Ark Group
Daniel Tammet is a high-functioning autistic savant - described by the scientists as 'the Rosetta Stone of autism.' He speaks a dozen languages and can calculate enormous sums in his head in seconds by visualising the numbers as multi-coloured mental shapes.
Daniel famously holds the British and European record for reciting mathematics' most famous number, the constant Pi (3.14...) to 22,514 decimal places. He was also the subject of the award-winning documentary Brainman: The Boy With The Incredible Brain.' His memoir, Born On A Blue Day, has become a worldwide bestseller.
As well as Born On A Blue Day, Daniel has written Embracing the Wide Sky: A Tour Across the Horizons of the Mind in which he considers what the human mind is capable of and the self-imposed limits that can be redrawn. His third book is Thinking in Numbers, an exploration of the power of maths, not as a dry, analytic subject, but as a creative, expressive language which connects Shakespeare, chess, time and naturally occurring patterns such as snowflakes.
In speeches Daniel talks about his experiences coping with autism, what it’s taught him about people and the world, how to learn Icelandic in a week and his amazing gift with numbers and mathematics. He regularly appears in the media, from The Richard & Judy Show to The Late Show with David Letterman. He has also founded a website providing online language courses.
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Daniel failed at school. He's now a bestselling author, he speaks a dozen languages and he can visualise complex sums using just shapes and colours. When you hear him explain how he transfers these skills, you begin to realise everything can be seen through a different lens. Audiences come away inspired – thinking about ways to embrace change instead of fearing it.
JLA Agent Dennis Perry
