man, i did not have to watch this to upvote it, this guy scared the ever-lovin' shit outta me when I saw him draw Rome.....kinda makes you wonder about the whole,"ten per-cent of yer Brain idea....

Simply amazing!!

I disagree Choggie, that whole 10% thing is a popular science myth, people say it's only 10% because we use our brains in parts, electrical activity fires where needed when needed, every time you see a picture of a brain scan all people see is a few spots here and there. But over the long term you are using the entirety of your brain, like over the course of the day.

Where this phenomenon occurs is in perception suppression and mind-body control, we know that the brain receives more data then we actually perceive, now this makes evolutionary sense you wouldn't want to have your senses heightened at the expense of higher brain functions. For example your ability to dream is suppressed when you are awake, when you recall a memory you remember it in your mind and not in your minds eye like when you are asleep. Or when you think about something scary, and remember say a spider, your visual memory is suppressed so you don't see it in your minds eye.

So your body is constantly modifying your bodies response to the environment, if that changes it reacts in kind, if you see a car is about to hit you, some of your functions go offline and some go into overdrive, many people say how they have a loss of color when traumatic events occur such as airplane crashes, this because with adrenaline your reaction time increases and you have to act fast so some features become redundant.

Autism as is classified as a neurodevelopmental disorder that manifests in delays of "social interaction, language as used in social communication, or symbolic or imaginative play". So while Stephen Wiltshire has problems in these areas he has autistic spectrum disorder, the ability to capture visual information like computer data. Think of Rain Man, he has the ability to recall over 2000 years of historical data but suffers from the inability to interact socially.

Our normal perception also has those experiences but they are very faint because our perception of reality is controlled, think about professional athletes, you always hear them speak of being 'in the zone'. That perfect time where mind body reactions are synchronized, the entire experience becomes natural and without thought, the athlete is perfectly focused on his task. This comes through years of training and preparation. The same applies to soldiers in the field under fire, when adrenaline kicks in, they freeze, but then training comes back with the help of muscle memory and they react, at those times your perception of time slows down, seconds become eternity.

I believe unlocking the secrets of the mind is one of the 3 most important questions everyone should ask, alongside with why are we here? and are we alone?

I agree this guy offers compelling proof that our minds contain vast untapped potential. His gift is truly inspiring.

It really appeals to me personally, as I've always had this notion that true art is created from the mind, without any immediate reference. In fact I think my own artistic development was retarded by overly strict adherence to that idea.

Mr Wiltshire has some interesting books: 'Floating Cities' is said to be the most fun.

http://www.stephenwiltshire.co.uk/books.aspx


...and I second much of Farhad's comments. Individuals on the spectrum don't use more of their brain, they're just wired to use whats there a bit differently. The loops that build sensation to memory to recall are just skewed a bit from the average. For example, instead of being able to immediatly recognize the dispostion of a person, along with their approximate age and health, someone with Aspergers might instead be able to immediately recognize the number of stripes on their shirt.