How's this for some cool, essentially useless information: sometimes a blow to the head can make you, like, a genius. I'm tempted to write something like, "Great news for the toddlers of the world!" but this is about more than a bump to the noggin while chasing a bubble into a tree trunk. We are talking major head trauma here, injuries that often strip people of certain cognitive abilities but leave in their wake savant syndrome. According to Brian Fung at the Atlantic, Orlando Serrell acquired an acute ability to remember the weather for every day; Alonzo Clemens developed the strange skill of assembling incredibly detailed sculptures of animals; Derek Amato (see the video below) suddenly became a master pianist, despite lacking any training.

Read the whole essay at The Atlantic Monthly for some of this finding's implications for the field of neurology.

Read More:
The Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant
4 People With Remarkable Brains