Daniel Tammet, a Genius Individual with Autism

Some individuals with Autism are gifted, and Daniel Tammet is one of them. Daniel has been named one of 100 living geniuses in the world.

Life journeys and talents

Daniel Tammet was born on January 31, 1979, in London. He is the eldest of nine children. From childhood, Daniel was different from the others, having experienced epileptic seizures since the age of 3. Daniel also exhibited atypical behavior. Despite his differences, his parents sent him to a mainstream school.

Throughout his education, Daniel discovered his passion for reading. His uniqueness and passion led him to numerous achievements. Through reading, he won the "Eager Reader" award at the age of 11. He was also twice named Best Student in high school. After leaving high school, Daniel entered university in 1995 and completed his advanced studies in French, German, and history in 1997.

Becoming a great writer

After leaving university, Daniel took a volunteer teaching position in Kaunas, Lithuania. He taught there for a year before returning to London. Upon his return, he created an online language learning company called Optimnem. He spent four years building his company, and his hard work paid off. His company was named a member of the UK's National Network for Learning in 2006.

Since childhood, Daniel had known he was different, but he didn't know the name of his diagnosis. Finally, in 2004, he learned that he had high-functioning Autism with savant syndrome.

After learning his diagnosis, Daniel took the opportunity to share his story. In 2005, he wrote a book entitled, Born on a Blue Day: A Memoir of Asperger’s and Extraordinary Mind. The book immediately became a Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller. It sold 600,000 copies and has been translated into 20 languages.

Not only did it receive recognition from two leading media outlets, but in 2008, the American Library Association named it a "Best Book for Young Adults."

In 2009, Tammet published another book. His book, Embracing the Wide Sky, was based on a personal survey of neuroscience. It became one of the best-selling non-fiction books in the UK, Canada, and Germany.

Not just writing, but also mathematics

Daniel is not only talented in writing. He is also gifted in mathematics, almost obsessively so. He can calculate faster than a calculator. He can memorize Pi to 22,314 decimal places.

Quoting from Huffington Post, he talks about his mathematical talent. “When I was a kid, there was no name for my condition, but what I found difficult was making friends and figuring out how to fit in, and I struggled with loneliness. So I found numbers as a refuge and a way to discover something I was skilled at and passionate about. I loved playing with numbers like other kids play with their friends.”

In 2004, Daniel set a new record in the UK and Europe by reciting the mathematical expression Pi to over 22,000 decimal places. It took him five hours to memorize all 22,514 decimal places of Pi. In 2013, he published a book entitled Thinking in Numbers: On Life, Love, Meaning, and Math.