How one man’s brain injury turned him into an accidental maths genius
After recovering from a brutal beating an Alaskan man realised he had the power to perceive the world through mathematical shapes.
In 2002, Jason Padgett was tragically attacked by two men outside a bar in Tacoma, Washington.
This incident caused him to develop a fascination with math and granted him the amazing ability to view things through geometry and sequences.
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“I heard–as much as felt–this deep, low-pitched thud as the first guy just ran up behind me and smashed me in the back of the head,” Padgett recounted of his attack in 2018.
“I saw this puff of white light just like someone took a picture. The next thing I knew I was on my knees and everything was spinning and I didn’t know where I was or how I got there.”
The two assailants proceeded to strike Padgett in the kidneys before stealing his jacket and fleeing the scene.
The man was later admitted to hospital for a concussion and a bleeding kidney.
However, Padgett soon realised he was suffering from a brain injury, causing him to develop Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).
The man - who had allegedly been a ‘big partier’ before his accident - suddenly started to see in pixels and thus his obsession with math and geometry began to develop.
“The boundaries of everything had these little pixelated edges,” he told the BBC’s Outlook Podcast.
“Since everything was pixelated, everything that moved looked like it was moving relative to a grid.
“The internet really helped a lot… I started reading all about math.”
Padgett quickly became enthralled by fractals and was soon hailed a math genius and has since written a book titled Struck By Genius.
Eventually, the man was analyzed by Danish philosopher Berit Brogaard who later informed him he was experiencing something called synaesthesia.
Synesthesia is a phenomenon that causes sensory crossovers, such as tasting colors or feeling sounds, details the Cleveland Clinic.
While it isn’t classed as a disease or a medical condition, synaesthesia can often develop if the person suffers from a brain-related condition.
Those who develop the marvel don’t need treatment and it’s thought that around four percent of the world’s population experience it.
After discovering the root of his genius, Padgett explained that he had ‘access to parts of the brain’ that most people consciously can’t tap into.
Brogaard and other neuroscientists also discovered that the genius’ visual cortex was ‘working in conjunction with the part of the brain that does mathematics’.
Thus, Padgett’s obsession with mathematics was born from a cruel act of violence.
However, he isn’t about to let his past trauma define him.
Instead, he believes humans should be: “Walking around in absolute amazement at all times that reality even exists. I
“I’m having this mathematical awakening and all around us is absolute magic or about as close as you can get to magic.”