SAVANT OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN CALENDAR

Author: Dr. Mathaphelo Carol Molefe-Zwelibanzi

person with savant syndrome has a high knowledge level but a low IQ. Any person who exhibits the characteristics of a savant is said to have exceptional talent in one particular field. Typically, these individuals possess talents in music, art, calendar calculating, lightning calculation, and mechanical or visual-spatial skills. Here is how Molefe-Zwelibanzi explains it all:

SAVANT SYNDROME: WHAT IS IT?

There is one thing researchers agree on: it is possible to live a perfectly normal life with savant syndrome. For a child with savant syndrome who has been bullied by other children, it is possible to find them excelling in mathematics and focusing only on that area. It is common for them to perform complicated calculations instantly in their heads, far beyond the capabilities of an ordinary calculator.

What is astonishing about this condition is that the juxtaposition of that talent against the impairment is very remarkable-the talent outweighs the impairment. The five categories of savant skills are art, music, calendar calculation, light calculation, and visual-spatial ability. Exceptional skills are only found in a few savants around the world.

For example, the Late Kim was Autistic and would memorize thousands of books, each of which had been read only once. Let us consider another example, Steven Wiltshire, another Autistic savant known as the Human camera. Stephen has a photographic memory, referred to as an Eidetic memory. He can carefully sketch any building, having seen it for a few minutes from memory, right from the number of floors and windows on each building, as if he had a picture in his mind.

Considering the above, savant syndrome is often associated with exceptional memory

WAKUTSU MASIBULELE: THE CALENDAR SAVANT

Masibulele has a developmental disorder called Dysarthria, a “motor speech disorder resulting from neurological injury of the motor component of the speech system and is characterised by the poor articulation of phenomes.” Masibulele finds it difficult to utter these words because of his condition.

As a result of his developmental disorder, Masibulele had difficulty in school. But what was mind-blowing about him during his school days was that he had an exceptional talent, he could tell the day of the week for any given date, past or future. He could instantly tell you which day of the week it was, for example, 12/04/1994, with great precision and speed. He also enjoyed creating calendars from the head and would walk around the school displaying those calendars.

When asked to explain how does it (calendar calculation), he says he can memorise things. I don’t think he can explain how he knows dates. He claims that he could memorise stuff, but it doesn’t explain why he didn’t succeed in school, as he could memorise stuff. It puzzled his teachers that he didn’t do well in school despite his ability to remember dates.

My Aha Moments

During the first hard lockdown in South Africa, I undertook to search for answers about Masibulele’s condition. I found that his condition is referred to as Savant Syndrome. I also found the answers to the puzzle as to why he did not do well in school, considering that all savants have deep memories. According to the literature reviewed, I found that while savants have an incredible memory, this memory, although deep, is additionally very narrow and is connected to only one skill, such as art savant, musical savant, or calendar savant except for the very few, who were multi-talented, such is limited to only one skill called calendar savants. In my opinion, he should also be included in the list of Calendar Savants, such as George Widener (the Calendar Savant).

HOW DO SAVANTS DO IT?

There is consensus among the researchers about the definition of savant and what constitutes savant syndrome. When it comes to how savants do what they do, they have different perspectives, which this article will not document due to the limited space. However, I will share Dr. Treffert’s views on how savants do it.

Conclusion

I am firmly convinced that if Masibulele Wakustu was given the opportunity to showcase his talents (like all other savants in the world) and create calendars for his community from his head, that experience would change his life for the better, and he would feel appreciated as a result.

If we were to create opportunities for him to earn a living doing what he enjoys, to create calendars, and calculate dates, it would give him the confidence and sense of belonging required for everyone to flourish. Most importantly, he would experience joy that is beyond comprehension.

Whether his life would have been different if he had been given the opportunity to showcase his talent is unknown. As human beings, what are we if we do not expose and support those who are differently gifted? Let us give them the platform to shine, to exhibit their God-given talent.