Man Becomes Piano Prodigy Overnight After Suffering Brain Injury

A Denver, Colorado man became a piano genius overnight after hitting his head on the bottom of a pool.
Six years ago, then 40-year-old Derek Amato dove into the shallow end of a pool and hit his head, according to a report on the Today Show. He suffered a severe concussion, hearing and memory loss.

But a few days later he sat down at a piano for the first time and played an original composition until 2 a.m.
“As I shut my eyes, I found these black and white structures moving from left to right, which in fact would represent in my mind, a fluid and continuous stream of musical notation,” Amato said in a blog post on the Wisconsin Medical Society website.

In the blog post, he also described playing for his mother:

"We found the nearest piano as I asked her to sit next to me. I remember asking her if she was ready. I shut my eyes and hoped that I would again see these black and white structures moving left to right. I began to play as if I was exploring some unfound treasure that had been locked up all this time in my head. My mother sat and cried, and then asked me, "what are you doing." My response was simple, "I guess God decided to give me my birthday present a bit early this year mom."

Amato is one of just 30 known "acquired savants" in the world. He's working on another recording of original music.

Source:
Man Becomes Piano Prodigy Overnight After Suffering Brain Injury - Business Insider

Personal and Historical Perspectives of Hans Bethe

Follow the link to receive Three Lectures by Hans Bethe

IN 1999, legendary theoretical physicist Hans Bethe delivered three lectures on quantum theory to his neighbors at the Kendal of Ithaca retirement community (near Cornell University). Given by Professor Bethe at age 93, the lectures are presented here as QuickTime videos synchronized with slides of his talking points and archival material.
Intended for an audience of Professor Bethe's neighbors at Kendal, the lectures hold appeal for experts and non-experts alike. The presentation makes use of limited mathematics while focusing on the personal and historical perspectives of one of the principal architects of quantum theory whose career in physics spans 75 years.
A video introduction and appreciation are provided by Professor Silvan S. Schweber, the physicist and science historian who is Professor Bethe's biographer, and Edwin E. Salpeter, the J. G. White Distinguished Professor of Physical Science Emeritus at Cornell, who was a post-doctoral student of Professor Bethe.

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Personal and Historical Perspectives of Hans Bethe