My brilliant brain. Part 3, Accidental genius.

The last in a very informative three-part series looking at people with extraordinary talents which attempts to work out whether they are born with genius or obtain genius through exceptionally hard work. This part features people who seem to have become genius 'accidentally.' George is low spectrum autistic and can calculate the day of the week from an unlimited number of dates. He spends the evening making elaborate calendars containing lists such as all of the Mondays for the next 500 years and his bedtime literature consists of reading population sheets. Because of his autism he is considered to be a savant. We see him having his brain scanned by neurologist Joy Hirsch while he calculates dates. The scan shows that his brain is wired very differently to a 'normal' brain - but was he born this way or did something make his brain develop in this particular way? Darold A. Treffert believes that a flood of testosterone while in the womb might destroy some of the left hemisphere of the brain which is needed to make logical decisions. Tommy had a near-fatal brain haemorrhage. Soon after he developed a savant-like talent for writing poetry and painting which became an obsession which destroyed his relationship with his wife. Alice Flaherty is a neurologist who suffered a brain injury following the still birth of her twins. She became a compulsive writer who would write on anything and everything including her own arm. She meets Tommy hoping to help him better understand what's happening in his brain. Professor Allan Snyder believes that brain damage can sometimes liberate creative impulses in the brain. He has devised a way of inhibiting the left side of the brain thus liberating the right side of the brain and stimulating the brain's ability to notice detail.