All language subtitles for the.unxplained.s04e02.1080p.web.h264-spamneggs.2

From great thinkers

to revolutionary inventors...

to brilliant artists...

geniuses have used their
mysterious powers to shape

the course of human history.

Genius.

It's a word we use to describe

extraordinary individuals
whose intellect or abilities

go far beyond the norm.

But is genius a special quality

that only a select few
are born with?

Or, can it be unlocked
in anyone's brain,

at any time, with the right key?

Well, that is what
we'll try and find out.

In this suburb located

seven miles from downtown
Los Angeles,

lives Kashe Quest.

Although Kashe is similar

to other three-year-olds
in some ways,

her mental abilities
are astonishing.

Some experts have even
claimed that she is a genius.

Let's do a few elements.

- Are you ready?
- Yeah.

All right, what's this one?

- Chlorine.
- Chlorine. What's this one?

- Helium.
- Helium.

What's this one?

- Beryllium.
- What's this?

Copper.

You got to take turns.

Since the age
of two, Kashe has been able

to visually recognize
and memorize

the elements on
the periodic table,

and all 50 states on the map,

which the vast majority of
children her age cannot do.

In fact, Kashe is the youngest
person ever admitted into Mensa,

the most prestigious
high-intelligence society

in the world.

But is it really possible

for someone who is
only three years old

to qualify as a genius?

Very early on, she
was just always keen to learning.

She identified all, you know,

basic preschool skills

at 18 months, which
were shapes, colors,

numbers, letters and sounds.

Once we started reading
her books and doing puzzles,

we just realized how much
she was actually retaining.

Show Mommy South Africa.

Kashe is a toddler
with gifted abilities.

There it is!

Our pediatrician did say

she's doing a lot of
things that, in her history

of being a pediatrician,

she has not seen
other children do.

Show Mommy Indonesia.

And that's what led
us to get her tested

to identify her IQ.

There it is!

And we found out
that her IQ was 146.

According to experts,

an IQ, or intelligence quotient,

higher than 140
qualifies as genius-level.

For decades, scientists have
used various kinds of IQ tests

to try and unravel the
mystery of what makes

someone a genius.

The basis of

what we call the IQ
test was developed

by a French psychologist
by the name of Alfred Binet,

at the beginning
of the 20th century.

That original diagnostic
developed by Binet

was then taken by the
American psychologist

Lewis Terman at Stanford.

He does this big study
around San Francisco

where they just administer
the IQ test to school children

and he tries to weed out
anyone below an IQ of 140,

which he identifies
as the genius level.

There were two boys

who participated in Terman's
study who would go on to win

the Nobel Prize in
Physics when they grew up.

William Shockley
and Luis Alvarez.

But curiously, because
their IQs were less than 140,

the study did not consider them

to have genius-level
intelligence.

It just goes to show you that

genius and intelligence
are not the same thing.

You can have a high
IQ, but not necessarily

have all the other kind of
skills that are necessary to...

to produce great things.

The
big problem with this word "genius"

is that nobody agrees
upon the definition.

All we do know
is when we hear it,

we know that the person,
who is a so-called genius,

is in possession
of abilities or skills

that are far beyond
the pale of what most

ordinary human beings possess.

But if an IQ score

doesn't answer the
question of what makes

someone a genius,
then what does?

What is the common
trait, or combination of traits

that allows geniuses to make

such important
contributions to society?

Some experts believe

that a clue can be
found by examining both

the role that geniuses
have played in history

and how our perception of
genius has changed over time.

Genius is

a term that actually goes
back to ancient Rome,

and therefore, it's acquired

a lot of different
meanings in 2,000 years.

If you look at a lot
of historical examples

of geniuses like
Aristotle and Plato,

Isaac Newton, Beethoven
and Albert Einstein,

these are people who are making

very important, highly
valued contributions to our...

our culture, to
our civilization.

We're talking about science,

literature, something that
is valued by the culture,

an artistic masterpiece,
an absolutely

incredible contribution

to a major area of achievement.

We need to be
cautious about thinking of genius

as a universal trait.

Genius is less a quality
inherent in people...

and more a label that we
apply to people of supreme

intelligence or creative
capacity or productivity.

And the criteria that we use

to apply that label change.

Different skills, different
gifts, different capacities,

they change from time to place
and have changed over history.

Our understanding

of the nature of genius
has clearly evolved.

And will continue to
evolve in the future.

But there's another
question about genius

that has been
debated for centuries.

Do some people
come into the world

already possessing genius

or is it developed after birth?

One dominant idea that
evolves around genius,

is that genius is
born, not made.

The great kind of test
case in this regard is Mozart.

Mozart is a child prodigy,

he has genius
from the beginning,

and he carries that out
throughout the rest of his life.

And so to contemporaries,
he seemed to confirm

this belief that
genius is just there.

Either you have it or you don't.

Looking at the
other side of things,

we know that his father
was a music teacher,

and the he surely clocked
the requisite 10,000 hours

of training and practice to make
him the prodigy that he became.

So there is this kind of
idea now that just intelligence

is not enough, so there
is a big debate about this.

But we don't know.
That's what makes it a mystery.

Today, there
are some experts who believe

that genius is a special quality

that certain individuals
are simply born with.

But not everyone
agrees with that theory.

In fact, at Johns
Hopkins University

in Baltimore, Maryland,

a program has
actually been instituted

for the purpose of
developing geniuses.

It's called CTY, or the
Center for Talented Youth.

CTY or the
Center for Talented Youth

identifies gifted youth

and gives them
all kinds of enriched

educational experiences,
higher level coursework.

Things that are
typically at a higher level

than what a child would
be receiving at school

in that particular
grade or age level.

With the idea being that
because these children

are such talented
children, that they need

this enrichment to be
able to cultivate them

so that they can sort of
reach their fullest potential.

Some of the famous alumni

of CTY include Mark Zuckerberg,

Sergey Brin, who was
the cofounder of Google.

So clearly, some of the people
who've come out of this program

have shaped society in
rather permanent ways.

Our civilization,
our culture, is pretty much

defined by our
geniuses in the past.

And when a society

loses its geniuses,

when it stops
producing its geniuses,

it descends into a dark age.

And so that leads
to the question,

what are some things we
should look for to identify

geniuses or potential geniuses?

And what can we do

to encourage the
emergence of genius because

genius is an important
thing to cultivate.

Is it true that real
genius can only blossom

when someone receives
the proper attention?

It's an interesting notion,
but it also makes you wonder,

what happens
when a gifted person

doesn't receive the
right kind of guidance?

Perhaps a clue can be
found in the story of a man

who many believe
to be the embodiment

of evil genius.

- A
- 16-year-old math prodigy

is invited to attend
Harvard University...

One of only a handful ever
to be admitted so young.

As an adult, he goes
on to become a brilliant

and distinguished
mathematics professor.

His name is Ted Kaczynski or,

as he's better known today,

the "Unabomber."

Ted Kaczynski was

a brilliant man, a wunderkind
when he was a child

who turned all that brilliance
and genius towards evil.

The Unabomber
has been spreading terror

one small bomb at
a time for 17 years.

From 1978 until 1995,

Ted Kaczynski
bombed universities,

tech centers, an airline.

Three people died and
20-some were maimed

over the time.

And he would transport

the bombs in different ways.

Some he mailed

and others, he would
actually deliver it, leave,

and then sit back and
wait for the reaction.

He kept the nation
in suspense and fear.

People were afraid
of opening mail.

The term "Unabomb"

comes from the code
word given to the case

because the initial few bombs
appeared to have something to do

with either universities
or with the airline industry.

Now, later there were
other targets, but by then

the code name for the case
had already been chosen.

But what led Ted Kaczynski

down such a dark path?

Many researchers
believe it traces back

to when he was
identified as being

exceptionally intelligent
when he was very young.

Ted Kaczynski, uh,
is a very interesting

case because evidently

he was a pretty well-adapted
kid in elementary school,

and actually was considered
to be something of a leader.

And then, somebody
got the bright idea

that he should take an IQ test.

He did, and got
an IQ score of 167.

You have to have 140
to be defined as a genius.

So, what's 167?

That's one out of
a million people.

It was recommended by the school

that he skip a grade when
he was only ten years old.

So to skip from fifth
to seventh grade.

The problem with it is

he was with older
kids that he didn't know.

He became more and
more socially isolated.

David, his younger brother,

reports that at one
point, Kaczynski was

being very mean to him.

And Ted says, "Sometimes
geniuses can be sadistic."

He was acknowledging

that as a genius,
he could be bad,

sadistic, and he could
work that genius for evil.

Ted Kaczynski
graduated from Harvard in 1962,

at the age of 20.

He then pursued his PhD
at the University of Michigan,

where he did groundbreaking work

in the field of mathematics.

One of the
hallmarks of his intelligence

was in the late '60s.

He won an award for his
dissertation, in fact, his PhD

in Mathematics at
Ann Arbor in Michigan,

because he solved a
theorem that had been thought

unsolvable for decades
by mathematicians.

He solved it, and published it.

From Michigan,
then he went to Berkeley

to teach mathematics.

He was the youngest
assistant professor

that the mathematics
department had ever had.

But the students hated
him, absolutely loathed him.

He didn't have any class
hours, he wouldn't talk to them.

I mean, he was very
disdainful of everybody.

His genius was in everything

but social commerce
with other people.

He wasn't able to negotiate

the social world
with other people.

And so, he grew convinced

that he had to get away from
people, away from society.

In 1969, Kaczynski

suddenly and unexpectedly

resigned from his
position at Berkeley.

He then withdrew from society
by moving to Lincoln, Montana,

where he lived in a small cabin

that did not have
running water or electricity.

The cabin was just
this rustic place off the grid,

8 by 12 feet,

but that was his
getting off the grid,

and getting so far away

from civilization, everything.

He was very happy
when he first moved to the woods.

He wrote rapturously about it,

about how beautiful it was.

But then, planes
started flying overhead.

He noticed motorcyclists
riding through the forest

and disturbing the nature
that he was glorying in.

It turned to bitter hatred

of the technological society.

He viewed technology as evil,

as the evolution of
technology as evil,

and the technical class as
perverting the human spirit.

What he discovers is,

he can't get away
from society even there.

The society that
he's trying to escape

is closing in on him anyway.

And there's nothing
he can do about it,

so he strikes back.

He had taught
himself bomb making.

He ended up creating
chemical mixes,

melting his own
components, and casting them

and putting them
into the devices,

carving wood to make
specific trigger switches.

He was a brilliant
criminal in that

he was able to expertly

exclude anything
identifying himself, any hairs,

any fibers, any fingerprints.

He was unlike any bomber
that we had seen before.

In 1978, Kaczynski
carried out his first attack,

by mailing a parcel
containing a homemade bomb

to Northwestern University.

It was the beginning
of a reign of terror

during which he carried
out a total of 16 bombings

over the course of
nearly two decades.

For Kaczynski, these attacks
were not random killings

but rather targeted strikes
against the institutions

he believed represented
technological society.

His purpose was
to-to wake people up

to the dangers of technology.

He would not have been
able to promote his views

if he had not gotten the
attention of the media

and the government
and law enforcement,

by killing people

with his bombs.

That was his goal.

In 1995, Kaczynski
wrote an anonymous 35,000-word

anti-technology manifesto

that he demanded to be
published in major newspapers.

Ironically...

it was a decision that
would lead to his undoing.

Ted's brother,
David, had read the manifesto and

phrases jumped out
at David right away

and he had to try
to push them down,

"It can't be, it can't be."

There were phrases that
appeared in the manifesto

that were unusual
spellings that appeared,

that were unusual,

and David recognized it.

The upshot was that
finally David and his wife

went to an attorney
in D.C. and said,

"We'd like to approach the FBI."

On April 3, 1996,

FBI agents finally
arrested Kaczynski

at his Montana cabin.

He was found
guilty on all counts

that were charged
in the indictment.

Had the "Unabomb
Manifesto" not been published,

it's my view that we
probably would still be looking

for Theodore Kaczynski.

Ted's evil genius
helped him build bombs

that nobody could trace.

And yet, the evil genius
needed to be fed with hubris

and acknowledgement,

and that ultimately
was his downfall.

The life of Ted Kaczynski
tells a cautionary tale

of a brilliant and
educated mind gone bad.

But fortunately, genius
comes in many different forms,

like in the case of
two bicycle repair men

who managed to change
the course of human history.

Witnesses
gather to watch the final test

of a revolutionary
new flying machine

invented by brothers
Wilbur and Orville Wright.

Orville
took his position in the cradle.

Wilbur was on the right wing.

They started the engine.

And lo and behold,
40 feet down the rail,

the aircraft lifts up.

They flew 120
feet in 12 seconds.

12 seconds that
changed the history

of mankind forever.

The successful test

of the Wright
brothers' flying machine

was a watershed
moment in human history.

The 12-second flight proved
that sustained, controlled,

powered flight was,
in fact, possible.

For the Wright brothers,
this achievement was

the fulfillment of a
childhood dream.

One of the most

extraordinary things
about the Wrights

is the fact that they
were two ordinary people

from a middle-class
family in Ohio.

Their father was a bishop,
and he was a voracious reader,

and so there were books
in the Wright household

of all sorts.

Their mother was a
sort of mechanical wiz.

She loved fixing things,
building them toys,

and so they got

a sort of taste from her,

a kind of mechanical taste.

The story of the Wright brothers

actually started 25
years before Kitty Hawk

when they were seven
and 11 years old...

when their father brought home

the toy flying machine
built by a Frenchman

Alphonse Pénaud.

This was powered by the
force of a twisted rubber band.

And that really amazed
the Wright brothers

'cause they had never seen a
toy flying machine in their lives.

Being curious, they played
with it and they broke it,

but they didn't
just throw it away.

First they repaired it,

but then they started to
reproduce the toy themselves.

The Wright brothers
chose to pursue their dream

of taking flight,

not by attending a
prestigious university but rather

by opening a small bicycle shop

in 1892.

The Wrights owned
the Wright Cycle Company

in, uh, Dayton,
Ohio, and they were

bicycle salesmen,
uh, and-and repairmen.

They were always curious,

technically minded,
motivated young people

who built a bicycle
shop and made a profit

in order to put
money into test flights.

At one point, Wilbur
says the problem

of flight is actually a
thousand problems.

First, you have to raise the
money to solve the problem.

Well, that's a very
different disposition

than the technical mind who can

figure out the, uh, the
equations for air pressure

and lift and these
sorts of things.

And that is a
very different mind

than the mind that's interested
in fashioning actual parts

from muslin and wood,
and building a motor

and propellers and
these sorts of things.

And what really gave the Wrights

the impetus they needed to solve

all of those problems

was that they were relentlessly
curious about the world.

And if someone said that
something couldn't be done,

they thought, why not?

In 1899, the
Wright brothers performed

their first flight experiment

by testing a
rudimentary kite flyer.

They also looked to nature

for clues on how
to solve the problem

of powered flight.

They saw all these
examples in nature of flight,

the butterfly, the dragon flies,

the buzzards and vultures.

And they found that there
were two methods of flight:

the fast wing beaters,

and then the soaring birds.

They patterned their
machine after a particular bird,

the turkey vulture, which
was a very good soaring bird.

They would read books
about animal locomotion

and look at birds' wings.

And people were like,
"What are those guys doing?"

But they were looking at the
way the birds twist their wings.

Because neither of
them went to college,

the Wrights benefited

from breaking the chains

that might have otherwise
have bound their minds.

The Wright brothers
took these unconventional

observations of
animals flying in nature,

and applied them to
their flight experiments.

This innovative approach

would prove to be
a stroke of genius.

The major breakthrough

that the Wright
brothers discovered was,

the curvature of the wing

has a dramatic
effect on the ability

to produce lift.

Wilbur one day was
in the bicycle shop

and he held a bicycle

inner-tube box, and as he
twisted the ends of the box,

he had an aha moment

and realized that
the box ends move

very much like the
wing tips of the birds.

He integrated that idea into
what he called wing-warping

and the wing design that we
see on the 1903 Wright Flyer.

The Wright brothers always said

when people asked them,
"What got you interested in flight?

What made it such
that you wanted to solve

the problem of flight?

Why did you persevere
through all your failures?"

They would say,

"We did it for fun.
We were having fun."

And then they would
say, "We were frustrated

"that a lot of smart people
thought flight should work...

"and it didn't work.

And we wanted to know
why, and we wanted to fix it."

The Wright
brothers' incredible innovations

allowed them to solve
the centuries-old mystery

of powered flight.

In fact, so much of what
we take for granted today,

from commercial
airlines to space shuttles,

can be traced back to these

two ordinary brothers and
their unlikely stroke of genius.

There were many
people before the Wrights

who attempted to
create flying machines.

You can think about people
like Leonardo da Vinci.

You can think about

Edison who was
interested in the problem.

Alexander Graham Bell.

The genius of the
Wright brothers

is what they had was a
gumption to say, "Why not us?"

They became consumed
with solving a problem

and I think is a
kind of testament

to the geniuses that they are.

Could it be true that,
like the Wright brothers,

we are all put on this earth

with the capability to do
something extraordinary?

It's an inspiring thought,
and suggests that each of us

has our own unique
brand of genius.

For instance, there
are certain individuals

who have the ability to perform

incredible mental feats
that virtually no one else

on earth can do.

In this small
town just north of Milwaukee,

stands the Treffert Center,
a state-of-the-art facility

dedicated to the study of people

who can perform
extraordinary mental feats

such as the ability
to play any song

on the piano after
a single listen...

and identifying
the day of the week

for any given date in history.

Like, if I'm looking
at the year 1985,

May 15 here.

- It was a Wednesday.
- And which part...

The individuals
who possess these incredible gifts

have a rare condition that is
known as Savant Syndrome.

Savant Syndrome is

a spectacular condition
in which an individual

who has significant
mental impairment...

also has some sort
of an island of genius

that stands in stark
contrast to their disability.

It's commonly
associated with autism...

but it can be other types
of neurodevelopmental

or intellectual disabilities.

There are a number of
different savant capabilities

that we see.

Anything from music

to art, to mathematical
or calendar calculation

can be a savant skill.

March 27, 1947.

That was a Thursday.

That's so cool.

Um, how about
March 27, 1974 then?

A Wednesday.

Ben Wilson
is a calendar calculator.

You can ask him

what day of the week was
it on such and such date

in the past or future.

March 18, 1837,

which was a Saturday.

He estimates he has
about a 500-year span

that you can ask him
about, and he can tell you

that was a Tuesday,
that was a Wednesday.

April 28, 1758,

which was a Friday.

It's pretty amazing.

According to statistics
gathered by the Treffert Center,

there are nearly 300 people

who are known to have
Savant Syndrome...

including Stephen
Wiltshire, who uses

his photographic memory
to draw landscapes

by hand...

and Derek Paravicini,
a renowned pianist

whose ability to
identify musical notes

is so precise,

experts have said that he
has absolute perfect pitch.

The most mystifying
elements of savantism are

the speed with which
they can do what they do,

the accuracy with which
they can do what they do,

and the automatic nature of it.

It takes no effort.

They can't articulate
what it is they are doing;

they just say, "I don't
know, I just saw it."

One of the most
notable savants in modern times

was Kim Peek,

who served as the inspiration
for Dustin Hoffman's character

in the 1988 blockbuster
film Rain Man.

Before he passed away in 2009,

Kim had memorized
the complete text

of more than 12,000 books.

But what allows

these unique geniuses to perform
such astounding mental feats?

Some experts believe that
one reason may be that savants

are able to tap into the
power of the human brain

in ways that the
average person cannot.

One of the theories

of how genius is working
in the brains of savants

is that you have

the sort of compensation
in the brain of a disability.

So if you think about
other kinds of disabilities,

like someone who
is congenitally blind,

what happens is
they start developing

an extraordinary ability

to hear things because

the hearing parts of the brain,

they kind of take
over those visual areas

that aren't being used

and have a greater
sense of hearing

than a person who can see.

So if you think about a
similar concept with savants,

there might be certain
areas that are kind of

utilizing other
parts of the brain

that aren't being used as much.

Could it be that savants

have extraordinary abilities

because they've activated
areas in their brains

that are normally
under-utilized by other people?

It's just one of the
possible factors

that scientists are exploring

when it comes to this
rare form of genius.

Savant Syndrome
is such a mysterious thing.

You have people who
can do amazing things...

and we don't know
how that works.

One of the main reasons

that we study savants
is to learn about

their special and
beautiful talents and gifts.

And it suggests that we
may have a lot of untapped

potential lying dormant in
all of our brains that's unused,

and imagine

if we could find a way
to systematically access

these savant skills,

how many amazing things we
could produce as humankind.

Do our brains have
extraordinary powers

that most of us simply
don't understand how to use?

Untapped potential
that could transform us

instantly into a genius?

Perhaps the answer can
be found by examining

the story of a man
who became a genius

by sheer accident.

32-year-old furniture salesman

Jason Padgett is
enjoying an evening

singing karaoke
with some friends.

But this seemingly
ordinary outing

will change his life forever.

As we walked

out of the bar,
there was two guys

that had been in there
watching us sing karaoke.

They walked out behind
us, and one of them

ran up and just smashed
me in the back of the head.

I saw like a puff
of white light...

and the next thing I
knew, I was on the ground

just being kicked and punched
in the head and in the back.

They finally said, "Give
me your damn jacket."

And I had on this
little $99 leather jacket

and they grabbed
it and ran away.

After the attack,

Jason was rushed to the hospital

where doctors diagnosed
him with a severe concussion.

He was given instructions
to rest and recover.

But in the weeks and
months that followed,

Jason realized that the beating
he suffered had, somehow,

permanently altered his
brain in a very unexpected way.

Right after the attack occurred,

I remember on the
way home that night,

everything looking so weird.

Things that looked smooth
didn't look smooth anymore.

They looked like there
was little tangent lines

around the edges.

Boundaries of objects stood out.

Very quickly I understood
that what I was seeing

was mathematically related,

and math describing, you
know, how things move,

you know, across the
sky and things like that.

I don't even know how I
knew. It-it just was-was obvious.

The injury to Jason's brain

had unlocked un uncanny
new ability in his mind.

He was now able to see

the geometry of the
world around him,

even though he had never
seriously studied mathematics.

Before my injury,

I was one of
those kids that, uh,

had a very free,
kind of silly lifestyle.

Um, I just... I
goofed off a lot.

I would say things
like-like, "Math is stupid,"

or that it was kind of useless.

I didn't even finish algebra.

It was such a-a
change in my reality,

from the way I was before

to the way I was
after the accident.

And so, it was
very disorientating.

Jason is not the only person

to develop remarkable
new abilities

after suffering a head injury.

In fact, scientists have
actually given the phenomenon

a name.

It's called Sudden
Savant Syndrome.

Sudden Savant Syndrome

is this phenomena,
which is very rare,

where somebody has
some sort of head trauma...

and they suddenly develop
an extraordinary ability.

When this happens, brain
damage trips up the system.

Those people are
perceiving the world

in a slightly different way.

In 2011, Jason sought the help

of medical professionals

to better understand
what exactly

had happened inside his brain

as a result of the
injuries he sustained.

- Ready, Jason?
- Yep, I am ready.

I went to Finland
and they did brain scans

called a functional MRI.

So functional MRIs show

how much oxygen your
brain is using and where.

There was a
screen in front of me

and they would
flash equations...

real equations, and then they
would also flash dummy equations

that meant nothing.

And they would watch and see
what part of my brain activated

when I was doing mathematics.

And what they found was that

I had conscious access
to parts of the brain

that we normally don't
have conscious access to.

Our brains are using
calculus, derivatives,

advanced mathematics,
and it's all happening

just naturally in
the background.

We're all doing it.
We're just not aware of it.

And I was forced
to be aware of it.

Since becoming a sudden savant,

Jason has used
his unique abilities

to create internationally
renowned pieces of art.

Because he can
see math everywhere,

he is able to draw
complex shapes by hand

that are geometrically correct.

Jason has also used his gift

to conduct research in
the field of number theory.

I definitely think

what has happened
to me is a blessing now.

It's enriched my life in ways

that I-I never would
have thought possible.

I never would have thought
that I would be excited by math.

Approximately 32
cases of Sudden Savant Syndrome

have been diagnosed to date...

including people
such as Derek Amato,

who became a musical
savant after hitting his head

in a diving accident.

And Orlando Serrell,
who developed the ability

to solve complex
calendar calculations

after being struck in the
side of the head by a baseball.

These cases of instant genius

have led some scientists
to believe it's possible

that we could all have the
hidden potential for genius

locked deep within our minds.

I'm absolutely
certain that our brains

all have untapped ability.

It's like we come loaded
with a certain amount of like

software, like a computer.

It's just a matter of
finding a way to tap it.

Would you be willing
to endure a head injury

to become a genius overnight?

Well, there are
those who believe

you don't have to
take that chance

because soon we'll be
able to create new geniuses,

not by accident

but by harnessing the
power of genetic engineering.

Scientists at
the Beijing Genomics Institute

announce the launch of
an ambitious new project.

Their goal is to see if
genius can be produced

in a lab.

Some scientists

collected the genetic
data from 2,000 people

who have a very high IQ,

and they were trying to crack
the code of the relationship

between their genome
and their intelligence.

If we crack the code
of understanding,

say, the neural basis of genius,

then we will have the
capacity ultimately to go in

and manipulate people's brains

at the genetic level to
make them super geniuses.

Is it possible that

by manipulating certain
genes, scientists can

unlock the potential
for genius in anyone?

There have
been attempts to see if you

can identify specific genes

that are associated with genius.

It turns out this is a
very difficult thing to do.

Most human characteristics
are what are called polygenic.

That means they are
made up of multiple genes,

and there are hundreds of genes

that are responsible
for intelligence,

and these genes will often
interact in complex ways

that we don't
completely understand.

The point is
that there's no one "smart gene."

Genius and intelligence

is a collection of many genes,
many attributes

that collectively create
this supernova

that change the entire
intellectual landscape.

So, I think that we are far
from being able to create

a race of super intelligent

genetically enhanced people.

Perhaps another reason

why genius is so
difficult to engineer

is because it remains
an elusive, intangible quality

that takes many different forms.

One way to view genius

is to just notice all
the different facets of it.

There is not just
intellectual genius

but musical genius,
athletic genius or what we call

kinesthetic intelligence,
or social genius.

Ultimately, we really
don't know what makes a genius.

However, people who have
extraordinary abilities,

whether that's intellectually...

socially, creatively,

we do have this sort of
fascination with them.

We often view genius
as a superpower

'cause we make the assumption
that a genius

could help all of humanity.

It's very clear

that human beings
believe that geniuses

are exception to the ordinary
laws of nature,

uh, or of humanity.

That they can do

what ordinary
human beings can't.

Geniuses are the X factor
that we need in the world.

Geniuses give us inventions.

They give us great art.

They give us insights
that we wouldn't have otherwise.

We don't want to strip the world

of magic, of mystery,

of the capacity to suspend
the ordinary rules.

And this is
what geniuses give us.

Just imagine a world
full of geniuses.

It's certainly intriguing.

But is it really possible?

Perhaps, instead of
using technology

to engineer brilliance,
we should simply appreciate

that true genius is special,
unique, extraordinary,

one of mankind's greatest
mysteries that remains

unexplained.

>>>>oakislandtk<<<<<
www.opensubtitles.org