Bullies, Big Dogs and Savants

• Childhood bullying deserves all the attention it is getting, with new research showing that whether a child is bullying or being bullied, lifelong damage may be done. Duke University researchers interviewed 1,400 youngsters between the ages of 9 and 16 about their social lives and general well-being. They interviewed the same people again when they were between the ages of 19 and 26. Victims of bullying were four times more likely to have an anxiety disorder as adults than individuals who were never bullied. Kids who themselves were bullies were four times more likely to have an anti-social personality disorder. The most troubled individuals were those who had been bullies, and who had themselves been bullied. They were 14 times more likely to develop a panic disorder and almost five times as likely to become depressed. (The Week, Mar. 15, 2013; thedurhamnews.com, Mar. 9, 2013)

• Zorba, an Old English Mastiff, was the biggest dog in the world according to the Guinness Book of Records and other sources. Zorba was a male that reached a weight of 343 pounds and stood 37 inches high at the shoulder. From the tip of his nose to the end of his tail, Zorba was 8 feet 3 inches long. How long he lived is unrecorded, but in general larger dogs have shorter life spans than smaller ones. Scientists do not know why this disparity occurs, but evidence suggests that larger dogs age more rapidly because they have higher concentrations of the growth hormone, IGF-1 (an insulin-like growth factor). One researcher said that this may cause the large dog’s life “… to unwind in fast motion.” The life span of English Mastiffs is 8-10 years, while small dogs can reach 15 years or more. (livescience.com, Mar. 12, 2013) Note: the world’s smallest dog was a Terrier named Meyzi that weighed in at a quarter of a pound!

• The term “savant” is used to describe a rare condition in individuals who are developmentally disabled but who have supernormal skills in one specific type of mental processing. Some savants have photographic memories (one memorized every word of 1,200 books), many are brilliant musicians, some excel in art, others in mathematics, and there are calendar counters who can tell you the day of the week for April 12, 1880. The most gifted of the savants are called “prodigious savants,” and only about 100 individuals fall into this category. Savants are not geniuses, because the term “genius” refers to someone who is gifted in one or more areas but who has normal developmental and social skills.

Matt Savage could not stand noise or even being touched as a child, but this savant mastered the piano at age six. Later in his life, Dave Brubeck, the famous jazz musician, called him the “Mozart of Jazz.” George Finn can quickly tell you in which of the next 20 years June 23 will fall on a Tuesday, or he can tell you what the weather was like for each day of his adult life. But he is stumped by simple arithmetic problems. Asked to multiply 5 x 7, he guesses the answer might be 50.

You do not have to be born a savant, for sometimes a head injury may unleash hidden talents. There is the case of a 40 year-old male who sustained a concussion. When he recovered, he was able to play the piano and guitar, which he never played before the accident. He is now a professional musician and composes movie soundtracks. (Treffert, D.A., 2010, Islands of Genius, Jessica Kingsley, Pub., Philadelphia)