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8/29 OT: Naturally superhuman people


Naturally superhuman people[edit]

There have been verified and well-documented cases of humans having physical abilities that seem superhuman, for example:

  • Wim Hof is nearly impervious to extreme temperatures. In 2009, he ran a marathon, wearing only shorts and a cap (no shoes), in -20C temperatures. He owns the Guinness World Record for the longest ice bath (nearly two hours). In 2011, he ran a marathon in 40C temperatures without drinking a drop of water during the run.
  • Dr. MAK Yuree is one of the five Superhuman of the World (Strength category) as selected and featured by Discovery Channel. Scientific experiments and laboratory tests by the Discovery Channel team of scientists, proved that Dr. Yuree Vajramuni has the ability to engage the highest percentage (96%) of muscles of the body through brain command. His 4th World Record is for the highest neuro-engagement ability in the world. Dr. Yuree is the founder of Butthan Martial Art system.
  • Eero Mäntyranta had a gene mutation that causes a wild increase in red blood cell count, meaning that his blood had the ability to carry up to 50% more oxygen than that of others - this is a tremendous advantage in any cardiovascular activity.
  • Ben Underwood had a highly developed ability of echolocation. He was blind, but able navigate obstacles large and small by making clicking noises and listening to the response. He could do activities such as skateboard, play basketball, and Foosball. Ben passed away in 2009
  • Thai Ngoc has been unable to sleep for 33 years, yet he maintains a normal, active lifestyle and suffers from no side-effects.

There exist also people with a condition known as savant syndrome that have superhuman mental capabilities. These individuals usually have some kind of mental disability, which has led to the belief that in order to have these abilities some sort of trade-off is required. Nonetheless, many of them have extraordinary talents, and some, known as prodigious savants, are relatively normal and functional with only mild or even no noticeable impairment. Examples of such individuals include the following:

  • Derek Paravicini is a blind savant and musical prodigy. He was born extremely prematurely at only almost half the duration of a normal pregnancy (25 of 40 weeks). As a result of oxygen therapy during this time, his eyes became non-functional and his developing brain was affected, causing his severe learning disabilities, in addition to autism. As Paravicini grew up he learned to play the piano and it slowly became apparent that he had an amazing gift for music. He has absolute pitch and can play a piece after hearing it only once. He also has prowess in improvisation and can create a piece instantly as he goes along.
  • Matt Savage is an autistic[citation needed] savant and musical prodigy with a number of talents including extremely high intelligence, hyperlexia and perfect pitch. He was precocious as a baby who began to walk early and learned to read by the age of 18 months. At the age of three, he was diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder, a form of autism. Though he initially did not like noises or music as a child, when he was age six, he taught himself how to read music and began playing the piano. With no formal instruction in music composition, Savage became a professional musician and by 18 years old, he had released 9 albums and performed with Chaka Khan and other popular singers. He is currently enrolled at Berklee to advance his music career.
  • Orlando Serrell is an acquired savant who, at the age of ten years old, was struck on the left side of his head by a baseball. After falling down, he got up and continued to play baseball, but following the incident experienced a headache that lasted for a long time. Eventually, the headache ended, and Serrell quickly noticed that he was able to do calendrical calculations of amazing complexity. He can also recall where he was, what he had done, and what the weather was like for every single day since the incident.
  • Rüdiger Gamm is a mental calculator with no apparent disabilities whatsoever. By 21 years of age, he attained the ability to calculate complex mathematics in his head, usually through memorization. He can also speak backwards and calculate calendars.
  • Shakuntala Devi was a human computer. By age six (1935) she demonstrated her calculation and memorization abilities at the University of Mysore. In 1977, at Southern Methodist University, she was asked to give the 23rd root of a 201-digit number; she answered in 50 seconds. Her answer—546,372,891—was confirmed by calculations done at the U.S. Bureau of Standards by the UNIVAC 1101 computer, for which a special program had to be written to perform such a large calculation.
  • On June 18, 1980, she demonstrated the multiplication of two 13-digit numbers — 7,686,369,774,870 × 2,465,099,745,779 — picked at random by the Computer Department of Imperial College, London. She correctly answered 18,947,668,177,995,426,462,773,730 in 28 seconds. This event is mentioned in the 1982 Guinness Book of Records.
  • Some individuals with blindness develop sensory substitution and become extremely adept at hearing and auditory processing. In rare cases, they may learn to use echolocation, an ability in which they use echoes to detect where objects are in their surroundings, to navigate their environment. They create echoes often by clicking their tongues or tapping their canes. Several notable echolocators include James Holman, Daniel Kish and Ben Underwood. Alternatively, as demonstrated by the case of Derek Paravicini described above, people with blindness may become extremely skilled in music.