“In repeated raids the police have seized betting
records and about $700,000 from Weisberg’s house and
safe-deposit boxes. Three times in 1989-1994 Weisberg faced
felony charges of sports bookmaking. The first time he pleaded
guilty and received five years’ probation. Since then judges, a jury,
psychologists, and psychiatrists have determined that Weisberg is
not responsible for his actions because his mental disability
prevents him from distinguishing between right and wrong… One of the most celebrated sports bookmakers in the Midwest, he
is mentally disabled, with an IQ that has at various times been
measured in the mid-50s to the low 70s. Although Weisberg’s
speaking skills, as reflected in court records, appear roughly
normal, he is not, in fact, an articulate speaker, and he has a
sharply limited conversational range. But few people can approach
Weisberg at calculating odds and handicapping games.”The Atlantic [via Spike Report]
And new research clarifies what it is that leads to savant skills, at least in patients with autism if not those, like Weisberg, with retardation. Not surprisingly, they start with the details. Aptitudes in which they excel are strengthened by repetition motivated by the pleasure it brings them. The Independent
