Almost 20 years ago, Jason Padgett cared little about math. But one day, a head trauma permanently changes the functioning of his brain. Since then, the interested party has seen mathematics everywhere!
Jason Padgett was a futon salesman in Alaska before living in Tacoma, south of Seattle (USA). Bon vivant, the person concerned did not really like mathematics and spent his free time having fun. On September 13, 2002, his life changed completely, as explained in a BBC article published on July 8, 2020. On leaving a karaoke bar, Jason Padgett was violently attacked by two men, an incident that caused him head trauma. Since then, he no longer perceives things in the same way, explaining in particular that everything that is curved now looks slightly pixelated.
“The water going down the sewer no longer looked smooth and flowing, it looked like little tangent lines. Everything presented itself to me in a mathematical way” said Jason Padgett.
As the man wonders what is happening to him, he searches the web. He finally comes into contact with Berit Brogaard, a cognitive neuroscientist who works at the University of Miami (United States). The expert quickly hypothesizes:Jason Padgett would suffer synesthesia , a disturbance in the perception of sensations. Synesthesia is a non-pathological neurological phenomenon affecting about 4% of the population . This involves the association of two senses (or more) in a sustainable way and from a single stimulus. It is a question of co-activation of regions of the brain having the effect of a mixture of the senses.
Some people with synesthesia can, for example, perceive colors when they hear music. It can also be a question of perceiving a presence when feeling a particular emotion. In the case of Jason Padgett, it is about projection of mathematical formulas in his field of vision!
In order to verify her hypothesis, the neuroscientist invites Jason Padgett to Aalto University in Helsinki (Finland). There, the man undergoes a series of MRIs . During these sessions, a screen in front of his eyes briefly projected many equations, some of which were wrong. According to the results, Jason Padgett has access to parts of his brain that ordinary mortals cannot consciously access. The thing is, his visual cortex collaborates with the math part of the brain.
In conclusion, Berit Brogaard indicated that Jason Padgett suffered from a form of synesthesia and above all, learned scientist syndrome. Since then, the interested party leads a new life made of travels during which he tells his story and raises public awareness.
