4 min read

A Major Cranium Clonk Made Him a Genius!

Fifteen years ago, Derek Amato was fooling around with some old high school buddies, suffered a potentially fatal pool accident, and became a genius! Derek, about to turn 40 near Denver, was a corporate sales director who still knew how to have fun with his buds. One of them arched a football pass out over the pool and Derek took a flying leap for it. Plunging into the shallow end, Derek struck

the left side of his forehead hard against the concrete! Pulling their pal from the water, his friends rushed Derek to the emergency department where he was diagnosed with a severe concussion. Sleeping for most of the next five days, Derek finally felt better and decided to go over to another friend's place. A piano keyboard sat in the corner and Derek was inexplicably drawn to it. Expecting Derek to tinker with the keys, instead the friend watched him sit down and immediately produce complex chords and melodies previously unfamiliar to both of them! Derek said he felt like the music burst from his skin. Never having played the piano before, Derek finally rose from the instrument after playing for nearly five hours! Perplexed about what was happening to him, Amato says, "I was doing things I didn't know I could do!" The next day, Amato took his mother to a music store where he turned on a digital piano and moved her to tears after only a couple of minutes. "How long have you played the piano?" the clerk asked. "About the last eight hours of my life," Amato replied! Derek is an example of an extremely rare phenomenon called acquired savant syndrome where someone suddenly develops an extraordinary and sometimes obsessive ability in music, art, math, or another field after a head injury, stroke, or other neurologic illness.

The 1988 movie, Rain Man, depicts an autistic savant who could rattle off telephone book listings and baseball statistics, from memory. Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise starred in the movie which won four Oscars. Amato was evaluated by Dr. Berit Brogaard, PhD, who says there are fewer than 50 confirmed cases of acquired savant syndrome in the world! Darold Treffert, MD, from University of Wisconsin Medical College also evaluated Amato. In a TEDx talk given in 2017, Dr. Treffert described a shopkeeper who was mugged and awoke showing signs of mathematical genius. Susan Fitzgerald's detailed article in the December 2021-January 2022 issue of Brain & Life Magazine cites several more research physicians and patients, none of which documented any regret for the risky circumstances surrounding the emergence of their extraordinary gifts. Even temporary medical crises were worth it in order to benefit from their newly discovered abilities. In short, once they knew they were going to survive their critical accidents, these new savants would never choose to go back. In fact, they thank God for the cranium clonk which made them a genius!

SIX TIPS ABOUT TURNING HEAD CLONKS INTO GENIUS

Don't Blame the Hero. The Clonk which felt like it would decapitate you didn't come from God! He's our Defender! "Every good gift bestowed, every perfect gift received comes to us from above, courtesy of the Father of lights. He is consistent. He won’t change His mind or play tricks in the shadows." (James 1:17, VOICE) "Hast thou not put a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side?" (Job 1:10, Revised Standard Version)
Blame the Villain. The devil is real. His strategy is to turn you away from the only One Who can transform your suffering into a spectacular advantage. If they allow him, Satan will use weak and unfaithful church members to inflict your clonk in hopes of turning you away from the Lord. Instead, pray "Save me from all the power of the enemy, from this roaring lion raging against me and the power of his dark horde." (Psalm 22:21, The Passion Translation)
It Hurts, But God Will Take You Through! "For He has not despised my cries of deep despair. He’s my First Responder to my sufferings, and when I was in pain, He was there all the time and heard the cries of the afflicted." (Psalm 22:24, The Passion Translation)
Turning Pain Into Genius Can Take Time. "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him... But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you." (1Peter 5:6-7,10, King James Version)
It's Worth the Pain! God's plan for us is so worth the twisty path He leads us along! Hollywood movie plots and autocratic leaders have convinced our culture that revenge and justice is the proper goal of one who has suffered unfairly. So much loftier, God throws our abuse into reverse! The acid bath of being hated and emotionally tortured is Heaven's catalyst. The added heat of our trial produces a miracle reaction! "Through our faith, Christ has brought us into that blessing of God’s grace that we now enjoy. And we are very happy because of the hope we have of sharing God’s glory. And we are also happy with the troubles we have. Why are we happy with troubles? Because we know that these troubles make us more patient. And this patience is proof that we are strong. And this proof gives us hope." (Romans 5:2-4, Easy Reading Version)
Spiritually Acquired Savant [Genius] is Receiving the Mind and Heart of Jesus! Walking through relational, financial, and grief stress-out mine fields with your clinched hand in Christ's accomplishes an organic cerebral cortex miracle! Holding tightly, you let "the same mind be in you that was even in Christ Jesus," (Philippians 2:5,GNV) You take on the likeness of Christ! You become a spiritual genius!