24 Daniel Tammet Quotes for You to Enjoy

Daniel Tammet

English Writer

Born: Jan 31, 1979

Experience Life Me People Think You

Related authors: Arthur C. Clarke D. H. Lawrence Douglas Adams Gilbert K. Chesterton John Ruskin Ricky Gervais Rudyard Kipling Thomas Paine

I know from my own experience that there is much more to 'intelligence' than an IQ number. In fact, I hesitate to believe that any system could really reflect the complexity and uniqueness of one person's mind, or meaningfully describe the nature of his or her potential. Daniel Tammet

Nature Experience Intelligence Mind Reflect Own Believe Hesitate System Complexity My Own More Potential Fact Could Know His Than Person Any In Fact Meaningfully Much Really Describe Uniqueness Her Number

I consider social skills a bit like learning a language. I've been practising it for so long over so many years I've almost lost my accent. Daniel Tammet

Learning Language Long Lost Consider Bit Almost Over Like Accent Practising Been Years So Many Years Social Skills Many Social Skills

I would play with numbers in a way that other kids would play with their friends. Daniel Tammet

Other Other Kids Way Kids Would Friends Play Numbers

I think if I ever stopped pushing myself, I would revert quickly to quite repetitive, restrictive behaviour. But in pushing myself and concentrating on what I can do, I think I can contribute to society. And that gives me the desire to keep pushing, to see what I'm capable of. The thing to do is not to stop. Daniel Tammet

Myself Me Think Society Would See Restrictive Gives Pushing Concentrating Revert Repetitive Quickly Contribute Behaviour Quite Stop Stopped Capable Keep Ever Thing Desire

37 is a lumpy number, a bit like porridge. Six is very small and dark and cold, and whenever I was little trying to understand what sadness is I would imagine myself inside a number six and having that experience of cold and darkness. Similarly, number four is a shy number. Daniel Tammet

Myself Experience Dark Darkness Sadness Cold Bit Would Inside Similarly Having Small Like Understand Very Trying Six Whenever Little Four Shy Number Imagine

In my mind, numbers and words are far more than squiggles of ink on a page. They have form, color, texture and so on. They come alive to me, which is why as a young child I thought of them as my 'friends.' Daniel Tammet

I was incredibly lucky that my first book found a large and loyal readership. It changed my life - from being a very withdrawn adult to living in Paris as a full-time writer. It has also given me enormous confidence. Daniel Tammet

Life Me Confidence Book My Life First Living Enormous Changed Incredibly Given Paris Writer Adult Also Withdrawn Readership Very Being Loyal Full-Time Large Lucky Found

Aesthetics - rather than reason - shapes our thought processes. First comes aesthetics, then logic. 'Thinking in Numbers' is not about an attempt to impress the reader but to include the reader, draw the reader in, by explaining my experiences - the beauty I feel in a prime number, for example. Daniel Tammet

Thought Example First Beauty Impress Thinking Our Draw Logic About Rather Shapes Attempt Feel Prime For Example Reader Aesthetic Than Experiences Processes Explaining Then Reason Include Number Numbers

I recited Pi to 22,514 decimal points in five hours and nine minutes. I was able to do this because of weeks of study, aided by the unusual synaesthesic way my mind perceives numbers as complex multidimensional coloured and textured shapes. Daniel Tammet

Mind Aided Nine Way Complex Able Minutes Weeks Points Shapes Coloured Study Hours Unusual Because Five Numbers

Someone who copies a Van Gogh does not therefore become Van Gogh, and the same would go for Mozart or anyone else who contributed something that was original. Certainly in the way that I described visualizing numbers in abstract, meaningful shapes. Daniel Tammet

Become Else Way Van Van Gogh Would Visualizing Someone Something Shapes Abstract Does Go Same Gogh Anyone Anyone Else Mozart Meaningful Certainly Who Original Therefore Copies Numbers

Even the greatest mathematicians, the ones that we would put into our mythology of great mathematicians, had to do a great deal of leg work in order to get to the solution in the end. Daniel Tammet

Work Great Great Deal Our Would Solution Had Mythology Put Deal Greatest Mathematicians End Leg Get Order In The End Even

Life is going to be complex, and the only way we're able navigate our way through it at all is by living as best we can and absorbing those experiences and somehow making intuitive responses in future situations that resemble them in some way. Daniel Tammet

Life Future Best Living Our Way Complex Those Responses Able Intuitive Some Somehow Only Through Absorb Making Going Situations Experiences Them Navigate Resemble

Squaring numbers is a symmetrical process that I like very much. And when I divide one number by another, say, 13 divided by 97, I see a spiral rotating downwards in larger and larger loops that seem to warp and curve. The shapes coalesce into the right number. I never write anything down. Daniel Tammet

Down Say See Spiral Seem Divide Divided Write Shapes Never Like Another Loops Very Anything Curve Process Much Warp Rotating Larger Right Number Symmetrical Numbers

Growing up, I would have to watch the other children and learn from my mistakes. I would have to push myself to overcome the things most people don't have to think about. Brushing my teeth was very difficult because of the noise of the brush. Daniel Tammet

Myself Noise People Overcome Mistakes Difficult Think Other Teeth Would About Brush Brushing Push Most Learn Because Up Very Children Growing Growing Up Things Watch

I certainly have routines in my day-to-day life that are important to me and still give me feelings of security and control, but the capacity to break out of them every so often as I travel has given me a second wind. Daniel Tammet

Life Me Travel Wind Feelings Important Control Every Out Security Give Give Me Given Day-To-Day Day-To-Day Life Still Often Break Them Capacity Certainly Routines Second

I love music. I have a fondness for Chopin, and I very much like his 'Raindrop Prelude.' Daniel Tammet

Love Music Fondness Like His Very Much Prelude Chopin

I found maths very easy, but I still enjoyed discovering things. You have to have the necessary information. For example, what's the difference between the mean and the median? Probability fascinated me. You have to think very carefully about things, which is the way my mind works anyway. Daniel Tammet

Me You Mind Example Think Carefully Way Easy About Between For Example Still Discovering Maths Very Probability Difference Information Anyway Which Mean Fascinated Works Found Median Enjoyed Things Necessary

If when we are taught English we are just taught the rules of grammar, it would take all our love of our language away from us. What makes us love a subject like English is when we learn all these fantastic stories. Feeding the imagination is what makes a subject come alive. Daniel Tammet

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