THE MIND OF A GENIUS

Bob Milne, renowned ragtime pianist, has an exceptional mind. Since childhood Milne, 71, has had the prodigy-like ability to hear any musical score and replicate it on the keys. He said he thought all pianists possessed the same talent, but a recent medical study conducted by Dr. Kerstin Bettermann of Penn State University suggests that Milne’s abilities stem from something more akin to genius.

The study began more than three years ago when Milne’s friend and neurologist Dr. Jim Toole heard Milne playing three distinct ragtime rhythms on the piano at once — while carrying on a full conversation. Milne said his friend watched in shock, proclaiming the “impossible” feat required simultaneous use of both sides of the brain.

One MRI revealed remarkable results about Milne’s brain function potential.

He was asked to listen to four previously unheard symphonic pieces. Once hooked up to an MRI (in order to judge which parts of the brain were active during testing and how hard they were working), Bettermann asked him to play symphony number one in his mind.

Milne described his viewing experience as floating above an orchestra that he sees, hears, and smells as clearly as if he were there. This ability to escape into a “private world” prompted the misdiagnosis of schizophrenia decades ago.

Betterman told him to start the second symphony and a second orchestra appeared beside the first — a regular occurrence in Milne’s mind. The experiment proved that Milne can hear four distinct orchestral symphonies in his mind, distinctly, at once.

Bettermann said she believes Milne experiences a type of emotional synesthesia – a neurological condition in which the stimulation of one sensory pathway leads to involuntary experiences in another pathway.

For Milne, the study is one way his gifts can help others. Betterman’s research centers on stroke victims and the opportunity to learn how people can tap into another area of their brain. And as a performer of more than 50 years, Milne has spent a lifetime sharing his gifts, a profession from which he plans never to retire.

– For more information on the music study that revealed the extent of Milne’s gifts, visit radiolab for an enlightening broadcast!

How synesthesia works - Infographic

The image below (slightly blurry) appeared on the Infographic page referrenced above. It was created to demonstrate what synesthesia is.

Note: the numbers and letters ovals demonstrate how some people see all numbers is colors, even when buried among alphabetical letters.