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Genetic Memory: How We Know

Things We Never Learned
ByDaroldTreffert | January28,2015 |

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51

Imetmyfirstsavant52yearsagoandhavebeenintriguedwiththatremarkable
conditioneversince.Oneofthemoststrikingandconsistentthingsinthemany
savantsIhaveseenisthatthattheyclearlyknowthingstheyneverlearned.
LeslieLemkeisamusicalvirtuosoeventhoughhehasneverhadamusiclessoninhis
life.LikeBlindTomWigginsacenturybeforehim,hismusicalgeniuseruptedso
earlyandspontaneouslyasaninfantthatitcouldnotpossiblyhavebeenlearned.It
camefactoryinstalled.Inbothcasesprofessionalmusicianswitnessedandconfirmed
thatLemkeandWigginssomehow,evenintheabsenceofformaltraining,hadinnate
accesstowhatcanbecalledtherulesorvastsyntaxofmusic.
AlonzoClemonshasneverhadanart
lessoninhislife.Asaninfant,aftera
headinjury,hebegantosculptwith
whateverwashandyCriscoor
whateverandnowisacelebrated
sculptorwhocanmoldaperfect
specimenofanyanimalwithclayinan
hourorlessafteronlyasingleglanceat
theanimalitselfeverymuscleand
tendonperfectlypositioned.Hehas
hadnoformaltraining.
Toexplainthesavant,whohasinnate
accesstothevastsyntaxandrulesof
art,mathematics,musicandeven
language,intheabsenceofanyformal
trainingandinthepresenceofmajor
disability,geneticmemory,itseems
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A picture of Leslie Lemke and the author published in the

tome,mustexistalongwiththemore

Chicago Tribunes Sunday magazine in 1988.

commonlyrecognized
cognitive/semanticand

procedural/habitmemorycircuits.
Geneticmemory,simplyput,iscomplexabilitiesandactualsophisticatedknowledge
inheritedalongwithothermoretypicalandcommonlyacceptedphysicaland
behavioralcharacteristics.Insavantsthemusic,artormathematicalchipcomes
factoryinstalled.Inadditiontotheexamplesmentionedabove,Idescribeothersin
mybook,IslandsofGenius:TheBountifulMindoftheAutistic,AcquiredandSudden
Savant.
Geneticmemoryisnotanentirelynewconcept.In1940,A.A.BrillquotedDr.William
Carpenterwho,incomparingmathprodigyZerahColburnscalculatingpowersto
Mozartsmasteryofmusicalcomposition,wrotethefollowing:

Ineachoftheforegoingcases,then,wehaveapeculiarexampleofthe
possessionofanextraordinarycongenitalaptitudeforcertainmental
activity,whichshoweditselfatsoearlyaperiodastoexcludethenotion
thatitcouldhavebeenacquiredbytheexperienceoftheindividual.To
suchcongenitalgiftswegivethenameofintuitions:itcanscarcelybe
questionedthatliketheinstinctsoftheloweranimals,theyarethe
expressionsofconstitutionaltendenciesembodiedintheorganismofthe
individualswhomanifestthem.

CarlJungusedthetermcollective
unconscioustodefinehisevenbroader
conceptofinheritedtraits,intuitionsand
collectivewisdomofthepast.
WilderPenfieldinhispioneering1978
book,MysteryoftheMind,alsoreferredto
threetypesofmemory.Animals,he
wrote,particularlyshowevidenceofwhat
mightbecalledracialmemory(thiswould
betheequivalentofgeneticmemory).He
liststhesecondtypeofmemoryasthat
associatedwithconditionedreflexesand
athirdtypeasexperiential.Thetwo
lattertypeswouldbeconsistentwiththe
terminologycommonlyappliedtohabitor
proceduralmemoryandcognitiveor
semanticmemory.

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Inhis1998book,TheMindsPast,Michael

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Gazzanigawrote:

Thebabydoesnotlearn

Carl Jung in 1910. (Wikimedia Commons)

trigonometry,butknowsitdoes
notlearnhowtodistinguishfigurefromground,butknowsitdoesnot
needtolearn,butknows,thatwhenoneobjectwithmasshitsanother,it
willmovetheobjectThevasthumancerebralcortexischockfullof
specializedsystemsready,willingandabletobeusedforspecifictasks.
Moreover,thebrainisbuiltundertightgeneticcontrolAssoonasthe
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brainisbuilt,itstartstoexpresswhatitknows,whatitcomeswithfrom
thefactory.Andthebraincomesloaded.Thenumberofspecialdevices
thatareinplaceandactiveisstaggering.Everythingfromperceptual
phenomenatointuitivephysicstosocialexchangerulescomeswiththe
brain.Thesethingsarenotlearnedtheyareinnatelystructured.Each
devicesolvesadifferentproblemthemultitudeofdeviceswehavefor
doingwhatwedoarefactoryinstalledbythetimeweknowaboutan
action,thedeviceshavealreadyperformedit.

StevenPinkers2003book,TheBlankSlate:TheModernDenialofHumanNature,
refutestheblankslatetheoriesofhumandevelopment.BrianButterworth,inhis
1999book,WhatCounts:HowEveryBrainisHardwiredforMath,pointsoutthat
babieshavemanyspecializedinnateabilities,includingnumericalonesthathe
attributestoanumbermoduleencodedinthehumangenomefromancestors

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30,000yearsago.
MarshallNivenberg,fromtheNational
HeartInstitute,providedinsightinto
theactualDNA/RNAmechanicsofthis

More from Scientific American

innateknowledgeinanarticletitled
GeneticMemorypublishedin1968in
JAMA.
Whethercalledgenetic,ancestralor
racialmemory,orintuitionsor
congenitalgifts,theconceptofa
genetictransmissionofsophisticated
knowledgewellbeyondinstincts,is
necessarytoexplainhowprodigious
savantscanknowthingstheynever
learned.

Thomas "Blind Tom" Wiggins in 1880. (Wikimedia

Wetendtothinkofourselvesasbeing
bornwithamagnificentandintricate

Commons)

pieceoforganicmachinery
(hardware)wecallthebrain,along

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withamassivebutblankharddrive(memory).Whatwebecome,itiscommonly
believed,isanaccumulationandculminationofourcontinuouslearningandlife
experiences,whichareaddedonebyonetomemory.Buttheprodigioussavant
apparentlycomesalreadyprogrammedwithavastamountofinnateskilland
knowledgeinhisorherareaofexpertisefactoryinstalledsoftwareonemightsay
whichaccountsfortheextraordinaryabilitiesoverwhichthesavantinnatelyshows
masteryinthefaceofoftenmassivecognitiveandotherlearninghandicaps.Itisan
areaofmemoryfunctionworthyofmuchmoreexplorationandstudy.
Indeedrecentcasesofacquiredsavantsoraccidentalgeniushaveconvincedme
thatweallhavesuchfactoryinstalledsoftware.Idiscussedsomeofthosecasesin
detailintheAugustissueofScientificAmericanunderthetitleAccidentalGenius.
Inshort,certainpersons,afterheadinjuryordisease,showexplosiveandsometimes
prodigiousmusical,artormathematicalability,whichliesdormantuntilreleasedbya
processofrecruitmentofstillintactanduninjuredbrainareas,rewiringtothose
newlyrecruitedareasandreleasingtheuntilthenlatentcapacitycontainedtherein.
Finally,theanimalkingdomprovidesampleexamplesofcomplexinheritedcapacities
beyondphysicalcharacteristics.Monarchbutterflieseachyearmakea2,500mile
journeyfromCanadatoasmallplotoflandinMexicowheretheywinter.Inspring
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theybeginthelong
journeybacknorth,but
ittakesthreegenerations
todoso.Sonobutterfly
makingthereturn
journeyhasflownthat
entireroutebefore.How
dotheyknowaroute
theyneverlearned?It
hastobeaninherited
GPSlikesoftware,nota
learnedroute.

Willow flycatcher. (Brent M./Flickr)

Oscinebirdssuchas
suchassparrows,thrushesandwarblerslearntheirsongsfromlisteningtoothers.
Suboscinespecies,suchasflycatchersandtheirrelatives,incontrast,inheritallthe
geneticinstructionstheyneedforthesecomplexarias.Evenifraisedinsoundproof
isolation,thesuboscinebirdscangivetheusualcallfortheirspecieswithnoformal
trainingorlearning.Therearesomanymoreexamplesfromtheanimalkingdomin
whichverycomplextraits,behaviorsandskillsareinheritedandinnate.Wecallthose
instinctsinanimals,butwehaventappliedthisconcepttothecomplexinherited
skillsandknowledgeinhumans.
Somewillarguethatwhattheprodigioussavantinheritsistheproclivityor
scaffoldingonwhichlearningcanbeappliedunusuallyrapidly,ratherthanknowledge
itself,andliketheoscinebirdspecies,theylearnfromothers.Mypositionisthatthe
prodigioussavantisaconvincingexampleofsuboscinegeneticinheritanceofthe
actualinstructionsandknowledgethatprecedeslearning.Thatisnottosaysuch
inheritedskills(nature)cannotbecultivated,enhancedandimproved(nurture).They
canbe.ButIagreewithDr.WilliamCarpenterthatsavantsdemonstrateacongenital
aptitudeforcertainmentalactivity,whichshoweditselfatsoearlyaperiodasto
excludethenotionthatitcouldhavebeenacquiredbytheexperienceofthe
individual.
Icallthatgeneticmemory,andIproposethatitexistsinallofus.Thechallengeis
howtotapthatdormantcapacitynonintrusivelyandwithoutabraininjuryorsimilar
incident.

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Comments
OldestNewest

RelioEstondado

January 28, 2015, 5:47 PM

Dothesesavantshaveancestorsthatwereallmastersatthesethings,ordoweallhavethemfor
somereason?Seemsprettyfarfetchedthateveryonehasasecretsetofsavantmemories.Ifthese
"genetic"memoriesdoexist,fromwheredotheyoriginate?Mathematics,fineart,andmusichave
onlybeenmasteredbyafairlysmallnumberofpeopleever.Howdoesthisrareknowledgegetto
thesesavants?I'mgoingwithaliens.Hastobealiens.
Report as Abuse|Link to This

Banquosghost

January 28, 2015, 7:54 PM

Idon'tthinktheauthormeansthetypeofmemoryyoutowhichyourefer.Hedoesn'tmeana
savantisbornknowingtherecipeforHasenpfeffer.Savantsareeitherbornwithordevelopefrom
injuriesseeminglysuperhumanabilities.Inthecasesofmusicandart,thesavantmustfirsthear
themusicorseeanobject.
AlsoI'mprettysurenooneisbornknowingLaplaceTransforms.Thebutterflymigrationandbird
songsseemdifferent.Ihavenocluehowthatworks.
Oh,andifyoureallyaregoingwithaliens,askabouttheirprobingpoliciesfirst.
Report as Abuse|Link to This

phalaris

January 29, 2015, 2:08 AM

Sciencehassofaronlyscratchedthesurfaceonthesefascinatingquestions.
Intheinsectworld,it'sclearthatquitecomplexbehaviourscanonlybeinherited.
Evenwithmammals,though,there'sevidencethatthere'sheritablecomponentstosomefairly
complicatedaspectsofbehaviour.Sowithburrowshapeinamicespecies,wherethey'vetrackedit
downtodiscretegeneticmodules:
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v493/n7432/full/nature11816.html?
WT.ec_id=NATURE20130117
IlikeBanquosghost'swhimsywiththeLaplace:ifthatwascodedinmygenes,andneededonlytobe
unlocked,itcouldhavesavedmesomesweatatcollege!
Butit'sawarningagainsttakingsomeextremeinterpretationofthelittleweknowsofar.
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Cramer

January 29, 2015, 2:27 AM

Thisarticlewasfrustratingtoreadduetoafewcommunicationerrors.Thetwocentralquestions
inthisarticleareweighing(1)innatevslearnedand(2)allvssome.Theauthorcouldhavecleared
upthesecondquestionbybeginningthearticlewiththelastparagraph:

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"Iproposethat['geneticmemory']existsinallofus.Thechallengeishowtotapthatdormant
capacitynonintrusivelyandwithoutabraininjuryorsimilarincident."
Ireadmostofthearticlethinkingthattheauthorbelievessavantsarebornwithspecial
"knowledge"thatothersarenot.Thegeneralthemeinthebeginningofthearticlewasthat"in
savantsthemusic,artormathematical"chip"comesfactoryinstalled."Thisimpliesthe"chip"was
notinstalledinnonsavants.
Thequestionofinnatevslearnedcouldhavebeenbetterelucidatedbydefiningknowledgeand
learning.Whatislearning?Theauthormayhaveadifferentdefinition.
Isthereanyevidencethattheextraordinaryabilitiesofsavantsareacquiredatconception(i.e.
genetically)oratleastbeforebirth?Atwhatagedoparentsbegintorecognizethetalentsoftheir
savantchild?Waslearningnotpartofthisprocessofthesavantgainingtheirabilities?Theauthor
quotesMichaelGazzaniga:
"['Thebaby']doesnotneedtolearn,butknows,thatwhenoneobjectwithmasshitsanother,itwill
movetheobject..."
Isababybornwiththejustifiedtruebeliefs(i.e.knowledge)aboutinteractingwithobjectsordoes
thebabylearntointeractwithobjects.Iwouldsaythebabylearns.Whenthebabyisflailingits
armsaboutandsomethingimpedesitsarmsmovement,itlearnshowtoapplyornottoapplyforce
usingitsmuscles.Ontheotherhand,whenarudimentary1950stoyrobotrunsintoawall,thetoy
robotcontinuestowalkintothewallwastingitsenergyuntilitsbatteriesrunout.Whatmightbe
innateinthebaby(beitamouseorahuman)isnottowasteenergy.It'knows'whatworkisbecause
workconsumesenergywhichistaxingtotheinfant.Thetoyrobotinunawareofwhatworkis.Does
thismeanababydoesnotlearnthatvariousamountsofworkarerequiredtomoveobjectsof
variousmasses?Thatis,thebabylearnsthatthecribrailingdoesnotmovewhilethetoyrattle
easilymoves.
Welearnfasterorslowerbasedoncircumstances.Babiesquicklylearnalotofthings.Someofthe
circumstanceofthelearningenvironmentseemnottobeappropriatelyconsidered.Theauthor
wrote,
"[the"factoryinstalled'software'"]accountsfortheextraordinaryabilitiesoverwhichthesavant
innatelyshowsmasteryinthefaceofoftenmassivecognitiveandotherlearninghandicaps."
Thisiswronginmyopinion.CouldthesavanthavetheseextraordinaryabilitiesBECAUSEof
cognitivehandicapsratherthaninspiteof?Liketheblindpersonwiththeextraordinarysenseof
hearing?Thebrainisstilltrainedortaughttohavetheseabilities.Theblindpersonisnotlikely
bornwith
extraordinaryhearing.Howimportantiseyesightinthewomb?
IdoubttheauthorbelievessomeofusarebornknowingEnglishratherthanMandarin,butsince
hedidnotdefinelearningandknowledge,Idonotknow.Wehaveinnateabilitiestolearn
languageandlanguagesaremoreeasyordifficulttoacquiredependingonthecircumstances.Does
anyonerememberthegruelinglessonsoflearningtheirfirstlanguage?Wearealso
innatelymusical.Weinnatelylikespecifictypesoftemporalrelationshipsofsoundthatmake
rhythm,melody,andharmonymoreappealingthannoise.Manybiologicalfunctionsarerhythmic.
Canbabiesnotfocusonthesesoundsandlearnpleasingharmonieswithoutthenecessityofapiano
instructorandpossiblyevencategorizethem.
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DMA12

January 29, 2015, 9:06 AM

Ihavetoagreewiththoseabove.Itsoundslikeyouradvocatingtheold"racialmemory"theory.It's
difficulttotellwhetheryourtalkingaboutactualmemoryorcertaininheritedbehaviors.
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acuvox

January 29, 2015, 9:24 AM

Therearealternativepossibilitiestothedualitiesexpressedbythisauthor.Heisseekinga
unificationtheoryofthesephenomenawhiletheyaremorelikelyacomplexofdiversemechanisms
thatarenotallclassifiableasmemory.BiologyisROBUSTinutilizingredundancies.Ifthereisonly
onepathtoabiologicalsolution,itisoftenanextinctionissuedueofeliminationoftheotherways.
Onethingwedoknowisthatpreconsciousneuralprocessingexceedsconsciousness,i.e.
consciousnessrequiresafilterbankreducingrawsensoryinformationandthederivedmapofthe
worldtosummarylevelperceptionandthought.Thereisvastunexploredterritorybetween
neurologyandpsychology.
Forpraxisinfieldslikemathematics,artandmusicthereisabodyofknowledgethatisdeveloped
rationallyandthatdevelopmentoverhumanhistorycanbereplicatedinonebrain,builtfrom

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basicprinciplesthatcanbeexperiencedandabsorbedinshortorder.
Forexample,Imhotepdevelopedadvancedmetrology,mechanismsandtoolingtocutmultiton
blocksofstonetosubmillimeterprecision,interlockingearthquakeproofarchitecture,bone
settingandaquaculturetosolveoneengineeringproblem:buildingthemostenduringstructures
ontheplanet.Withnoknownprecedentsatleastsomeofthesefeatsdonotqualifyasmemory.
ThiscouldexplainthemigrationoftheMonarch.Ifarobustsetofruleswereencodedgenetically,
theroutecouldbederivedinsuchawaythatitalwaysleadstothesameplace.
Someofthebehaviorcanbeexplainedbythingswedoknowaboutepigenetics.Informationis
passedbythechemistryofgestationwhichcanpassformsofknowledgelikethelibraryofimmune
responses.Isupposethisisaformofmultigenerationalmemorybutitistypicallyoutsidememory
specialists'study.
Athirdpossibility,shunnedbyscientistsbecauseitsupportsareligiousviewoftheworld,is
telepathyparticularlythepossibilityofabsorbingknowledgefromanunseenworldofnon
corporealknowledge.Ourmostoriginalthinkerstendtobelievethatnewthoughtscomefrom
outsidetheindividualmind.Isuggestthatlookingfortelepathicabilityinsavantsmayprove
productive.
Iamcertaintherearefurtherpossibilitiesoutsidethemodelofknowledgebuildingcumulatively
throughinheritance,becauseNatureissmarterthanallofusputtogether.
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RJOConnor

January 29, 2015, 10:11 AM

Isuspectthatthelastpossibilityputforwardbyacuvoxmaybegettingclosertothetruth.Savants
maynotbeaccessinganylocallystoredrepositoryofknowledgeexclusivetotheirbiologicalselves,
butratheraccessinganaltogethermoreremotesource.Thisplaystothetheoriesofprocessingand
consciousnessputforwardbyStuartHameroffandSirRichardPenrose,whosuggestaquantum
componenttothewaythemindworks.Watchthistogetanideaofwhattheyareonabout
http://bit.ly/1CPrRa3
Anintuitiveleapsuggeststhatyoucouldextendsuchlogicandimaginethatsuchaquantum
interfacegivesaccesstothis'other'realmwhereallart,mathsandmusicisencodedandthus
derived.Followingthislineofthoughtenablesustounderstandthatsome,suchasMrWiggins,
TitianordaVinci,werejustplainbetterataccessingthisrealmthanothers.
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Banquosghost

January 29, 2015, 10:52 AM

acuvox,RJOConnor,
SosavantsareJediandTheForceiswiththem?
Unlikelyitseems.
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phalaris

January 29, 2015, 11:11 AM

DMA12
yes,fortheauthortopropose"geneticmemory"forthesephenomenaislikeliertomuddythe
watersratherthankeepthingsobjective.
Eventhebirdthatsingsthatsongit'sprogrammedatconceptiontosing,iscarryingoutan
inheritedbehaviourratherthansingingfrommemory.
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datmd

January 29, 2015, 11:46 AM

Iappreciateallthecomments.Iusethetermgeneticmemorybecauseitisatermcommonlyused.
ButwhatIamdescribingisreallybetterclarifiedbytheterms"knowledge"and"memory"asoneof
thecommentatorssuggests.WiththatdistinctionIamreferringtothegenetictransferof
'knowledge'ratherthanactualmemories.Theremaybesuchathinkastransferofactual
memories,perhapsevenancientonesbutIamnotreferringtothat.
AndIusesavants,bothcongenitalandacquired,asexamplesof"knowledge"directlyinherited
factoryinstalledbecausetheyprovidetheclearest,moststarkexamplesof'knowledge'tapped
inherited,notlearned.Butthegenetictransferof"knowledge"isapplicabletoeveryone,notjust
savants.Ihaveothercasesthatdemonstrateevenmoreboldlycomplexknowledgeseenso

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starklyorearlythatitcouldnotpossiblybeen"learned".Iexpoundonthisinmoredepthina
chapter
inScottKaufman'sbook"TheComplexityofGreatness"titled"SavantSyndrome:Acompelling
caseforinnatetalent"
So'geneticknowledge'wouldbeabettertermthangeneticmemory,ortheterms"nature"(genetic
knowledge)and"nurture"(learnedbehavior)
Idon'tunderstandtheresistancetotheideaofinheritedcomplexbehaviorsandactualknowledge
inhumanswhenitissoabundantinanimals(orbutterfliesorbirds).Wedonotstartwithablank
diskthebraindoescomeloadedandwhilesavantsareexamplesbecausewoftheharsh
juxtapositionofabilityanddisability,weallinherit"knowledge"(andtalentandbehaviors)along
thelinesofthebellshapedcurve,Someofusmoreinbuedthanotherswithspecificareasof
expertise.
SoIamsuggestingarathermundaneinheritenceof"knowledge"asopposedtotappingintoa
quantumoruniversal'intelligence'orconsciousness(Jung)thatotherssuggestasanevenmore
sensationalwayof"knowingthingsweneverlearned"thatappliestoallofus.Maybethereissuch
routebutIamnotsuggestingorendorsingthat.AllIamsayingisthatweinherit"knowledge"all
withalltheothercommonlyacceptedphysicalcharacteristics.Someofthatremainsdormantuntil
'tapped'asintheacquiredsavant.Ourchallengesistobeabletotapintotherepositoryof
knowledge,skillsandtalentwithoutsomecentralnervousincident
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