What's Hot at the Centre!

 

WMC Chinese translation

What Makes A Champion! book launch

Professor Snyder's book What Makes A Champion! is now available in Chinese (published by Peking University Press) and includes a forward written by the President of the prestigious Peking University. The gala book launch took place in Beijing on 9 April 2008. The occasion of the book launch also marked the start of Peking University's What Makes A Champion?TM program.


Allan at lectern

Professor Snyder gives keynote address at Peking University

Professor Snyder gave the first address in the distinguished What Makes A Champion? Lecture Series at Beijing's Peking University on 9 April 2008. The lecture, entitled What Makes A Champion?, was a prelude to the Centre's second What Makes A Champion?TM forum, to be held at Peking University on 4-5 August 2008, on the eve of the Beijing Olympic Games.


WMC logo

What Makes A Champion?TM

What Makes A Champion?TM has been designated an official Olympic Cultural Event for Beijing 2008. The What Makes A Champion?TM forum will be held at China's most prestigious university, Peking University, on the eve of the Beijing Olympic Games. It will examine how culture modulates our understanding of and attitudes to extraordinary success. Professor Snyder is the creator of What Makes A Champion?TM. For more information, go to the WMC website.


"Are animals autistic?"

An article published in the February 2008 issue of PLoS Biology discusses whether animals are autistic. This co-authored paper is the result of the FEAST workshop on Higher Cognition in Animals (May 2007). Click here to read the article.

New Scientist discussed the paper in an article in its 23 February 2008 issue. Click here to read the article.


Brilliant Brain

My Brilliant Brain

The 3-part National Geographic documentary My Brilliant Brain, featuring Allan Snyder and the Centre in Part 3, Accidental Genius, is currently re-screening on Australia's National Geographic channel. Screening dates are 18 and 25 January 2008.


Allan Snyder

"Mind Matters"

Malaysia's national The Star newspaper of 25 November 2007 features a profile of Allan Snyder. This follows the airing of the National Geographic documentary My Brilliant Brain on Malaysian televsion. Click here to read the article.


Brilliant Brain

My Brilliant Brain

The 3-part National Geographic documentary My Brilliant Brain, featuring Allan Snyder and the Centre in Part 3, Accidental Genius, is currently screening on Australia's National Geographic channel. Screening dates are 16, 18, 20 and 24 November 2007.


Super Consciousness cover

Interview with Allan Snyder featured in new SuperConsciousness magazine

The premier issue of SuperConsciousness magazine (September/October 2007) features an interview with Allan Snyder, discussing the concept of genius.

Click here to read the article.

 


The Real Superhumans

This documentary by Proper Television Canada, tells the stories of real people with extraordinary 'superpowers'. Screened by Discovery Channel worldwide, the program features Allan Snyder with Ruediger Gamm - called the Human Calculator. Click here to view the airdates throughout Europe and East Africa.


UniNewsCover

"Champions in the Spotlight"

The University of Sydney's UniNews 5 October 2007 edition features an interview with Allan Snyder. The article discusses the Professor's research into championship, which will be highlighted at the second What Makes A Champion? forum, to be held at Peking University just prior to the Olympic Games opening ceremony.


Australian Magazine cover

"Beautiful Minds"

The Weekend Australian Magazine of 11-12 August 2007 features an article on the Tao brothers, a trio of highly gifted young men. In the article, Allan Snyder discusses his research into the nature of genius in relation to Terry, Trevor and Nigel Tao.

Click here to read the article.


60 Minutes logo

A Beautiful Mind

The 12 August 2007 edition of Channel Nine's 60 Minutes featured a story on the mental abilities of autistic savants, highlighting the extraordinary Daniel Tammet and Stephen Wiltshire, drawing on the research of Allan Snyder and the Centre for the Mind.


BBC Logo

"How does a human calculator do it?"

A BBC News Magazine online article of 30 July 2007 quotes Allan Snyder in its discussion on the abilities of autistic savants - particularly the human calculator, Alexis Lemaire. Click here to read the article.


Brilliant Brain

My Brilliant Brain

The Centre's research features in a 3-part UK documentary My Brilliant Brain, made by National Geographic and screened on the UK's Channel Five on 23 July 2007. Allan Snyder and the Centre feature in Part 3, which discusses the notion of 'accidental genius'. Click here to read Channel Five's blog page about the documentary. Click here to read The Times online review of the documentary.


Allan Snyder

"Patching up the ivory towers"

Allan Snyder's work was singled out in article in the Sydney Morning Herald on 12 May 2007 as the type of funding that University research will get in the future. The article emphasises that "the best universities are keen to ensure the money is used to reward excellence." Click here to read the article.


Feast

Are animals autistic? Creativity, Mindsets and Autism.

On Sunday 6 May 2007, Professor Snyder presented a keynote address at the elite, international Forum for European-Australian Science and Technology Cooperation (FEAST) workshop on Higher Cognition in Animals.


Prestige Cover

"Championing Creativity"

The April 2007 edition of Singapore's Prestige magazine features an article on Professor Snyder's research into creativity and the Champion Mindset. Click here to read the article.


Painting the Mind

Professor Snyder's research on the creative potential of the brain is featured in a UK Channel Four documentary, Painting the Mind, which screened on ABC's Four Corners on 23 April 2007. Click here for more information. Painting the Mind has also been screened in Scandinavia and is awaiting screening in the UK.


Allan Snyder

Comment on Priming Skills of Autistic Twins

In a letter to the editor of the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders (published online on March 2007), Professor Snyder responds to a previously published letter regarding the priming skills of autistic twins in Oliver Sacks' research. Click here to read Professor Snyder's comments.


Creativity and the Brain cover

Creativity and the Brain

Creativity and the Brain is a new publication edited by Mario Tokoro and Ken Mogi, described as "a modern primer on the science of creativity". It features a chapter by Allan Snyder, titled 'The Genius Within'.

The book is available at www.worldscibooks.com


Allan Snyder

Swiss newspaper features article on Allan Snyder

The Swiss daily newspaper Tages-Anzeiger of 19 March 2007 featured Allan Snyder's research in an article on the skills of autistic savants.

Click here to read the article (untranslated).


The Australian

"Talent, and time to give, the mark of a champion"

In an opinion piece in The Australian on 20 January 2007, Professor Snyder discusses the mindset of champions.

Click here to read the article.


TMS Numerosity

Think You're Smart?

The Science Museum of London features the Centre in its new exhibition on
Neurobotics – The Future of Thinking. This includes exhibits derived from
the Centre’s recent research on induced savant-like numerosity with a view
towards a device for amplifying creativity. Click here to take the Centre's creativity test on the Science Museum's web site.


"Brain damage can make you brilliant"

The October 2006 issue of Discover magazine featured an article on the Centre's research into the mind's hidden skills. Click here to read the article.


"Get smarter"

The 10 October 2006 issue of The Bulletin magazine featured an article on The Centre's research into the mind. Click here to read the article.


2026 - A Vision for the Nation's Future. Part 1 - Tomorrow's World

Professor Allan Snyder's vision for 2026 appeared in Part 1 of The Australian special feature 2026 - A Vision for the Nation's Future on 28 October 2006. In it, he predicted the use of "thinking caps" that will change the way we think and the way we see the world. Click here to read the article.


Sex-based recognition of angry faces

According to new research just published in the Journal of Integrative Neuroscience, angry male faces are processed in the opposite side of the brain to angry female faces.

Researchers at the Centre for the Mind have found that the brain’s response to male angry faces are processed by the left hemisphere, while angry female faces are processed by the right hemisphere. Only females participated in the study. Click here to read the paper.


"Magnetic field' can boost brain'"

London's Daily Telegraph of 8 June 2006 featured an article on the Centre's latest research on savant-like numerosity skills.

Click here to read the article.


Access your inner Rain Man

The Centre's latest published research on savant-like numerosity skills is featured in an article in The Sydney Morning Herald of 5 May 2006. Click here to read the article. Professor Snyder was also interviewed on ABC Radio Newcastle's Morning Show regarding this research.


Perception cover

Research paper published in Perception

The Centre's latest research on "savant-like numerosity skills revealed in normal people by magnetic pulses" has been published in Perception in its 2006 issue, vol 35, pp. 837 - 845. Click here to read the paper.


Expedition ins Gehirn - Voyage into the Brain

Allan Snyder features in a 3-part German-made documentary, discussing his research into the mind's hidden skills. The documentary will be widely screened throughout Europe on Arte, ARD, 3Sat and Phoenix in February, March, April and May 2006 and has been licenced to several more countries.
Contact us at info@centreforthemind.com for screening dates and times.


"The controversial professor"

Malaysia's national The Star newspaper of 5 February 2006 features an article on Allan Snyder, with excerpts from his graduation address "What Makes Extraordinary Success?" to the Canberra Grammar School of December 6, 2005. Click here to read the article.


Russian Newsweek profiles the Centre's research

Russian Newsweek of 19-25 December 2005 profiles the Centre's latest research into savant-like skills, via an interview with the Centre's Director, Professor Allan Snyder. Click here to read the article (in Russian).


Invited address to the Boston Club

On 8 December 2005, Professor Snyder presented "A Possible Push Pull TMS Therapy for Autism", to an elite assembly of autism experts at the Nancy Lurie Marks Family Foundation's Boston Club meeting.


Interview for BBC Radio 4, 9 November 2005

Allan Snyder is interviewed on the nature of scientific frontiers for a series aired on the UK's BBC Radio 4.


"One in a million": Sun-Herald and Sunday Age article

The Sun-Herald of 6 November 2005 features Allan Snyder in an article on the nature of genius. This article also appeared in the Sunday Age on the same date.


New Scientist special issue on Creativity

The New Scientist Creativity issue of 29 October 2005 features Allan Snyder and his tips on how to become more creative.Click here to read the article.


Interview for BBC Radio 4, aired 30 August 2005

Allan Snyder is interviewed about creative genius for a 3 part series on creativity aired on the UK's BBC Radio 4.


Centre's research televised worldwide, 16 August 2005

Discovery Channel is again rescreening the popular Savants documentary which features the Centre's research on creativity and nonconscious skills. Savants was first televised across America in January 2003 on the Discovery Channel. Since then it has been screened internationally. The response from viewers was overwhelming, and the program is continually rescreened worldwide, most recently in September 2003 and March 2004.


Malaysian savant Ping Lian visits the Centre for the Mind

Autistic savant artist Yeak Ping Lian visited the Centre to meet with Allan Snyder in June 2005, bringing some of his artwork.

For more information on Ping Lian, visit his website at www.pinglian.com


"Beautiful minds often hardest to manage"

In the Australian Financial Review of 26 July 2005 (p.59), Professor Snyder says employers can get the best from their most intelligent workers by encouraging them to take risks and confront conventional wisdom.


Latest discussion of the Centre's work in Scientific American

There have been a number of stories mentioning our work in the Scientific American over the years. The latest appears in the June 2005 issue of Scientific American Mind in the article 'A Great Attraction".

To view the article, go to the Scientific American website.


"Genius at work: A lobe out of loop"

Cover story: The Canberra Times Panorama magazine of 26 March 2005. Features a story on Professor Snyder's research into creativity, championship and accessing the mind's hidden skills. Click here to read the article.


The Australian Financial Review: "Windmills of the mind"

The 11 March 2005 issue of The Australian Financial Review features an article on the savant Daniel Tammet, quoting Professor Snyder's suggestion that he could be the "Rosetta Stone". Click here to read the article.


"Bright minds put Sydney under the spotlight"

Cover story: The Sydney Morning Herald's the (sydney) magazine of 23 February 2005 features Allan Snyder as one of "six of our best thinkers and opinion-makers [who] discuss what they most admire about Sydney, and suggest some timely improvements". Click here to read.


The Guardian Weekend: "A genius explains"

The Guardian's story of 12 February 2005 discusses Professor Snyder's views on the extraordinary savant, Daniel Tammet: "'Savants can't usually tell us how they do what they do,' says Snyder. 'It just comes to them. Daniel can. He describes what he sees in his head. That's why he's exciting. He could be the Rosetta Stone.' Snyder, for instance, believes that we all possess the savant's extraordinary abilities". Read on


"The day my brain was turned off by a magnet"

In the UK's The Daily Telegraph of 24 January 2005, science reporter Roger Highfield "wanted to investigate claims by Professsor Allan Snyder...who believes TMS can act as a creativity-amplifying machine".


50 Australians who really matter (to the rest of the world)

The Sydney Morning Herald's Spectrum cover story of 22-23 January 2005 singles out Professor Allan Snyder as one of the "Australians who really matter (to the rest of the world)" - one of those who "have made the world a different place".

This article also appeared in Melbourne's The Age newspaper of 22 January 2005.


Japanese documentary Power of Memory, 23 November 2004

Japanese NTV airs the documentary Power of Memory, featuring an interview with Professor Allan Snyder.


Marconi Award ceremony - Bologna Italy, October 2004

Larry Page and Sergei Brin, 2004 Marconi Prize winners for the invention of the Google search engine, together with 2001 Marconi winner Allan Snyder in Bologna, Italy.

Click on the photo at left to view an enlarged version.


The Creativity Quotient: An Objective Scoring of Ideational Fluency

The Centre's invention of a unique information theoretic measure of a person's creativity quotient was published in the Creativity Research Journal in August 2004. This is an integral part of our corporate creativity and innovation program.

Click at right to view a PDF version of the paper.

 


Sydney's Brightest Minds

The Sydney Morning Herald of 25 August 2004 features Sydney's Brightest Minds, amongst them Professor Allan Snyder.


Let me sleep on it

The Centre's research into Nonconscious idea generation was published in the June 2004 issue of Psychological Reports.

Striking accounts attest to the existence of nonconscious idea generation - the "let me sleep on it" phenomenon. We quantify this with a novel methodology. After participants ran out of ideas on one task, they were actively engaged on another. Then we resumed the first task. A significant number of new ideas were generated after the distracting break, suggesting that our mind continues working on an old question whilst being engaged on a new one.


Centre's research featured on America's ABC 20/20 program

The 28 May 2004 edition of America's top rated TV news magazine, ABC's 20/20, featured Professor Snyder's research on the thinking cap - scientific ways to amplify creativity and to access the mind's hidden skills. Finding Your Inner Genius.


Professor Allan Snyder interviewed on CNN

Professor Allan Snyder appeared on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 show in an interview on the brain. The segment aired in the U.S. on Wednesday 19 May 2004 at 7:00pm.


China's Modern Weekly International

The 1 May 2004 edition of China's Modern Weekly International featured a story on Professor Snyder's research into creativity and accessing the mind's hidden skills (untranslated).


"Learning how to tap into genius"

The Centre's research into creativity is profiled in a Sunday Telegraph feature on 25 April 2004.


"Brain pulse machine to unlock the genius within"

The 15 April 2004 edition of The Sydney Morning Herald features an article on Professor Snyder's research into creativity. Click here to read the article.


"Brain machine - instant geniuses"

The Herald Sun profiles the Centre's research on tapping into hidden genius in its 3 April 2004 issue.


New Scientist cover story

The 3 April 2004 edition of New Scientist features a cover story, The Genius Machine, on Professor Allan Snyder and his research into creativity.


Allan Snyder's radio appearances, April 2004

Allan Snyder conducted two radio interviews this month. On 1 April, he was interviewed by BBC National, discussing the Centre's Thinking Cap. On 2 April, he was interviewed by 666 ABC Radion Canberra's Rod Quinn for the Drive program.


'Genius Machine'

England's The Sun newspaper of 1 April 2004 featured the Centre's research in it's article 'Genius Machine'.


Nature piece on "Autistic genius"

The 1 April 2004 edition of Nature features a piece by Professor Allan Snyder entitled Autistic Genius?.

Professor Snyder discusses the possibility of there being two distinctly different cognitive strategies leading to creativity: normal and autistic. One strategy is conceptual, the other literal.


Centre's research televised worldwide

Discovery Channel is presently (March 2004) rescreening Savants - a documentary featuring the Centre's research on creativity and nonconscious skills, produced by a team from NBC in the U.S. The Centre's research on creativity and nonconscious skills was first televised across America in January 2003 on the Discovery Channel. Since then it has been screened internationally. The response from viewers was overwhelming, and the program is continually rescreened worldwide, most recently in September 2003.


Centre's work featured in Scientific American Mind

The January 2004 issue of Scientific American Mind features the Centre's latest work in the article 'Island of Genius' on page.14.

To view the article, go to the Scientific American Mind website.


Sir Richard Branson awarded Distinguished Fellow Medal

Sir Richard Branson is the recipient of the 2003 Distinguished Fellow Medal of the Centre for the Mind. Sir Richard, adventurer and corporate champion, spoke on "creativity and championship". The event was held in the Great Hall of the University of Sydney and was featured on news programs via all television networks, radio and the popular press.

Click here for more information about the event, including a transcript of Sir Richard's speech.




Allan Snyder claims that he can turn on a person's inner Rain Man, and then turn it off again, with the flick of a switch. All it takes is a strange set of electrodes - and a radical new theory of autism, genius and the human brain.

Click on the graphic (left) to access a PDF version of the full article.


What Makes a Champion! Book

What Makes a Champion! Book

The What Makes a Champion! Penguin Book is now available online. Hear Fifty extraordinary individuals share their insights on championship. The What Makes a Champion! event was opened by Nelson Mandela on the eve of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Click here to find out more.

To read more about the What Makes a Champion! event visit: www.whatmakesachampion.com


The Times of London Weekend Review

Can this man put you in touch with your natural genius? "Allan Snyder claims his brain machine can stimulate creativity in anyone". The Centre's research into magnetic brain stimulation is profiled in The Times of London Weekend Review of 4 October 2003.


Weekend Australian Magazine

The Weekend Australian Magazine (The Fashion Issue) features the Centre's research on magnetic pulse stimulation of the brain.


Dalai Lama and Professor Snyder

Dalai Lama Mind and Science Forum

Professor Snyder gave the keynote address at the unique Dalai Lama Mind and Science Forum held in Canberra on 23 May 2002.

Click on the photo at left for more information.


A Der Spiegel special on the Centre's work

Germany's Der Spiegel features a story describing the life and work of Allan Snyder, a prizewinning Australian scientist and Director of the Centre for the Mind. He is interested in everything from fashion to complex lightwave models. For the last 16 years he has been researching savants. His vision is that normal people could learn from mentally retarded geniuses: "Savants show us who we really are - who we could be", he says.

Click here to read an English translation of this article.


Japanese TBS News visit the Centre

A team from the Tokyo Broadcast System TV Network filmed a news documentary about the Centre's mind laboratory work on the mind's unconscious skills. The program, What is Human aired in Japan in December 2003.


What Makes a Champion Event

What Makes a Champion Event

Nelson Mandela led champions from all walks of life at our unique event What makes a Champion? on the eve of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Our intellectual Partners were AMP and Ernst & Young. McKinsey and Company have recently joined with us for our newest initiative What makes a corporate champion?

For more information on the What Makes a Champion? event, click on the graphic at right.


Centre's research televised worldwide

The Centre's research on creativity and nonconscious skills was televised across America in January 2003 on the Discovery Channel. Since then it has been screened internationally. The response from viewers was overwhelming, and the program is continually rescreened worldwide, most recently on 12 September 2003.

The documentary entitled "Savants" was produced by a team from the American TV network NBC and explores the extraordinary skills of savants, like those of Dustin Hoffman's character in the Hollywood film Rain Man, and the surprising discovery that such skills can be turned on in normal people by switching off part of the brain with magnetic pulses.


JIN cover

Journal of Integrative Neuroscience

The Centre's newest research was published in the Journal of Integrative Neuroscience in December 2003. The research documented the latest results on turning on savant-like skills by switching off part of the brain.

The astonishing skills of savants have been suggested to be latent in everyone, but are not normally accessible without a rare form of brain impairment. We attempted to simulate such brain impairment in healthy people by directing low-frequency magnetic pulses into the left fronto-temporal lobe. Significant stylistic changes in drawing were facilitated by the magnetic pulses in 4 of our 11 participants. Some of these ‘facilitated’ participants also displayed enhanced proofreading ability. Our conclusions are derived from eleven right-handed male university students, eight of whom underwent placebo stimulation. We examined performance before, during and after exposure to the stimulation.


Luxury Magazine features the Centre

Rain Man for a Day. Luxury Magazine's Fall 2003 issue features a profile of the Centre's research on magnetic pulse stimulation of the brain.


Centre's research noted in the prestigious 2003 Reith lectures

The Centre's research was singled out in the BBC's prestigious 2003 Reith lectures presented by the eminent neuroscientist Professor V. Ramachandran.

Read the full text by clicking at right.


Allan Snyder interviewed on ABC TV, May 2003

The Centre's Director, Professor Allan Snyder was interviewed by George Negus on ABC TV's New Dimensions program on date.

The interview focused on championship.


Discover Magazine features the Centre's research

The Inner Savant in the February 2002 issue of Discover magazine explores the Centre's research into transcranial magnetic stimulation.


Professor Allan Snyder receives world's 'foremost prize in information technology'

Professor Allan Snyder and Bell Laboratory's Dr Herwig Kogelnik shared the world's 'foremost prize in communications and information technology.' The Marconi International prize of US$100,000 and a sculpture is given in memory of Guglielmo Marconi - the inventor of wireless transmission.

Kogelnik and Snyder join the ranks of communication greats including co-inventor of the laser, Nobel laureate Arthur Schawlow; the father of information theory, Claude Shannon; and space communications futurist, Arthur C Clarke.

 

Read on from Marconi Foundation

What the press said


Scinema Festival

BBC Documentary, Fragments of Genius

Fragments of Genius, is a BBC documentary showcasing Australian Professor Allan Snyder. It first aired on BBC1 on 11 March 2001 and is still aired periodically around the world. To read the BBC article about the documentary click here.

Snyder discusses his controversial theory, developed in collaboration with colleague, Professor John Mitchell, on our extraordinary, inaccessible skills. He suggests that the skills can be turned on and off in people by sending magnetic pulses to the brain - a process called Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation.

Read an earlier BBC article on this topic Turning in to genius

 

More Hot News

 

CFM Logo  
DirectorNews MediaPublicationsResearchHome
  Contact information :: CLICK HERE