English Level:
Intermediate
Content Warning:
Violence, Injury, Physical Assault, Brain Damage
Vocabulary
I have chosen not to include the definitions here to give you the opportunity to find the information yourself. The information you find this way will stay with you longer. Please take the time to find out the meaning of the vocabulary. Â
It was a blur (idiomatic)
Savant
Acquired savant
Futon
Chasing girls
Goofing off
Concussion
OCD
Beam of light
Insight
Special
All-consuming
Bleak
Synesthesia
Mugging
And outlet (idiomatic)
Tapping potential
Solace
Pre-Listening
These warmup questions are intended to introduce you to the topic
- What is intelligence? What makes someone smart?
- Did you enjoy math as a student?
- Can brain damage be good?
- What steps would you take if you thought you were losing your mind?
Listening
As you listen, try to answer these questions.
You may need to listen more than once.
- What was his life like before the attack?
- How long after the attack did things change?
- How did the attack change him?
- What did he start noticing?
- When does the OCD symptoms stop?
- Describe Jason’s synesthesia.
- What did they learn from the fMRI?
- What happened when he attended school?
- How did he meet his wife?
- What does he feel will be the real benefit of his situation?
Video
Post-Listening
Reflect on what you have learned.
- Â Is being a genius a gift or a curse?
- Â What skill would you like to acquire?
-  He went back to school. Would you like to go back to school?
-  In the video, they talk about using a large magnet to simulate brain trauma to reproduce the savantism. If this method was proven to work, would you do it?
- Identify at least one key issue from this video that you could research more.