“In congenital savant syndrome the extraordinary savant ability surfaces in early childhood. In acquired savant syndrome astonishing new abilities, typically in music, art or mathematics, appear unexpectedly in ordinary persons after a head injury [or] stroke … In sudden savant syndrome an ordinary person with no such prior interest or ability and no precipitating injury … has an unanticipated, spontaneous epiphany-like moment where the rules and intricacies of music, art or mathematics, for example, are experienced and revealed, producing almost instantaneous giftedness and ability in the affected area of skill sets.” Scientific American: A Person Can Instantly Blossom into a Savant–and No One Knows Why. (I feel this data justifies my life strategy of just waiting.)

+ WSJ: Strange Stories of Extraordinary Brains—and What We Can Learn From Them.