Those of you who know me well (and those of you who click on this link to my bio) know that I like my cereal like I like my women. Cold, hearty, and rich in dietary fiber. Me dear old mum always used to say that “There are 2 types of people in this world son: Those who like cold cereal, those who like hot cereal, and those who can count.” Well CBSNews took a little leap across the pond to find a man who in fact likes hot cereal, and can count.

This is the story of Daniel Tammet, an Englishman diagnosed as a mathematic savant. For those of you not in the know, savant syndrome is “a mysterious disorder of the brain where someone has a spectacular skill, even genius, in a mind that is otherwise extremely limited.” Think Raymond Babbit for a ubiquitous example. I know I am doing a great disservice to the medical and scientific community by categorizing savants and the distinctions of each individual case, but typically a person diagnosed as such will also exhibit mental disabilities or symptoms of autism. Daniel is special in this regard, because he shows no such signs, and is in fact very open to introspection and is willing to help explain his thought process.

Daniel is fascinated with numbers, and has been since an early age. Besides reciting 22,514 or so digits of Pi (I had trouble remember those 5 digits…), Daniel has been known to enjoy a good bowl of porridge each and every morning. He has a neurological condition known as synesthesia which causes bodily senses to couple and intertwine. Specifically, he suffers from grapheme → color synesthesia, which causes him to perceive numbers and letters as associated with colors and shapes. Since learning about synesthesia in an introduction level psychology class way back when, the concept has always intrigued me. There have been times when I speculated on what it would be like to walk 5,280 feet in Daniel’s shoes. Well I can’t always get what I want, and they do say the 7s are always greener on the other side…

Daniel’s infatuation with numbers, which is likely due in part to his synesthesia, can cause him to count compulsively. Besides preventing him from enjoying a day at the beach (he can’t help but count grains of sand), he measures exactly 45 grams of porridge into his bowl each day. The more I think about it, we aren’t so different Daniel, you and I. Besides having an awesome name, you too have your own quirks when it comes to eating cereal. For you it’s the aforementioned measuring compulsion. For me, it’s the need to break each one of my Cheerios in half (split like you are slicing a bagel, not breaking a dish in half). Good sir I salute you and hope you live a long and fulfilling life, and that is no joke. For now, I will have to sit and wonder how different things could be if I could combine my senses, and actually taste letters…

Do you have any cereal habits? Share with the class in our comments!

Via CBSNews