The Mind of a Savant: Language, Learning and Modularity

"Even for those who don't share the authors' nativist inclinations, Smith and Tsimpli's in-depth case study raises some fascinating issues about the relation between cognition and language. Essential reading for all cognitive scientists." Annette Karmiloff-Smith, Medical Research Council

"In their fine and careful study of an individual with remarkable linguistic abilities but otherwise limited capabilities, Smith and Tsimpli provide new and important evidence concerning the modularity of mind, invariant principles of language, and their role in first and second language acquisition, the interaction of pragmatic and conceptual factors in language use, and much else. It is a very valuable and illuminating study." Chomsky, MIT

"This book, with its focus on understanding the architecture of the mind, makes an important contribution to psycholinguistics and the broader field of cognitive science......Like other great case studies, their attempts to elucidate the architecture of the mind by studying a single, unique individual are noteworthy."Victoria Garlock and Elaina Frieda, University of Alabama