Q: Our brains work in complex and strange ways. There are some people who can calculate the day of the week for any given date in 40,000 years, but who cannot add two plus two. Others can perform complex classical piano pieces after hearing them once, but they cannot read or write.

Dr. J. Langdon Down first described this condition in 1887. He called these people idiot savants. An idiot savant is a person who has significant mental injury, such as in autism or retardation. At the same time, the person also exhibits some extraordinary skills, which are unusual for most people. The skills of the savant may vary from being exceptionally gifted in music or in mathematics, or having a photographic memory.

One of the first descriptions of a human who could calculate quickly was written in 1789 by Dr. Benjamin Rush, an American doctor. His patient, Thomas Fuller, was brought to Virginia as a slave in 1724. It took Thomas only 90 seconds to work out that a man who has lived 70 years, 17 days, and 12 hours has lived 2,210,500,800 seconds. Despite this ability, he died in 1790 without ever learning to read or write.

Another idiot savant slave became famous as a pianist in the 1860s. Blind Tom had a vocabulary of only 100 words, but he played 5,000 musical pieces beautifully.

In the excellent movie Rain Man, made in 1988 and available on video cassette, Dustin Hoffman plays an idiot savant who amazes his brother played by Tom Cruise, with his ability to perform complex calculations very rapidly.

Today we more clearly recognize that the idiot savant is special because of brain impairment. Yet not all brain injury leads to savant skills. Some studies have shown that people who have purposeful interruption of the left side of the brain can develop idiot savant skills. However few people wish to participate in such experiments. There are many excellent reasons for not undergoing unnecessary experimentation on one's brain. The term idiot savant is outdated and inappropriate. Virtually all savants have a high degree of intelligence and are thus not idiots.

1. a person who has significant mental injury but has extraordinary skills
2. gifted in music
3. mathematics
4. having a photographic memory
5. Dr. Benjamin Rush
6. doctor
7. America
8. 1789
9. Thomas Fuller
10. no
11. no
12. Blind Tom
13. 100
14. 5,000
15. Dustin Hoffman
16. he performed complex calculations very rapidly
17. no
18. No
19. no
20. savants have a high degree of intelligence and are thus not idiots

Numbered questions:
1. What are idiot savants?
2. What type of skills?
3. Anything else?
4. And?
5. Who wrote about a human that could calculate fast?
6. What was his profession?
7. Where was he from?
8. What year did he write about this person?
9. What was his patient's name?
10. Was he a free man?
11. Was he literate?
12. Who became famous as a pianist?
13. How many words did he know?
14. How many music pieces could he play?
15. What actor played Rain Man?
16. What was his amazing skill?
17. Does all brain injury leads to savant skills?
18. Do many people wish to participate in experiments to determine idiot savant?
19. Does the author like the term idiot savant?
20. Why not?

Q: London (CNN) -- So, after a mere half-century, German pharmaceutical firm Gruenenthal has decided to apologize for the devastating effects its drug, thalidomide, had on thousands of babies and their families around the world, myself included. Is this a reason to celebrate? Is it even a reason for cautious optimism, or is it simply a piece of news management designed to salvage what is left of its corporate reputation?

Gruenenthal's chief executive, Harald Stock, made the apology Friday as he inaugurated a memorial to those affected in Stolberg, Germany, where the company is based.

I was aware of Herr Stock long before his name was flashed around newsrooms all over the world when he made his momentous announcement.

Together with others, I've been campaigning for justice for the global thalidomide community for the past decade.

At one point Herr Stock, who replaced Sebastian Wirtz as head of Gruenenthal, agreed to a meeting.

We held preliminary discussions, however the process broke down acrimoniously before we ever got to meet Herr Stock after it became clear to all of us that the company had no intention of negotiating a lasting settlement -- one that would have kept them out of the headlines forever and which would have left the Wirtz family with its considerable fortune intact.

Personal account: A life shaped by bad medicine

So why the apology now? I think it is not unconnected with successful litigation in Australia that has resulted in a multi-million dollar settlement for a hitherto unrecognized thalidomide survivor, Lynette Rowe. Although the settlement was achieved at the expense of the British and Australian successor company to the distributor of thalidomide, Diageo, Gruenenthal was also named in proceedings. The writing was spray-painted on the wall for Mr Stock and the board of Gruenenthal.

1. Yes
2. The chief executive
3. Gruenenthal
4. Harald Stock
5. Friday
6. yes
7. Sebastian Wirtz
8. Herr Stock
9. The head of Gruenenthal
10. Over 10 years
11. Germany
12. Stolberg
13. Bad drug effects
14. thalidomide
15. 1000s
16. No
17. Babies and their families
18. A memorial
19. Friday
20. No

Numbered questions:
1. Did someone apologize?
2. Who?
3. Of what company?
4. What was his name?
5. When did he apologize?
6. Was someone replaced?
7. Who was replaced?
8. Who replaced him?
9. In what position?
10. How long was the campaign?
11. Where was the company based?
12. What city in germany?
13. What was he apologizing for?
14. Effects of what drug?
15. How many were affected?
16. Were only adults affected?
17. Who were all affected?
18. What was inaugurated?
19. When?
20. Was Stock unknown prior?