TQS StaffThe human supercomputers!
Hidden Talent show looks for computer-like mental ability
Super-taskers and super-recognisers are terms coined by scientists to describe two very rare types of individuals with computer like mental abilities: the first describes those able to do two or more very demanding tasks simultaneously and the second identifies those who recognise the faces of everyone they meet, no matter how fleeting the encounter, or how long ago. Such astounding abilities, almost akin to super powers, sound so much like science fiction that the idea that an individual might not be aware they possess such a skill frankly sounds absurd. Yet that’s exactly what Channel 4 and a panel of experts attempted to uncover in the latest episode of new TV series, Hidden Talent.
Each week the show has followed the stories of a talented few, selected from hundreds, after undergoing a battery of physical, mental, sensory and creative tests, designed to reveal natural talents they never knew they possessed. Taken under the wing of experts, they are intensively trained and developed before having their newly discovered talents put to the test. The show aims to answer the question: can raw talent, once uncovered, be developed to take a complete novice to top class performer, in record time?
On Tuesday’s show it was the turn of 27 year old Cassie, a track cyclist, used to focussing on one goal, who surprised the experts by scoring the highest score ever seen by the neuropsychologist who labelled the super-taskers. But was inherent natural ability and only three days training enough for Cassie to take on one of the toughest multi-tasking jobs there is: that of an ambulance dispatcher where decisions literally decide the fate of lives? We also watched in awe to see which of three extraordinary candidates could claim super-recogniser ability by spotting and correctly identifying the faces of identically dressed actors from crowded London Liverpool Street station, in a subsequent line up.
If multi-tasking and how to juggle is a recurrent theme in your life, why not enter the competition to win a highly sought after place on a work-life balance seminar, in central London? The prize also includes £400 towards travel and accommodation for you and a guest, provided by show sponsor American Express. Simply log on to facebook.com/americanexpressuk to enter. If you are unlucky this time, try again next week; to celebrate the final episode of Hidden Talent, there will be nine individual prizes reflecting the many of the skills and talents that have been featured over the course of the series.
Or why not try the interactive tests online, developed in conjunction with experts from the show, by sponsor American Express, to reveal your own hidden talent. The super-tasker and super-recogniser tests and others relating to talents featured in the show can be found on Facebook.
On next week’s Hidden Talent we’ll be treated to a review of all the incredible talents revealed to date and catch up on the life changing implications that having such talents exposed has reaped.
Hidden Talent, inspired by American Express, airs on Tuesdays at 9pm on Channel 4.
