Twelve years ago, Jason Padgett was a college drop-out working at his dad's furniture store when a mugging at a Tacoma, Washington karaoke bar changed his life forever.

12年前，贾森·帕吉特辍学了，离开大学后他在父亲的家具店工作。然而在华盛顿K歌吧发生的一起行凶抢劫案彻底改变了他的人生。

After suffering a profound brain injury, Padgett started to see the world in a whole new light - literally¹ - and became obsessed² with math and physics.

帕吉特在行凶抢劫事故中头部遭受重击，此后他眼中的世界完全变样了，他整个人也变得对数学和物理异常痴迷。

He has since been diagnosed as one of only 40 with acquired savant syndrome³, in which once-normal people become skilled in math, art or music after a brain injury.

此后，他被诊断为“后天学者症候群”，现在全世界约有40个病例。患此症的人大多原本平常无奇，但脑部受伤后来会对数学、艺术或音乐十分擅长。

It all started the night of September 13, 2002 when Padgett went out to a karaoke bar near his home and was mugged.

2002年9月13日夜晚，帕吉特前往家附近的K歌吧唱歌，随后在那里遭受了行凶抢劫。

Two men attacked him from behind and punched him in the back of the head, knocking him unconscious.

有两个盗贼在背后袭击了他，用拳头重击他的后脑勺，帕吉特被打得失去了意识。

At the hospital, he was treated for a bruised⁴ kidney but released the same night.

在医院医生治疗了肾部挫伤，当晚他就出院了。

The next morning, Padgett woke up and found that his vision had changed to include details he never noticed before.

第二天早上，帕吉特醒来后发现自己眼中的周围世界完全不同了，他会看到许多以前没有注意到的细节。

He started the tap in his bathroom and noticed 'lines emanating⁵ out perpendicularly⁶ from the flow.'

打开水龙头之后，他注意到“水流中有一条条直线垂直放射出来”。

'At first, I was startled and worried for myself, but it was so beautiful that I just stood in my slippers⁷ and stared,' Padgett told the New York Post.

帕吉特对《纽约时报》记者说道：“一开始我有些震惊，担心自己出现不正常的症状。但当时的情景简直太美了，我踩着拖鞋站在水中愣愣地盯着看。”

Padgett stopped going to work and spent all of his time studying math and physics, focusing on fractals, which are repeated geometric patterns.

帕吉特不再工作，而是潜心研究数学和物理，他看到的总是那些不规则碎片形，而且这些几何图形总是重复在他的眼前出现。

Even though he showed no talent for art before, he started drawing fractals in extreme detail - sometimes taking weeks to finish the work.

尽管他此前并没有展现出艺术天赋，但是他开始绘制非常精细的图形，甚至有时候一个图形要画个把星期。

Dr Darold Treffert, the leading expert on savantism, diagnosed him with 'acquired savant syndrome'. There are currently just 40 people in the world who have been diagnosed with the syndrome, becoming seemingly smarter after a brain injury.

达洛德·崔佛特医生是症候群研究的领头人，他诊断帕吉特得了“后天学者症候群”症。目前世界上有大概40人被确诊这一症状，他们都是在脑损伤后变得比之前更加聪明。

After his diagnosis⁸, Padgett decided⁹ to apply his new-found mental capacity by enrolling¹⁰ in community college.

在诊断后，帕吉特决定利用好自己因祸得福的高智商大脑，他报名进入社区大学进行学习。