NARRATOR: Madras, India.
In the first decade
of the 20th century,
Srinivasa Ramanujan,
a young mathematician
with no formal
training, repeatedly
stuns the academic world
with innovative theorems.
Even some of the world's
leading mathematicians
are confounded by his
remarkable formulas.
But just as astounding
as Ramanujan's work
is the fact that these
formulas came to him in dreams.
DAVID WILCOCK: He
claimed that a goddess,
a Hindu goddess
known as Namagiri,
transmitted these
theorems to him.
These theorems came to be
known as modular functions.
And still to this day, they
are the most advanced form
of mathematics that
is used by physicists
dealing with relativity
and quantum mechanics.
NARRATOR: How could someone
without any background
in mathematics see such
complicated theorems in dreams?
Does Ramanujan's story reveal
how humanity can access
knowledge outside the brain?
Could true genius be the
product of a universal mind
or collective unconsciousness?
Ancient Hindus believed such
a repository of knowledge
actually exists, a universal
force that includes
every thought, action, emotion,
or experience that any person
ever had or ever will have.
Westerners later named
it the Akashic record.
It is a Sanskrit word.
It means the sky.
It's something that can be
accessed through your mind,
through your brainpower, through
your spiritual wavelength.
NARRATOR: Could it be that
the common talent all geniuses
possess is actually
an ability to access
the wisdom of the Akashic
record or universal mind?
And if so, have other modern
geniuses acquired knowledge
from an otherworldly realm?
Einstein received
the inspiration
for his groundbreaking theory
of relativity in a dream.
Friedrich August Kekul
discovered the elusive shape
of the benzene molecule
during a daydream in which he
saw a snake chasing its tail.
And the brilliant Russian
chemist, Dimitri Mendeleev,
literally dreamed up the
periodic table of the elements.
He, in this dream, saw exactly
where all of the elements
lined up.
The periodic table itself came
in a dream, just fully formed.
After coming out of the dream,
he quickly drew them all down.
And it's still the
same that we use today.
NARRATOR: At the Mind Research
Network at the University
of New Mexico,
neuropsychologist Rex Young
uses a Magnetoencephalography,
or MEG machine,
to measure the brainwave
activity of a test subject.
Dr. Young believes this test may
show how creative inspiration
strikes the brain.
OK.
Andre, you ready to begin?
We have three tasks that
we're going to run with Andre.
First one is vocabulary.
Second one is paper folding.
And the third one is
inductive reasoning.
Andre, I want you to
clench your jaw now.
NARRATOR: As the test subject
performs these everyday tasks,
the MEG machine measures
normal brain activity.
Andre, now move your
eyes back and forth.
NARRATOR: But then,
Young has the test
subject clear his mind.
Andre, can you close your
eyes and relax your brain
for a moment, please?
NARRATOR: As this
subject relaxes his mind,
his brain activity decreases.
But then suddenly, the
MEG machine detects
something new, alpha waves.
Scientists say these
brainwaves indicate
the unconscious mind is
working behind the scenes,
outside our conscious thoughts.
The alpha wave have
found to be associated
with divergent thinking,
the manifestation
of creative cognition.
And it's also associated
with relaxing the brain.
And this is something
very important,
I think, to the
manifestation of genius,
this ability to think of
new and useful ideas that
haven't been thought of before.
NARRATOR: Could
alpha waves have been
how Ramanujan, Einstein,
and Mendeleev received
their flashes of brilliance?
Ancient astronaut theorists
believe it is possible
that what appears to be divine
or inspired brilliance that
pops unexpectedly into
the minds of geniuses
could come not
from the human mind
but from an
extraterrestrial realm.
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