Stephen Wiltshire draws Tokyo from memory

One of Stephen's extraordinary abilities is to memorize landscapes up to the highest detail. During this flight he had a thorough look at the view of the Japanese capital from the helicopter including thousands of buildings, towers, high-ways, cars, buses, even down to intricate details of trees and windows. Following the 30 minutes ride Stephen seemed to be very excited and ready for the challenge.

[@impamiizgraa]

People with autism savant like this should be our most prized citizens. The amount we could learn from how their brains process things, and the ways in which we could apply it across MANY fields - these people are so precious. I mean not to turn them into test subjects alone but we cannot let them leave this planet without learning all we can from them.

[@Averagebum21]

Actually we could turn regular people into test subjects, because there is a hypothesis going around that everyone has natural talents such as super math, music, and art ability that become suppressed when we develop our social skills. The question is whether we can inhibit or prevent the suppression of such natural talent without inhibiting our social development.

[@NOAHROCK10]

That paragraph was shit.

[@ColtraneAndRain]

I agree, they should be considered treasures. Our society places so much emphasis on outward appearances, while people like Stephen go relatively unknown.

[@JulieStenning1958]

I saw a TV program about Stephen when he was a child. I have often wondered what became of him and I am so pleased to see that he is still drawing - and still amazed of course.

[@Aerospacedu]

I am sure his drawing is much higher resolution than this video.....

[@ginawarner6954]

Fascinating and inspirational; had the opportunity of meeting Stephen in his gallery in London last week where my grandson who loves to draw had his photo taken with Stephen, who was delighted when asked if he minded.

[@declarkson]

Well I, for one, am truly truly impressed. I am literally jaw dropped. That ANYone could do this even in a traditional way is amazing in itself,but without any other aids such as drafting artists use, and the like, well it goes beyond my understanding. Kudos to the artist of this level of skill.

[@jp70117]

In junior high, he never studied. He just waited till exam day and looked over his notes real quick before they handed out test papers. A+ every time.

[@DPK711]

simply mind boggling, this guy deserves a place with all the great geniuses in history along with people like picasso, mozart, and einstein

[@KielNostalgie]

and once again: this is really unbelievable. good job stephen wiltshire. my big respect to you.

[@s01joner]

INCREDIBLE..... i never knew about savants, i never knew that anyone would be capable of this, its almost like it came out of a sci-fi or fantasy book, this really is beyond amazing!

[@AmazedHuman]

This young man is beyond amazing!

[@Pinkwilenn]

Stephen, your work is amazing. Very beautifully done.

[@TheBlackRuffles]

what an amazing artist. hard to believe..........

[@greeg02]

there are amazing human beings, with exceptional abilities and Steve is one of them. this guy is a genius man

[@yalc183]

I like how he can draw that whole thing from memory and then at the end almost forget the date lol this guy is amazing.

[@ewilliams7]

I bet he never gets lost.

[@xxxstitchxxx]

Stephen, your work is mind boggling, incredible and beautiful. Keep it up!

[@xdavanionx]

A wonderful example of how beautiful life is! simply amazing work!

[@bdruckus]

This just goes to show, the human mind is so amazing! Alone, this is already a masterpiece artistically, but all from memory?!!! JEEZ!

[@LuciferKuroro13]

I'm so inspired with Stephen. Keep up the good work! God Bless you always...

[@Shonuf023]

Stephen what a gift you have, I was moved by this. What an amazing video, I wish you continued success, people like you, have such special gifts, and the world benefits, here in Nashville TN, I just wanted to say keep doing what you do, its very inspiring to me.

[@shadowpocalypse]

That was beautiful and amazing. I got chills watching it.

[@squidwardtentacles4234]

Fantastic! I absolutely adore his drawing. ❤️❤️❤️

[@patsiam]

How amazing is God? He takes this beautiful man and turns the young man's hands into art. His disability to some is an amazing ability to others. This boy gives me inspiration to quit whining about everyday aggravations. Really. How serious is rush hour traffic? I'm so glad I was led to this website. I prayed, "Lord awaken me from this humdrum feeling inside." And he did. He showed me Stephen Wiltshire. His art is beautiful. He is beautiful. I'm amazed. God bless you Stephen!

[@TOOHUMAN112]

He is amazing and what's even better is that he is such a nice guy

[@supermixer12345]

God has blessed him with some wonderful talents.

[@RosieMers92]

Wow, this is truly one of the most amazing works i have ever seen drawn completely from memory!

[@cynthia1981]

Simply beautiful. I am truly appreciative of someone with such skill. Incredible

[@lilnip67]

He is 1 of the few amazing Savants

[@SuperDDD]

Stephen demonstrate the ability to channel his God given talent - expressed in such a way as to touch each of us with joy while bearing witness to his work. We all have talent, let us find and use it positively.

[@puitilajan]

Stephen is gifted and talented! I GASP THE WHOLE TIME!

[@dwalex97209]

I'm truly amazed at the power of concentration he has. Totally...I'm at a loss with words as I watch him draw landscapes and cityscapes from memory.

[@Beatle214]

That is one of the most spectacular thing I ever seen in my life. I am so envious!

[@robynmcbryde]

absolutely incredible! an inspiration to any artist!

[@teresasainsbury5913]

I really would like to know how much he got paid to do this panoramic view of Tokyo. It seems to me that this would be a priceless piece of Art and would be held as a National Treasure or even a historical drawing.

[@krickrack]

I think I could draw a big city from nothing (using imagination) but drawing an entire real city with so much details is really amazing!!

[@Prncssdrake]

Wow.. To say this is amazing is an understatement. I wonder what it must feel like to be able to record memory like?

[@free2kill22]

That is the most amazing thing that I have ever seen!!!

[@littleray93]

He's an inspiration!

[@bluecrush123]

Such and inspiration, he is definately one of my heroes

[@personalMatern]

Stephen, you are fantastic!

[@kromezer28]

If that artwork doesnt go for over 1 million dollars. Then the appreciation for other human beings is non existant

[@eshalima2714]

I think that was amazing. all i can say is WOW GO STEPHEN!!!!!!

[@aosol]

I was absolutely astonished.NICELY DONE!

[@StoneCut]

Applause for Stephen. Outstanding !

[@RockCreekAndy]

It is truly amazing what this gentleman can do. I pray that his work is being preserved so that future generations can appreciate his genious in the same way that we can marvel at DaVinci who would clearly be a peer. I hope that this gentleman is able to enjoy the rewards of his gift in this life and that he is able to continue to produce for years and years to come. God Love ya, grant you long life and happiness.

[@leoray1234]

They're amazing because they have a unique gift that others don't have. It's not a learned skill as much as a faculty. Others have their own gifts, but it doesn't take away from the uniqueness of this guy.

[@gammaray0wn]

If you look up other videos from him, he also draws rome and they DO do a comparison, and it is perfect.

[@TJB147]

This is immense; shear immense quality!

[@ltlwatcher]

He is beyond amazing.

[@TonMaison]

Bless you Stephen!

[@TheVestini]

Gives such hope to parents of Autistic(and Artistic) children everywhere. Thankyou Steven.

[@cityofdestiny9039]

What a beautiful talent. This is truly amazing. I would rather focus on the person than on Savant's Syndrome - but one cannot help but applaud the amazing variations that are manifest by the syndrome. Does Stephen also draw people?

[@Feriowind]

:0 I would love to see that in real life. It looks absolutely amazing.

[@001Lawson]

Simply Incredible.

[@October9991]

Amazing...I'm speechless....

[@szwedzkiPL]

This savant's talent is utterly, jaw-droppingly awesome, period.

[@fad0881]

memorize is one thing, recalling it is one thing.. drawing it is one thing and have the patience on it is the last thing that i possibly could not have lol... Amazing.. how beautiful the mind is.

[@Kittentw]

unbelievable! i can't even draw when i look at something, don't even think about drawing by memory!!!!! Stephen, you are really somebody!

[@swmr16]

i would think it is impossible but i guess nothing is. pure genius

[@Kabukihomewood]

He had to ask for the date at the end!!!!!! And to think, we all store information like that, we have every single detail saved in our brain, but people like Steven can access it :) Truly beautiful.

[@eslygomez1986]

Absolutely amazing!

[@DJ4010]

Now this is super amazing and miraculous!! This person is very wonderful and special and talented! It is very true that even those with Autism and Disabilities can make a great and amazing awesome difference in this World and even they can fulfill their dreams and goals as well! Very super job Stephen!

[@Peekingduck]

Tapped in to something that we can't yet tap into. He is able to recreate so much beauty.

[@rodrigonolck]

the greatest thing i ever seen from an artist

[@blizihizake]

Amazing. I shat bricks. This is truly a testament to humanity.

[@ind20000]

amazing drawing, it would be awesome if they flew a helicopter to the viewpoint he drew it from and try to photograph the actual view to show how close his memory drawing is to the real thing.

[@kryptoncolomo]

he's very gifted and he has an amazing memory.... he doesnt draw that good but for the time it took him to do the whole landscape it was very very good.

[@aleksandar2012]

real gift from god......... only some with soul so pure can have this....

[@cocobeaner69]

he must be the only person in the world that can use up all the ink in the pen before losing it

[@keyfreeman]

I am overwhelmed. I just want to give a shout out to CBS Morning News 10/26 segment for introducing me to Stephen Wiltshire, what an amazing human being. We are going to London in January, I will make sure we visit his gallery in Trafalgar Square.

[@Alphonzen]

Superhuman spatial-visual memory. Im astounded.

[@covmatak]

Yes he is, they showed a documentary of him here just some days ago...

[@preciouslygorgious]

that was amazing to view...very well done...

[@shotdonkey]

the phenomenon of super-memory is well-known and has been around for centuries. one of the most puzzling questions is why most (if not all) of these incredibly talented individuals lose their abilities after a period of years. a possible explanation is "over-exposure"; which begs the question to what ends such talent should be used - and whether learning phone books by heart (or drawing tokyo by memory) is the "correct" application of such talent...while it lasts...

[@Glimax]

Wonderful. The human brain is the most fascinating and complex thing of the whole universe we know.

[@TheJohnRowley]

Wonderful and beautiful. There's no pleasing 58 people it seems

[@kneppy04]

I cant even remember what i had for breakfast this morning..amazing..

[@ondriawatson]

such patience! Instead of the human camera, they shoud call him the human printer! great skill. truly fascinating. I imagine his mind racing as he tries to translate every pencinl/pen stroke onto the paper

[@IsaVarg]

What a wonderful life this man has

[@Ninngik]

@Budguy68 From what I've seen/heard of him, all of his drawings have extensive detail such as exact windows on every building and perfect proportions and leveling of every landscape.

[@aailill3610]

Pretend that I said something perceptive and insightful.

[@angelinajip2890]

He visited Pratt in Brooklyn Campus and draw NYC .

[@SuperShekky]

he is acsessing right brain,the one that communicates trough images and observes everything as oneness,bot apartness life left brain.We all should have this ability.He doesnt need to count,cuz he memorised it completely as he looks at it.

[@DinkyMax]

Well he's been there for 7 days, he lost notion of time a bit for the date...but DAMN that dude is crazy...how can he memorize all this...it's unbelievable

[@ShadesofScorpius]

He's such a beautiful soul. He's savant.. I think I saw a documentary about him. Didn't he get hit by a baseball as a child and had brain seizures after? Anyway, his ability, like many savants, isn't that he has to remember it like we all would, through memorization. It just happens. He doesn't have to strain to recall. It's just... .there.

[@bentleius]

I'm awestruck by this

[@popcon77]

Amen. God bless.

[@holiver1981]

i would of never thought thhat possible. Amazing

[@stolendimplez]

AMAZING he has great talent

[@mia22jul94]

Stephen Rocks! AMAZING! A-MAZ-ING! its sooo cool!

[@sweetleilani2008]

The human brain is remarkable. In the future we will all be able to tap that incredible ability!

[@oridniv]

Beyond words :) I'm astonished

[@lob4star]

wow that was amazing. i was expecting just a big picture not a full 360 panoramic picture that was great.

[@mikasan6994]

thats what i call genius master peas , u are the best

[@321Studios1]

Man,I wouldn't wanna play Memory with him!

[@TheHusky9]

I think the music helps him to memorize the landscape ontop of his montrous ability, because sound associations with vision is really common so i wouldnt be surprised. But this is horrendously amazing.

[@Vitaminnn07]

just saw this guys on Top Gear.. I'm so astounded.. I think i'll draw since now on.

[@JASONCFFC]

I have never seen anything that amazing in my life. This man should be a sercet weapon for the Military. All he has to do is walk by or fly over some buildings and can draw out every detail. Does anyone know if you can buy his drawings?

[@Zmann86]

this goes beyond him drawing well, or having a good memory.... this goes to show you the true power the mind has, and the few that have untapped that power unknowingly. To think if the ordinary human being could unlock this knowledge, the endless capabilities......

[@raphire14]

yea but like anyone, well not anyone but he not only memorizes it, he draws it. So no only is his memory good, so is his drawing skills, and to draw that precise... wow