History Main / IdiotSavant

* Charlie Kelly in ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia'' is not a very smart man, sometimes attributed to the fact that he survived an abortion, leading to borderline illiteracy and a general sense of incompetence, but he's very adept at playing and creating music. When Mac expresses surprise that Charlie can play a keyboard, let alone very well, Charlie says, "Oh man, keyboards just make sense to me, man. I get 'em, ya know?"

* ''ComicBook/JusticeLeague'': Despite being mentally retarded, [[ComicBook/TheFlash Flash]] foe and member of the Injustice League Big Sir is a genius at card games and was able to break the bank at Justice League Casino.

* The main character of ''Film/ForrestGump'', particularly with things that require speed (running, loading weapons, ping-pong, etc) in combination with an extreme, single-minded concentration. This was actually toned down from the book.

** The first ''Cube'' has Kazan, a severely mentally handicapped man who, to the rest of the people trapped in the Cube, is a nuisance at first, constantly banging his head against the walls, making weird honking noises and babbling about gumdrops. But later on it's discovered that he could find the prime factors of huge numbers in his head, and he ends up as their savior. [[spoiler: Or more accurately as his [[RayOfHopeEnding own saviour]].]]

* Beak in ''Literature/ReapersGale'', book seven of ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'', has an incredible natural magical ability that would've put him on the fast track to High Mage rank, if not for a combination of AmbiguousDisorder, childhood traumas and a Film/{{Forrest Gump}}ish mental state -- which combine to give him NoSocialSkills and a mental handicap in understanding the world around him unless it has to do with magic. Even that he simplifies to a great degree. While other mages see magic as a complicated net of cause and effect, Beak simply sees differently coloured candles. And while other rmages can use one, maybe two of the [[FunctionalMagic Paths of Magic]], Beak can use ''all of them''. The other mages usually take a whiff of his magical potential, hear him babbling on about something and just give him a hug before they walk away crying.

* ''Series/MurdochMysteries'': "Dead End Street" features a woman who is almost mute and regarded as an 'imbecile' (in the parlance of the era), but has total recall and a phenomenal ability in making models. When she makes a scale model of her street with a tiny figure holding a rifle at the window, Murdoch realises she has witnessed a murder and reconstructed it in the model. However, because she cannot distinguish faces, Murdoch has no way of identifying the figure at the window and has to work out a means of communicating with her to discover what she knows.

* On ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld'' there's a throwaway gag in one episode in which Shawn refers to himself as one after revealing he can speak French. This was during the period in the show where he got really dumb, which didn't stick as a character trait so this is never brought up again. When Mac expresses surprise that Charlie can play a keyboard, let alone very well, Charlie says, "Oh man, keyboards just make sense to me, man. I get 'em, ya know?"
* Charlie Kelly in ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia'' is not a very smart man, sometimes attributed to the fact that he survived an abortion, leading to borderline illiteracy and a general sense of incompetence, but he's very adept at playing and creating music. He

* On ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld'' there's a throwaway gag in one episode in which Shawn refers to himself as one after revealing he can speak French. This was during the period in the show where he got really dumb, which didn't stick as a character trait so this is never brought up again.

* ''VideoGame/Fallout'':

* The ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 2}}'' NPC Algernon is an idiot savant with a talent of fiddling with weapons and upgrading them. The poor guy lives in the WretchedHive New Reno and lacks the character and social acumen to hold his own there, only capable of expressing himself verbally through onomatopoeia, so an unscrupulous gun shop owner hides him in his basement and makes him work for food. If the player meets him, Algernon will help them with their weapons for free.
* One of the Luck perks in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}'' is ''named'' this. It gives the player a random chance of getting hugely multiplied experience points from any action, said chance being higher the lower their intelligence is. Every time you get the boost Nate/Nora makes a goofy sound or laughs while a RimShot and a boink sound play along.

Mathematics (or a certain area of it) is a common area for Savant skills to show up. A few such people in real life are amazingly gifted at calendar-based calculations. Give them a specific date and they can tell you in seconds what day of the week it was or will be. Intuitive mathematical calculations, such as multiplication of large numbers or the identification of primes, also occur. Non-mathematical abilities include precocious musical ability, including perfect pitch and intuitive ability to play an instrument; unusual artistic ability, especially the ability to draw anything after having seen it once; prodigious feats of memory, such as memorizing entire books or a million digits of pi; or even the ability to learn a new language in a week.

See also GeniusDitz when the person has stupidity outside his field of expertise rather than a mental disorder. All three tropes can be confused with SeeminglyProfoundFool. Occasionally overlaps with TheRainMan and HollywoodAutism. Compare/contrast BunnyEarsLawyer, who is functioning properly despite a few quirks and CripplingOverspecialization, which could be seen as the ability version of this in the world of CompetitiveBalance. Also contrast SacrificedBasicSkillForAwesomeTraining, where the person may have no particular mental condition but has focused on one (or a few) skills at the cost of everything else.

See also GeniusDitz when the person has stupidity outside his field of expertise rather than a mental disorder. All three tropes can be confused with SeeminglyProfoundFool. Compare/contrast BunnyEarsLawyer, who is functioning properly despite a few quirks and CripplingOverspecialization, which could be seen as the ability version of this in the world of CompetitiveBalance. Also contrast SacrificedBasicSkillForAwesomeTraining, where the person may have no particular mental condition but has focused on one (or a few) skills at the cost of everything else.

* Melvin Potter in ''Series/Daredevil2015'' displays some very childlike behavior and is clearly mentally unbalanced and, but he is also a savant when it comes to making armored combat suits. He takes an authoritative tone when he's in his element, but sounds like an insecure child the rest of the time. In Season 2, he acts more mature as a result of Fisk no longer being around to pressure him, taking medication against his mental disorder, and his parole officer/girlfriend acting as a stabilizing influence.

* Melvin Potter in ''Series/Daredevil2015'' is childlike and unintelligent, but a savant when it comes to making armored combat suits. He takes an authoritative tone when he's in his element, but is childlike the rest of the time.

** This element is dropped from him in season 2 as he's much more mature, no doubt the result of Fisk no longer being there to pressure him.

TheRainman is a SubTrope in which the mental disorder is autism or [[AmbiguousDisorder something similar]]. See also GeniusDitz when the person has stupidity outside his field of expertise rather than a mental disorder. All three tropes can be confused with SeeminglyProfoundFool. Compare/contrast BunnyEarsLawyer, who is functioning properly despite a few quirks and CripplingOverspecialization, which could be seen as the ability version of this in the world of CompetitiveBalance. Also contrast SacrificedBasicSkillForAwesomeTraining, where the person may have no particular mental condition but has focused on one (or a few) skills at the cost of everything else.

* The Hodunk bandit clan from the ''VideoGame/Borderlands'' series are a bunch of space hillbillies, with all the lack of intelligence that implies, but are unparalleled vehicle mechanics, and build and race cars on their own racetrack. It's implied that they don't even understand how vehicles actually work or know what any of the parts are supposed to do and operate purely on instinct. Scooter, Ellie, and [[spoiler:Moxxi]] are former members of this clan.

* Morty Smith from ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'' is alleged to be stupid to the point of having a disability by his parents and struggles quite a bit with basic math and schoolwork. When it comes to his knowledge of ''anything'' Rick however, the guy reveals himself to be a quick and even ruthless thinker and planner capable of grasping advanced concepts about infinite realities and even disarming neutrino bombs. He also manages to fool Rick on at least a few occasions. [[spoiler:Rick even implies, correctly so if Evil!Morty is any indication, that Morty is fully capable of becoming a BigBad level EvilGenius if he gets the chance]].

%% * ''Disney/TreasurePlanet's'' B.E.N.

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* Ethan in ''Webcomic/CtrlAltDel'', emphasis on [[TooDumbToLive idiot]] (he thinks the best way to deal with paperwork is to KillItWithFire). He claims he's intelligent for only a few seconds a day and created two [[SnarkyNonhumanSidekick intelligent robots]] without fully understanding how, since the only plans he could find were scribbled in sauce on a restaurant menu. [[spoiler: When one of them needs to be fixed, he gives a very technical explanation why he can't do it. The next strip shows him wearing all his winter clothes instead of, y'know, putting them on a chair or something because he needed the storage space.]]

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TheRainman is a SubTrope in which the mental disorder is autism or [[AmbiguousDisorder something similar]]. See also GeniusDitz when the person has stupidity outside his field of expertise rather than a mental disorder. All three tropes can be confused with SeeminglyProfoundFool. Compare/contrast BunnyEarsLawyer, who is functioning properly despite a few quirks. Also contrast SacrificedBasicSkillForAwesomeTraining, where the person may have no particular mental condition but has focused on one (or a few) skills at the cost of everything else.

* Fry in ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' is this; it turns out is a naturally-talented composer, at least for the Holophoner, though he lacks the dexterity to actually play it properly. In ''The Devil's Hands Are Idle Playthings'', he switches his hands with the Robot Devil's and becomes an overnight musical sensation. This may be a result of his strange mind due to [[spoiler: being his own grandfather.]]

* ''ComicStrip/GetFuzzy'' shows Bucky to be one multiple times. The most famous example is when he fixed Satchel's broken watch. When Rob presses Bucky on how he knew how to fix a watch (remember, we're talking about a cat who thinks Chunky Munky contains ''actual monkey''), Bucky responds that he just kinda...did.

* Sandal, from ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'', is a savant when it comes to enchanting weapons. However, if you talk to him all he'll say is "Enchantment!" and "Enchantment?", probably owing to the amount of [[ToxicPhlebotinum lyrium]] he's been exposed to. (Although the sequel reveals he is able to speak, he's just shy and inarticulate.) In the final dungeon at the end of the game you also encounter him alone, covered in blood, and surrounded by heaps of slain monster corpses. So he would appear to be a bit of a savant when it comes to combat as well.

* Mashiro Shiina in ''LightNovel/ThePetGirlOfSakurasou'' is an internationally famous painter by high school age, but she clearly has zero skills in anything else--she doesn't know how to put on her shoes, or that she has to pay for items in a store, etc, etc, together with a long list of oddities (like NoSocialSkills or [[EmotionlessGirl having a flat affect]]) to the point that the speculation of her being autistic has became a WordOfDante.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 2}}'' NPC Algernon is an idiot savant with a talent of fiddling with guns and upgrading them. The poor guy lives in New Reno, a city controlled by mobsters, and lacks the character and social acumen to hold his own there, so an unscrupulous gun shop owner hides him in his basement and makes him work for food. If the player character kills said owner, Algernon will help them with their guns for free.

* From ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'': Loco (the Caboose counterpart among the Blues and Reds) is just as stupid as Caboose is, but is somehow able to construct advanced machinery out of simple materials. All of his inventions look utterly ridiculous but they work quite well.