Re: Genius & Autism - the Missing Link?

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=11439754&query_hl=67



http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2988647.stm


Einstein and Newton 'had autism'
Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton may have suffered from a type of
autism, according to experts.

Researchers at Cambridge and Oxford universities believe both
scientists displayed signs of Asperger's Syndrome.

Many people with Asperger's are often regarded as being eccentric. They
sometimes lack social skills, are obsessed with complex topics and can
have problems communicating.

This latest research suggests that Einstein, who is credited with
developing the theory of relativity, and Newton, who discovered the
laws of gravity, had these traits to varying degrees.

According to the researchers, Einstein showed signs of Asperger's from
a young age.

As a child, he was a loner and often repeated sentences obsessively
until he was seven years old. He was also a notoriously confusing
lecturer.

Later in life, the German-born scientist made intimate friends, had
numerous affairs and spoke out on political issues.

'Passionate'

However, the researchers insist that he continued to show signs of
having Asperger's.

"Passion, falling in love and standing up for justice are all perfectly
compatible with Asperger's Syndrome," Professor Simon Baron-Cohen of
Cambridge, one of those involved in the study, told New Scientist
magazine.

"What most people with Asperger's Syndrome find difficult is casual
chatting - they can't do small talk."

The researchers believe that Newton displayed classic signs of the
condition.

He hardly spoke, was so-engrossed in his work that he often forgot to
eat and was lukewarm or bad-tempered with the few friends he had.

If no one turned up to his lectures he gave them anyway talking to an
empty room. At the age of 50, he had a nervous breakdown brought on by
depression and paranoia.

However, others believe these traits can be attributed to both men's
high intelligence.

'Socially inept'

"One can imagine geniuses who are socially inept and yet not remotely
autistic," said Dr Glen Elliott, a psychiatrist at the University of
California at San Francisco.

"Impatience with the intellectual slowness of others, narcissism and
passion for one's mission in life might combine to make such
individuals isolative and difficult."

He told the magazine that Einstein was regarded as having a good sense
of humour - a trait not seen in people with severe Asperger's.

Professor Baron-Cohen said the findings suggested that people with the
syndrome can excel if they find their niche in life.

"This condition can make people depressed or suicidal, so if we can
find out how to make things easier for them, that's worthwhile."

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/health/2988647.stm

Published: 2003/04/30 23:13:58 GMT

© BBC MMV


Anne Nahnimoss wrote:
> Well!...now I feel better about the three times in the last
> 35 years that all the members of my immediate family
> *tried* to commit me to a mental institution...
> not that I ever felt bad about it- :-)
>
> =============================================
>
> http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/06/11/naut11.xml&s***=/news/2005/06/11/ixworld.html
>
> 'Missing link' between madness and genius
> By Amy Iggulden
> (Filed: 11/06/2005)
>
> Genius cannot exist without mental disorder,
> according to a study that names George Orwell, LS Lowry
> and Lewis Carroll among 21 artists who suffered a form of autism.
>
> The psychiatric portrait of some of the most imaginative minds
> in history claims to prove the link between madness and greatness.
>
>
>
> Beethoven, Mozart, Hans Christian Andersen and Immanuel Kant
> are among the musicians, writers, painters and philosophers
> who have been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome.
>
> Prof Michael Fitzgerald, a psychiatrist and expert in the syndrome
> that affects social relationships but not intellect, claims that people
> with Asperger's can have exceptional artistic creativity,
> as well as mathematical genius.
>
> Einstein and other engineering geniuses have already been suggested
> as sufferers. Prof Fitzgerald claims that some of the same genes
> that cause Asperger's are a source of creative brilliance.
>
> One of the characteristics of Asperger's is thought to be an inability
> to engage in creative play. But Prof Fitzgerald says the syndrome
> almost certainly drove Orwell, Lowry and Carroll to writing
> and painting as a form of "self-help".
>
> "Asperger's and creativity are two sides of the same coin -
> you can't get one without the other," he said.
>
> His claims are set out in The Genesis of Artistic Creativity,
> which is to be published later this month, and have already
> won support from The National Autistic Society.
>
> Dr Judith Gould, the director of the diagnostic unit at the
> National Autistic Society, said yesterday:
> "The theory makes sense, because one of the diagnostic criteria
> for Asperger's is a 'patchy' ability, where some skills are better than
> others.
>
> "That is greatly emphasised in geniuses."
>
> However, Prof John Geake, a researcher into cognitive creativity
> attached to Oxford University and Oxford Brookes University,
> was not convinced.
>
> He said: "The truth is that most highly intelligent people
> are very competent at life."
>
> Prof Fitzgerald, a psychiatrist at Trinity College, Dublin,
> has diagnosed more than 900 people with the syndrome
> since he began practising in 1974. For the study, he assessed
> the personalities of 21 geniuses against the criteria for Asperger's,
> using biographies and first-person recollections.
> He believes that Orwell displayed the social impairment, narrow focus,
> repetitive behaviour and clumsiness typical of the syndrome.
> And Beethoven, who was "clumsy", "emotionally immature"
> and "had an unusually large head" also fit the criteria for Asperger's.
> An expert on Beethoven, Dr Barry Cooper, said last night
> that he barely recognised the description of the composer.
>
> "He was unkempt because his mind was on higher things," he said.
> "And I have never heard him described as emotionally immature."
>
> aiggulden@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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