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April 30, 2003

We are not alone ~ Health and happiness

In the article Einstein and Newton showed signs of autism, the author claims that even the most famous scientists can thank their genius on a mental handicap which is both restrictive and expansive at the very same time. You see, Newton "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." And then, let's have a look at Einstein who was "a loner, and repeated sentences obsessively until he was seven years old. He became a notoriously confusing lecturer." Does this qualify one for autism? Well, then I guess I am autistic also. The chances are that you also qualify to jump on the band-wagon. Welcome to the club.

Posted at 2:17 PM

4 Comment(s)

1 /

Well, I've had people think that of me because I am very shy in person. It is only if I know a person very well, or in my writing that I let all of me come out.

I used to worry about stuff like this. So I can't talk worth sh*t in public and scramble my words all up. At least I have venues of communication.

I suspect it is not shyness so much as a form of 'sensory overload'. When I view what I'm saying in print, I can see it, order it and perfect it to the way I see fit. What comes out of my mouth is sometimes scrambled and it's frustrating, but I keep working with it.

Autism is really something else. It's not 'daydreaming', etc, etc. Maybe we're the thing between 'normals' and 'autistics'. I dunno.

Posted by Joan Lansberry at May 3, 2003 5:18 PM

2 /

Thinking things out beforehand is just one mode of doing things. Not that it is any better or worse than the more common mode of just doing it and reacting to the results, whatever they may be. Whereas others play it by ear and make quick decisions based more on gut feelings rather than logical reasoning, others are handicapped in a fast-paced society by having to balance out all of the possible scenarios before even attempting to take the first daring step into the unknown. Does that make sense?

Posted by Kiffin at May 3, 2003 6:15 PM

3 /

Yes, that makes sense...

Posted by Joan Lansberry at May 4, 2003 5:58 AM

4 /

But don't most highly regarded professionals come with some form of emotional baggage?

I mean people who are obsessive over their work tend to neglect other aspects of their life in order to focus on one subject. So from this utter devotion to a single task you may become obsessive in its creation/development and thus seek perfection.

The difference between insanity and genius can sometimes be the measure of its sucess.

Posted by Leon at September 2, 2003 4:47 PM

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