There have been many studies to suggest that development disorders, such as Autism are very common in creative thinkers. In fact, some of the biggest thinkers in history have been suspected to have been autistic. Let’s take a look…
ALBERT EINSTEIN
Citing the physicist’s educational slowness and his delayed development of language, University of Cambridge psychologist Simon Baron-Cohen has posited that the legendary physicist may have been a high-functioning autistic. Einstein – whose name, of course, is synonymous with genius – was also better at processing visual information than verbal information and obsessively repeated sentences as a child, characteristics of many autistic people.
CHARLES DARWIN
The theory of evolution’s father may have been an Aspie, according to Professor Michael Fitzgerald of Trinity College in Dublin. Citing the scientist’s social awkwardness and strange obsessions, Fitzgerald has said “Asperger’s syndrome gave Darwin the capacity to hyperfocus, the extra capacity for persistence, the enormous ability to see detail that other people missed, the endless energy for a lifetime dedication to a narrow task, and the independence of mind so critical to original research.”
MICHELANGELO
Research by Fitzgerald and Dr. Muhammad Ashad in 2004 suggested that the Renaissance man may have been autistic. Though art historian and Michelangelo expert James Hall criticized the claims, some of the polymath’s personality traits – poor social skills, narrow interests and hyperfocused work method – are consistent with the typical autistic person. As Ashad noted, “He was a loner, self-absorbed, and gave his undivided attention to his masterpieces — a feature of autism.”
ISAAC NEWTON
According to a BBC article on the topic, Oxford and Cambridge researchers on the subject believe Newton had “classic signs” of Asperger’s syndrome. Far from socially adept, Newton was extremely quiet and treated the few friends he had poorly. The physicist, who has also been suspected of having bipolar disorder, had a nervous breakdown when he was 50 due to paranoia and depression.
ALAN TURING
The legendary cryptanalyst has been alleged by the British mathematician Ioan James to been autistic. As Michael Gerson pointed out at the Washington Post, Benedict Cumberbatch certainly played him like an Aspie in The Imitation Game. The film’s director said in an interview with The Independent that “From a lot of the research we did, we had people say that he probably had some version of autism or Asperger’s or something like that.”
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Five Historical Geniuses Alleged to be Autistic
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