Delirium wrote:
A lot of those people were mentally ill (and in Kurt Cobain's case, he had ADD). Mental illness isn't the same as Asperger's.
True. What a freaking bizarro list. Looks like they guy added whoever he admired onto that list. The great "I dig them, so they must be on the spectrum like me" rationale. Cobain wasn't AS. Geesh. Since when was desperately seeking to be a famous rock star to have people love you and approve of you so you can to overcome your own self-loathing, only to find out that's not how life works, is a criterion for AS?
Ian Curtis wasn't autistic either--bipolar. Same too with Jack Irons--he's dx'd with bipolar. Adam Ant? Sorry, wrong New Wave musician--it's Gary Numan who has AS (dx'd). Ozzy and John Frusciante--both came from difficult childhoods, both have symptoms of PTSD (and with Frusciante, possible schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder too), both have a long history of self-destructive behavior. No clear evidence they are on the spectrum, but clearly both mentally ill.
Dave Mustaine--oh god lord. The guy's a pompous jerk who talks too much, but that doesn't make him an Aspie.
Slash and Axl Rose? Seriously? Because Aspies just love that L.A. heavy metal world of the late 80's, huh? All that loud music and crowds and the artificial lights of the Sunset Strip? Slash is cool, but no Aspie; Rose is just a narcissist, delusional burn-out.
I will agree that Beethoven and Isaac Newton likely had AS. But Twain? No.
Rowlings? No, she's just a compassionate mother who drew on that to write her books.
But by and large, just because someone's creative or quirky, has a different view of the world, had a nervous breakdown, or is awkward in the public eye doesn't make them an Aspie.