Famous Aspies!

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Hm. Anthony Bourdain. Interesting. Sure, on his show we see him socializing with huge groups of people, but you notice how it's always on the topic of his choice (and it's the same thing). I have to wonder if somewhere on the editing room floor there's all kinds of smalltalk where he just tunes out.

Still, I think maybe he was just being a smartass.

The Tim Burton one, I've just recently been thinking about since I've seen a few of his movies again lately. The way he keeps working with the same people over and over again makes me think that it could be true. I know that if I were a director, I couldn't handle having to work with strangers and would always cast my friends or at least people I know. Also, the level of detail in his films is something that NTs don't often appreciate but the spectrum people I've spoken with (not in person since I don't know any in real life) somehow "get". I'm not basing this on his girlfriend's diagnosis of him since that could just be because they're having some kind of trouble. Isn't that something women do? My boyfriend's an emotionless ass. He must have [whatever malady is applicable]

I found this a while back from a blog from a woman with AS from Australia. Some seem like possiblites to me and other are just laughable.

Movie Directors

David Lynch (Artistic influences include movie directors Stanley Kubrick, Orson Welles and Hitchcock, and Kubrick was thought to have been influenced by Lynch’s work (both Kubrick and Welles have been subjects of published speculation that they had AS), Lynch keeps his private life private and is not much of a self-publicist, divorced 3 times and separated once, known for having unchanging food-related habits, such as having the same drink at the same restaurant every day for years, appears to find the predictability or familiarity of fast-food chain restaurants pleasing or reassuring, as do some people who have AS, malfunctioning fluorescent lights are a recurring visual detail in his films (these are known to particularly distress or distract some autistic people), an avid coffee drinker “a beautiful addiction” (there seems to be a pattern of some people with AS having a strong psychological attachment to specific caffeinated drinks, such as tea, coffee, Cola, Iced coffee, iced tea)

Steven Spielberg

Alfred Hitchcock

Woody Allen

Musicians
(note how many of the people listed below have unusual voices)

Daniel Johnston (American singer, songwriter and “outsider” musician with a cult following, apparently diagnosed with bipolar, apparently has a thing about the number 9, sang with a high-pitched voice in early work then his singing voice and delivery changed)

Moby (nerdy vegan electronic music musician who likes to share his political views, reportedly hopes to be the first pop musician to go travel into space, suffers from panic attacks, believed to be distantly related to writer Herman Melville who has been identified as possibly autistic by Prof. Michael Fitzgerald)

Neil Young (apparently has or has had epilepsy (a neurological condition associated with autism) and a very keen model train enthusiast, oh that voice!)

Kate Bush (British highly original popular singer-songwriter, best known for her 1978 hit “Wuthering Heights”, taught herself to play piano at age 11, known for her perfectionism in the recording studio, dislikes doing interviews and shuns publicity, has an unusual singing voice that could be described as shrill or childlike)

Ian Curtis (singer and lyricist in Manchester band Joy Division, awarded a scholarship at age 11 but pursued a musical career, had epilepsy and a dancing style that resembled seizures, was known to collapse on stage, bleak themes in his lyrics including alienation, committed suicide at age 23, had an unusual deep singing voice that has been described as eerie)
Ian Curtis references
Catanzaro, Joseph (2007) Reel punks. Bulletin. September 25, 2007, p. 90-91.
[a movie review discussing Ian Curtis and the new film about his life “Control”]

Bob Dylan (legendary singer-songwriter, seen rocking in documentary footage, left-handed, oh that voice!)

David Helfgott (eccentric Australian pianist, musically gifted as a child, spent many years in institutions, subject of the popular movie “Shine”, was consistently depicted as avoiding eye contact in the Academy Award winning characterization by actor Geoffrey Rush)

Michael Jackson (pop music legend, was a child star, dancer, very eccentric, enjoys the company of children, has a somewhat feminine, soft voice that is often made fun of)

Stephen Morrissey (lyricist, writer, singer, member of defunct band “The Smiths”, reported to suffer from depression, themes of loneliness, misanthropy and alienation in his work, may have had hypergraphia (compulsive writing) as a child, according to biography even wrote in the bath and wrote substantial work when young, known to be a vegetarian and not much into drink or drugs, sober lifestyles and concern with animal rights are possibly more common among people who have AS, left-handed, has a rather monotonous, droning voice, this is an excerpt of some song lyrics written by Morrissey;
... You're just the same as I am
What makes most people feel happy
Leads us headlong into harm...)

Nick Drake (singer-songwriter, insomniac and depressive, his father was an engineer, shy, disliked live performing, cannabis user, died from overdose of antidepressants, had a distinctive soft, almost feminine singing voice)

Nico (real name Christa Paffgen, ground-breaking singer-songwriter, model, actress, Warhol associate, heroin addict, had odd eating habits, apparently a stranger to soap, bleak themes in her work. Nico is described as having had a “deep narcotic monotone voice”.

As a child Nico was very strong-willed, dominating and a loner (but she did have a friend at one time, a boy). Quite a dictator when playing with other kids, she decided what to do and she liked to win games. When playing outdoors she was a tomboy. She kept no pets and did not play with dolls, but she did have a childhood interest in fashion, probably due to the fact that her mother sewed for a living in their home.

Despite her career as a model, in many ways Nico did not fit the feminine stereotype; she had a deep voice, could be assertive or uncooperative, showed little interest in domestic chores or caring for others, claimed to have had lesbian affairs, habitually wore motorbiker’s boots during one period, could be violent under the influence of drink, and she did not get along with other women. Quote from the Witts biography; “Off the catwalk I think Nico never wore a dress in her whole life,” Such masculine characteristics are what one might expect to find in a female with Asperger syndrome if the “extreme male brain” theory of autism is true.

Apparently she did get along with many male friends and/or lovers, including Andy Warhol, who has been identified convincingly as autistic by a number of sources. There is a gorgeous photo in the Witts biography of Nico and Warhol looking arrogant and aloof dressed in Batman and Robin costumes. Some other famous people who were friends at some time with Nico include Jim Morrison, Bob Dylan and Sid Vicious.

Nico’s habit of filling (other people’s) darkened rooms with lit candles may have been one of those of autistic rituals or habits that are done in strange or challenging situations to evoke feelings of familiarity and security. It’s a bit like marking strange territory to make it feel that it is one’s own, and this kind of thing can counteract the negative effects of travelling or an itinerant lifestyle that unsettle some autistic people. The darkness may be pleasing to people who have sensory hyper-sensitivities. Nico was known to use candles when performing in the studio and stage, and when composing and practicing her music. “Candles were the physical means of turning someone else’s home into hers, into the Chapel of St Nico.”

Nico’s music was very original, and was obviously not created to please the masses. Like Bob Dylan, Nico broke musical conventions of popular music, Dylan revolutionizing lyrics and Nico discarding the conventional structure of the pop song. Quote from John Cale in the Witts biography; “She really was unique. There was nobody doing that sort of gothic folk stuff. It was like something from another age, or another planet. And it wasn’t a fashion or anything, she wasn’t following some trend. It came from her own determination to create something individual; it came entirely from inside, from resilience.” Nico had a mysterious, idiosyncratic method of time-keeping in her musical performance, leading to interesting technical challenges in the recording studio. Like many aspies, Nico had the habit of turning up late for commitments. She was obviously running on Aspergian time, not clock time. “I don’t have a sense of time. Time is timeless to me, and I’m not in a hurry to get older.”

One Warhol set confidante, Paul Morrissey said “She was an intelligent woman with a childlike mind, and I’m careful to say childlike, not childish.” Another Warhol crowd associate of Nico’s “Viva”, gave Nico an amateur diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, a possibility that Nico’s biographer Richard Witts examined and rejected as a full explanation of her unique personality, instead he wrote that Nico was lonely and isolated. A quote from the biography by Witts; “She often said later she felt as though much of human living was minute and negligible and worthy only of observation from a towering distance. ‘I often feel I share very little in common with other people. I was alone for a lot of my youth, in a kind of wilderness, and that feeling has developed with me all these years,’ Nico later reflected”. Apparently there is a family history of challenging personalities among Nico’s closest relatives.

Like her autistic artistic friend Andy Warhol, Nico died prematurely as the result of a clear case of medical negligence.

Nico named her LP “The marble index” after a poem about autistic genius physicist Isaac Newton;
Where the statue stood
Of Newton, with his prism and silent face,
The marble index of a mind forever
Voyaging through strange seas of thought alone)
Nico references
Mironneau, Serge (1996-2007) Nico biography.
http://smironne.free.fr/NICO/bio.html

Witts, Richard (1993) Nico: the life and lies of an icon. Virgin Books.

Young, James (1992) Songs they never play on the radio: Nico, the last bohemian. Bloomsbury.

Some members of the German electronic music group Kraftwerk
(information about specific members is cited in speculation, but the group as a whole appears to me to have strongly autistic features. The music and image is technological and without emotional expression. They were innovative pioneers of electronic, computerized music. They have songs about technology such as robots, computers, autobahns and pocket calculators, but only 1 tune that I know of that has anything resembling romance as a theme. The name of the group means “power station” in German apparently. How romantic! The group are apparently very reclusive, some members defending their privacy using litigation. Ralf Hutter has expressed a negative attitude towards telephones, an attitude common amongst Aspergians. Like the Vines, an Australian rock band headed by a person diagnosed with AS, Kraftwerk have had lengthy periods of time between concert tours. I’ve never seen one of their concerts, but from what I’ve read they are almost automated with laptop computers and robots. The extreme lack of spontaneity of a Kraftwerk concert an interesting contrast with too much spontaneity and chaos in some of the Vines’ concerts?)
Kraftwerk references
Wikipedia contributors (accessed 2007) Kraftwerk. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?tit ... =116221530

Mathematician/Physicists

Andre-Marie Ampere

Henri Poincare

Oliver Heaviside

Other Notable or Famous People

Johnny Appleseed (born John Chapman in 1774, eccentric American legend who established apple orchards in some US states and was a religious missionary)

Ayn Rand (1905-1982, writer of fiction books in which her anti-communist and anti-government philosophy of Objectivism, in which individualism and rationality are valued highly, was explored, her book Atlas Shrugged has been described by the Library of Congress as the most influential book in the USA after the Bible, Rand’s popular books made her a lot of money and she had a dedicated group of followers in the US, but her work was either ignored or despised by literary critics, has been described as eccentric, isolated, arrogant and lacking empathy with others)

Grigory Perelman (Russian mathematician, eccentric, apparently not much motivated by fame or money, has been disrespectfully described as a “hairy hermit”)

Peter Cushing (actor in classic horror movies, had an acting presence as cold as a reptile, but appears to have been a nice person, did he really display eye contact avoidance in his acting as someone has suggested? I think it may vary according to the personality of the character played.)

"William" Quine (identified very briefly as an aspie philosopher in one of Prof. Fitzgerald’s books about “famous aspies” (Fitzgerald 2005)

Ansel Adams (photographer)

Kaspar Hauser (German foundling)

Howard Hughes (1905-1976)(US billionaire, recluse, eccentric, aviator)

Walter Pitts (logician)

Nikola Tesla (has now been identified as autistic in published literature, so is now included in my main list, Serbian genius inventor, a flaming aspie with a cherry on top in my opinion, had synaesthesia and was a visual thinker, possibly had OCD towards the end of his life, his mother was good at memorizing texts, spoke to himself (a quirky habit that some aspies have), but if you think that’s eccentric, his father spoke to himself in 2 different voices!)

Isaac Asimov (1920-1992, science fiction writer, academic, self-taught reader, claustrophile)

Albert Speer (1905-1981, Nazi architect and author)

Andrew LLoyd Webber (b. 1948) (British composer of musical theatre)

Wilson “Snowflake” Bentley (the first known photographer of snowflakes, I wrote about Bentley here: http://incorrectpleasures.blogspot.com/ ... flake.html)
Wilson “Snowflake” Bentley references
Club 166 (2007) The advantages of being odd. Club 166. February 10 2007.
http://club166.blogspot.com/2007/02/adv ... g-odd.html
[a blog article about Wilson “Snowflake” Bentley]

Martin, Jacqueline Briggs and Azarian, Mary (illustrator) (1998) Snowflake Bentley. Houghton Mifflin, 1998.
[a Caldecott Medal-winning picture-book biography for children about Wilson “Snowflake” Bentley]

Henry Ford (the subject of a new book by an Australian professor who has speculated on Australian radio (on 7th June 2008 on The Science Show on ABC Radio National 810am) about the possibility that Ford had AS)

Adam Smith?


Famous people who I wonder about with regard to Asperger syndrome

Kevin Rudd (Prime Minister of Australia, leader of the ALP, I think his childhood to adulthood obsession with all things Chinese sounds suspiciously like an autistic special interest, Rudd's Chinese interest was amusingly lampooned in a YouTube video released during the 2007 election campaign. This is some advice to Rudd from his brother Greg, quoted from a report in The Bulletin: “Rather than have people saying these things: That you’re too arrogant. That you lecture rather than listen, simply because you know so much. [That] you’re a policy wonk. You don’t understand people enough. You don’t go to the football enough. You don’t drink beer enough. Say it yourself.” (Fanning 2007). This is just the kind of criticism that one would expect an Australian adult slightly autistic male to receive from a neurotypical male friend or relative. Rudd has apparently claimed to have been drunk only twice in his life, which is certainly not typical of Australian male adults. Autistic people are often reported to have little or no aptitude or interest in sport. It is thought that Rudd does not have the obsession with cricket that past PMs have had, and his brief spell as an amateur player was unremarkable.

After serving some time as PM, Rudd has gained a reputation for being a workaholic, a "control-freak", and also a slave-driver with regard to some public servants. This behaviour is consistent with AS. In July 2008 author Dr Peter van Onselen, promoting a new book, revealed that Rudd’s public and private behaviour are markedly different “There are two Kevin Rudds” (Spagnolo 2008). In public Rudd presents a polished, formal, benign and very controlled image; in his office he displays a “vile” temper and swears when things don’t go as planned. People who have AS sometimes construct an unauthentic public persona that is socially acceptable and is purged of any autistic traits. A bad temper is a characteristic that is often described in autistic people. Bill Gates is a high-achieving public figure who is thought to be on the autistic spectrum. His angry outbursts at work have been described by many writers.

One description of Asperger syndrome lists “…peculiar speech habits that include repeated words or phrases …” as characteristics of the condition. Kevin Rudd in particular and his political associates have become infamous for using the phrase “working families” repeatedly throughout the 2007 election campaign, and Rudd is still using this phrase well into his term as PM. Journalists and comedians have even kept count of the times “working families” have been mentioned in speeches and paragraphs, and Rudd has been tallied at using the phrase 21 times each in two different speeches (Farr 2007).

It is thought that people on the autistic spectrum often look younger than their chronological age, and I think there is something boyish in Rudd’s appearance. Mr Rudd was recently seen on TV hugging one of his kids with an unusual side-to-side rocking motion.

If you think it's too far-fetched to speculate that an autist could reach the pinnacle of Australian politics, well what about Tim Fischer, ex-deputy PM of Australia and former National Party leader? In 1999 Fischer claimed to have some degree of autism on national public radio, and the story was widely covered by the Australian press. Fischer has an autistic son. Despite the fact that the two men come from opposite sides of politics, there seems to be a rapport or high regard between Kevin Rudd and Tim Fischer. Fischer was chosen by the PM for the steering panel of the Australia 2020 Summit, and in 2008 Fischer was nominated by the PM as the first resident Australian Ambassador to the Holy See. I’ve have done a lot of reading about famous people who have been identified as autistic, and I’ve often seen a pattern of friendships, collaborations and relationships between famous people who display autistic traits.
Kevin Rudd references
Egan, Carmel (2006) 20 things you need to know about Kevin Rudd. The Age. theage.com.au December 3rd 2006.
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/ ... 47544.html

Fanning, Ellen (2007) Lunch with Ellen Fanning: Greg Rudd. The Bulletin. September 18th 2007. p. 24-29.

Farr, Malcolm (2007) Rudd gives families a workout. The Daily Telegraph. November 9th 2007.
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/s ... 21,00.html

Spagnolo, Joe (2008) The swearing Kevin Rudd voters won't see. News.com.au July 13th 2008.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24012157-2,00.html

Jana Wendt (Australian journalist who has worked mostly on commercial television, has had a very lucrative career, has a reputation as a tough interviewer, somehow managed to combine sex appeal with an intelligent demeanour, does not seem concerned about being less involved now in public life, has been described as “enigmatic”, “dangerously beautiful” and “difficult”. Wendt has a calm, detached manner with an unemotional voice and subdued body language. Unlike the majority of Australian female TV journalists and newsreaders, she is not full of smiles and does not jiggle and wiggle her head as though it is mounted upon a loose spring. I think this may be what many men have found so attractive in Wendt, perhaps they can sense that she has a masculine and also intelligent mind within a feminine body. Wendt has been photographed many times wearing an expression that is almost a gesture towards smiling, but only managing to look enigmatic like the Mona Lisa. Many autists appear to have difficulty with smiling on demand.

Wendt is conspicuously lacking in the common touch. A friend has described her as “never touchy-feely”. Some quotes from a recent article about Wendt: “She’s always been a long way from her audience.” “Nobody ever called her the girl next door.” Wendt has sophisticated tastes in music and literature, and no time for popular culture. She reportedly has a very small circle of friends and is known to socialize in very small gatherings. She married in 1984 “before a handful of family and friends.” Autists often prefer to have other autists or systemizer type people as spouses, and according to anecdotes, these marriages often begin with elopement or a wedding that has very few guests. Her husband may be of a similar psychology. He has been described as “prickly”, and is reportedly a rather anxious person with a very good memory. This description could be consistent with a person who has Asperger syndrome or is close to AS in psychology. “Friends say the couple, particularly Ward, have attitude that it is them against the world.” If they do both have AS, then that wouldn’t just be an attitude, it would be an awareness of an objective fact.

Wendt may have one of the defining characteristics of autism; a preference to focus deeply on specific subjects of study. “Whether it be preparing for a story or learning about the music of Mahler – she has to know everything she possibly can.”

At work people with AS can be uncompromising individuals who don’t harbour undeserved respect for people in authority. Autists are not team players on the sporting field, or anywhere. Wendt quit her very lucrative job presenting ACA and has a consistent history of quitting great journalistic jobs on matters of principle. She is thought to be an important source of information for a book that lampoons the management of an Australian TV station.
Jana Wendt references
Bearup, Greg (2007) Jana. The West Australian. West Weekend Magazine. November 10th 2007 p.12-15.

Ed Kuepper (German-born Australian singer, songwriter and guitarist, a member of the legendary punk band The Saints from Brisbane, also in The Aints and The Laughing Clowns, and has also created a lot of music under his own name with a number of different backing bands. Has won Aria awards. An important figure in Australian rock music history, but sometimes not given due credit. I'll admit that I've been a big fan of Kuepper's for many years. I regard Kuepper as a musical genius, but that's only my humble opinion. Kuepper’s intelligence must have always been obvious. In his youth he was politically aware and had a reputation for being dour, arrogant, reserved and alienated from his peers “I was fairly condescending towards what was going around me. I definitely felt above it…” (Kuepper quoted in Stafford 2004). Being a migrant from a non-English-speaking background must also have been a factor contributing towards this alienation. It appears that rock music was Kuepper’s main interest and connection with the world. I guess it might have been an autistic “special interest”, “Ed always kept himself at a height and a distance; he was most at home with his record collection.” (Walker quoted in Stafford 2004). The Stooges’ LP “Fun House” had a big impact “When you move into your teens, if you’re in an environment where you’re not feeling a part of what’s going on in society, to have a record like that come along is a real life-saver.” (Kuepper quoted in Stafford 2004).

A common feature of Asperger syndrome is being unexpressive in one’s body language and voice. Kuepper’s singing voice is unmistakably monotonous, in a German kind of a way. A music reviewer who has a high regard for Kuepper’s music, Clinton Walker, wrote that “… it is his flat singing that drags this album down.” and “His vocals have always posed a problem.” (Walker (2005). Personally I enjoy Kuepper’s drone. I just have a thing about men with grey-coloured voices. Kuepper’s voice sets him apart from other singers and I believe it makes some creative ideas possible. The song “I wish you were here” would sound corny and too sentimental if it were sung by a singer with a normal voice. The lack of vocal expression balances the sentiment in the song lyrics perfectly. Who else but Ed K. could create an understated, cool version of the AC/DC screamer hit “Highway to Hell”? Listening to Kuepper’s music is like an education in psychology; emotions and thoughts do not need to be and are not always expressed directly through the voice and body, humans have language and music and other conscious actions through which we can express ourselves.

Kuepper’s facial expressions and speaking voice are no more expressive than his voice. He says funny things with a perfectly straight face, appearing not to care whether the listener finds his comment amusing. Clinton Walker describes a performance of the Laughing Clowns; “The band would be blazing and a small smile would come across Kuepper’s face, just the corner of his mouth upturning, as if in acknowledgement of Jeffrey.” (Walker 1996). Kuepper’s bodily movements possibly display a uniquely autistic characteristic; the repetitive rocking that is a central feature of the “Rain Man” stereotype. On a documentary series that was recently screened on Australian television, “Great Australian Albums” Ed Kuepper was swaying from side to side slightly (but consistently) while speaking to an interviewer.

Kuepper appears to be a rather prickly but sensitive character, who possibly has not shown the best judgement in managing the social aspects of his musical career, “Kuepper has long had a reputation for being aloof and arrogant …” (Walker 1996). The musical partnership between Kuepper and Bailey in the Saints has been described as “A marriage made in hell”. The Laughing Clowns have been described as a group that “… is driven by an undercurrent of hostility.” (Walker 2005). The discord in this group was the result of the behaviour of a number of band members, but it is interesting that Kuepper tolerated this situation for as long as he did, to regret it later; “It was no longer a bearable situation. … I still haven’t really recovered from that.” (Walker 1996). Aspies typically have an impressive capacity for taking offence, harbouring grudges and losing one’s temper. This quote is evidence that Kuepper is the resentful type and also displays blunt honesty that is typically autistic; “In his own blunt way he says: "I had feelings of phenomenal animosity towards the band, and so I severed the art as well. I thought, 'Well, I really hate these people, so I'm not going to have anything to do with the music either'." Another quote shows that Kuepper’s rude honesty is in the same league as the most offensive autists; “I heard that you told someone the Saints were good with me and Louise in the band," offers Wegener. "I didn't say that, that wasn't me. I thought it was a load of s**t.” It has been observed that some of Kuepper’s song lyrics are distinguished by their honesty and openness and bluntness. One can only assume that the lyrics of the song “Everything I’ve got belongs to you” are about the songwriter “Time has proved I’m churlish and I’m rude, and I take a real contentment in bad moods.” I get the impression that Kuepper has naturally assumed the role of leader in groups that he has worked within. This is consistent with the way people with AS work with others; poor team players who are happiest working alone or being the boss.

Kuepper has been described as “fiercely independent” (Blackman 2005) and “… a law unto himself…” (Walker 1996). Some of his albums have only been available through mail order. The Saints (with Kuepper as a member) got copies of their first single pressed themselves. He shows contempt for record companies in this comment “… there's no record company making sure we get our lines of coke.” A lot of his work could be described as avant-garde or non-commercial. An autistic-type attitude of defiant independence can be traced back to The Saints. The Saints took a short-cut to fame by pressing their own records and sending copies abroad. In the long term they were not good at dealing with the press and they did not follow fashion. Artistically and socially the Saints were isolated “They aren’t trend followers, and they don’t have an established anti-establishment to support their contempt for the rest of society. They have thus far been totally isolated …” (an English writer quoted in Walker 1996) It appears that just doing your own thing and not playing the game provokes ill-will; “The hostility and resentment the Saints generated was extraordinary.” (Walker 1996).

The Saints were a punk band who didn’t wear punk fashion, in defiance of their record label. They didn’t wear any fashion, as far as I can tell. I don't regard Kuepper as being fashion-conscious or image-conscious. Being uninterested in fashion or appearances is a characteristic of the AS stereotype. Generally the clothes that I have seen Kuepper wearing could be described as neat casual street wear. In a photo of Kuepper on page 164 of the book “Inner city sound” Kuepper looks like a typical middle-class Dad holding a baby, not resembling anyone associated with punk music. When I went to an instrumental live performance a while ago it took me quite a while to figure out that the ordinary-looking bloke with the guitar must be Kuepper. Drab domesticity has been mentioned in Kuepper’s song lyrics. The first line of “The way I made you feel” refers to the singer washing dishes, a theme that I don’t recall hearing about in other rock or pop songs. The cleaning of crockery and cutlery has no proper place in a rock and roll lifestyle or a rock song lyric.

I don’t know how I’d categorize Ed Kuepper’s music, as I don’t think it fits into any particular style or trend. It’s original, and that’s one reason why I like it so much. You never know what kind of instrument you are going to hear in Kuepper’s music. Kuepper has described the music of the Laughing Clowns as singular “… you can’t really compare it with anything that’s catching on overseas, and yet at the same time we’re not doing anything Australian bands are doing …” (Kuepper quoted in Walker 2005). People who have Asperger syndrome typically have a very original creativity. I think we may lack some basic human instinct for imitation, which can be a problem in some contexts, but in other situations it can give one a creative advantage.

One important feature of AS psychology that I don’t think any of the so-called experts have figured out is the drive for originality. Hans Asperger thought that children with AS had no choice but to think in an original way as they were unable to learn from other people. I think there is much more to autistic originality than mere disability. I hate doing things the same way that everyone else does them. It seems so pointless and boring. So often when I hear music on the radio I wonder why the group bothered to record, as they are doing pretty much the same thing that many other bands have done before. What is the point? I know that some artists feel that they have “made it” when they successfully master the style and technique of their artistic role models or peers, but to my mind that isn’t creativity or art, just imitation. It’s only the first step in the direction of creativity. I think Kuepper may display an autistic desire for originality in his music. The Saints (with Kuepper as a member) lost popularity and the support of record companies after creating their last LP “Prehistoric Sounds”, because it was a major departure from the musical style that had won them fame. Brass featured prominently in this record and it had an R&B style. It came to be regarded as a brilliant record, and for Kuepper it was the result of deliberate desire for originality and creative growth; “The more subdued sound is totally intentional … Everyone was using distorted guitars in those days, and that was something that I wanted to move away from.” (Kuepper quoted in Stafford 2004). Kuepper has found the trend of other musicians doing acoustic performances to be too predictable “… just getting up there and doing all the same songs only acoustically, I couldn’t really see much point in that.” (Kuepper quoted in Walker 1996). Kuepper decided to do his acoustic performances differently. Listening to the first LP by the Ramones had a depressing effect on Kuepper during the early days of the Saints, because they had independently created the same kind of punk sound as the Saints’ music, and Kuepper feared (correctly) that his Australian band would be unfairly viewed by others as imitators “… I thought, f**k, we’re going to be labelled as influenced by the Ramones …” (Kuepper quoted in Walker 1996).

Kuepper has shown an autistic style of persistence in his long and “incredibly prolific” musical career, which he has hinted has not always been financially rewarding.
Ed Kuepper references
Blackman, Guy (2005) No laughing matter. The Age. (Melbourne) September 11th 2005.
http://www.thekuepperfiles.com/age_cbf_rev050911.shtml
[interview with Ed Kuepper]

Great Australian albums – The Saints: (I’m) Stranded.
[a documentary available on DVD, part of a series]

Stafford, Andrew (2004) Pig city: from The Saints to Savage Garden. University of Queensland Press.

Walker, Clinton (1996) Stranded: the secret history of Australian independent music 1977-1991. Macmillan, 1996.

Walker, Clinton (editor) (2005) Inner city sound: punk and post-punk in Australia, 1976-1985. expanded edition, Verse Chorus Press.

Colleen McCullough (Australian-born author who chooses to live on Norfolk Island. She had a successful career as a neuroscientist before she started writing best-sellers. McCullough wrote a seven-part series of historical fiction novels set in ancient Rome which were rigorously researched. Was this prolonged and deep interest in Roman history an autistic special interest?

McCullough is apparently from a dysfunctional family and she has described her parents in a blunt, honest and unflattering manner. In a recent TV interview McCullough said she had lived as a loner before she got happily married to “a man of very few words”. McCullough was happy to admit that the reason why she didn’t have children is that she finds them annoying “Because they, they’re all around, you know?”

McCullough does not have an unexpressive or reserved manner that is often seen in autists. She laughs a lot when interviewed, but I get the sense that a lot of her laughter is a response to her own jokes and thoughts, which is a type of behaviour that I have seen in people who have AS.
Colleen McCullough references
Denton, Andrew (2007) Colleen McCullough. Enough Rope with Andrew Denton. ABC Television. September 24th 2007.
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/enoughrope/tra ... 041318.htm

Hugh Macdonald Sinclair FRCP (British expert in human nutrition, academic and visionary scientist, Sinclair could be described as a scientist ahead of his time. He is memorialized by the naming of the Hugh Sinclair Unit of Human Nutrition at the University of Reading. Sinclair wrote an important letter in 1956 to The Lancet identifying deficiency of essential fatty acids as an important causal factor in common diseases that were on the increase. This letter shocked the scientific community and provoked further correspondence for over a year. Sinclair was an original thinker, persistent in his research interests, and with such a commitment that he experimented on himself in his Inuit diet experiment and other experimentation with vitamin deficiency, which placed his own health at risk. For 100 days he consumed nothing but seal, fish, crustaceans, molluscs and water. Sinclair planned to build a laboratory and scientific library for research on human nutrition at the site of his mansion home, Lady Place, but his dream was not realized. At one time the collection of curious objects kept at Lady Place included a pair of seated, clothed human skeletons engrossed in a game of cards.

On page 11 of the biography by Ewin, there is speculation that Sinclair might possibly have been dyslexic as a child. He loathed his years in preparatory school, was a poor academic performer but “learned easily by heart”, and was subjected to harsh discipline. His school life improved in later years and he excelled in science.

Despite his passion for science, a wealthy background and “prodigious intellectual resources” Hugh Sinclair’s career was not as successful as it might have been. Sinclair was possibly more interested in the science than in making good career-building decisions. He has been described as rude and arrogant, and generally did not get along well with people, “his life eventually became one of professional ostracism and loneliness.” (Ewin 2001). Andre McLean characterized Sinclair as having filled an unappreciated role as a “science critic”, doing for science what music and literary critics do for the arts. Sinclair’s friend David F. Horrobin explained in the foreword of Ewin’s biography that Sinclair could display great kindness and generosity, but was also capable of provoking “sheer irrational rage …”. Australian radio show presenter Robyn Williams described Sinclair as “extraordinarily scruffy” and “one of the oddest fellows I've ever met.” Sinclair has been accused of having a “lack of attention to detail” which could be interpreted as the opposite of the autistic stereotype.
Hugh Macdonald Sinclair FRCP references
Ewin, Jeannette (2001) Fine wines and fish oil: the life of Hugh Macdonald Sinclair. Oxford University Press, 2001.

McLean, Andre (2002) Fine Wines and Fish Oil: the Life of Hugh Macdonald Sinclair. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. 2002 May 2002 95(5) p. 263–264.
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articl ... id=1279687
[a review of Ewin’s biography]

Williams, Robyn (2002) Fine wines and fish oil. The Science Show. Radio National ABC 26th January 2002.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/scienceshow/st ... 465643.htm

Sean Penn (Hollywood actor, quotes from a recent journalistic article: “I’m very drawn to isolation. I’ve always felt like I love mankind, the problem I have is with man.” “He has said before that his energy comes from rage.” “He cares about Iraq, disaster victims and freedom. But he doesn’t care what people think of him.” “… Penn is still the star some love to hate.” Philanthropy in public life contrasted with misanthropy on a personal level is, I believe, a common feature of autistic people.)
Sean Penn references
Somaiya, Ravi (2007) Sean Penn. The West Australian. November 3rd 2007. West Weekend Magazine, p.24-27.

Richard Dawkins (academic and author of best-selling books about biology, evolution and criticism of religion, seems to not care at all that he offends, upsets and angers many people with his writing. I'll admit I've been a huge fan of Dawkins' since I was a teen, and that's a long time ago! I have always found the way he speaks fascinating, and I believe this may be an example of the “pedantic speech” that is an autistic trait. Compare Dawkins’ speech with that of Christopher Nagle, who apparently has Asperger syndrome, do they sound similar to you? http://www.abc.net.au/rn/ockhamsrazor/s ... 843937.htm
I have also written about Prof Dawkins here: http://incorrectpleasures.blogspot.com/ ... ce-in.html )

Sir Elton John (gay popular music superstar, a piano prodigy, started playing piano at age 3, won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music at age 11, appears to have an intense, serious personality, known to have a bad temper, once displayed a savant-like ability to compose a song on demand on a British TV show, is believed to have epilepsy, which is associated with autism, has had problems with depression, alcohol and drugs, friend of eccentric superstar Michael Jackson, known to be a big earner and a big spender and a supporter of AIDS charities and gay rights, had a bad relationship with his father who was apparently distant and disapproving “…he was afraid even to eat crisps (potato chips) in his father’s presence for fear of being shouted at for chewing too loudly.” Did his father have autistic sensory hypersensitivity? Did Sir Elton inherit some degree of autism from his father?)

“Outsider Art” artists (such as those featured in the book Outsider art: spontaneous alternatives by Colin Rhodes, especially those who are in the Environments section of Chapter 4: Self-Taught Visionaries, including artists such as Ferdinand Cheval, Simon Rodia and Armand Schulthess. Henry Darger is in this book, and he has already been identified as having possibly been autistic.)
“Outsider Art” artists references
Rhodes, Colin (2000) Outsider art. Thames and Hudson.

People who build idiosyncratic, creative homes out of empty bottles or other recycled materials in remote prospecting towns

Norbert Weiner (has now been identified as autistic in a published book, so Weiner also included in my main list, mathematician and founder of cybernetics, a home-schooled child prodigy, believed to have been very absent-minded, prone to depression and hypersensitive to criticism, according to legend a graduate student was assigned the task of making sure that Weiner reached destinations without getting lost, in another anecdote, while lecturing, Weiner decided to address his lectures to the only student in the room that he thought was paying proper attention, and one day when this student was absent he aborted the lecture claiming that there was nobody in the class. Autistic geniuses in academia are known for being odd or poor lecturers. Both Newton and Einstein have been identified as autistic. Newton would lecture to a genuinely empty room, and Einstein’s lectures were apparently hard to follow.)

Robert Klark Graham (eugenics advocate, owner of the now closed Repository for Germinal Choice (Nobel Prize sperm bank), optometry innovator and entrepeneur, had some ambitious, eccentric, excellent and socially unacceptable ideas, Graham was friendly with Nobel Prize winning scientist William Shockley who was reputed to be a hard person to get along with and has been identified as having had AS or something similar by one AS expert (Baron-Cohen 2003) I've found in all my reading about people on the autistic spectrum, that autists often have other autists as friends or spouses. )
Robert Klark Graham references
Plotz, David (2005) The genius factory: unravelling the mysteries of the Nobel Prize sperm bank. Simon & Schuster UK. 2005.
[biographical info about Robert Klark Graham and William Shockley, amd mentions Raymond Cattell]

Vladimir Nabokov (writer, accused of “not conforming “ to his environment in the progressive Russian school that he attended, wrote a controversial book, some quotes attributed to Nabokov I believe suggest autistic traits, had synaesthesia, and I believe also married a synaesthete, and I think at least one child also a synaesthete. An interesting example of assortative mating among synaesthetes?)

Raymond Cattell (psychologist, was involved with Robert Klark Graham’s “Nobel Prize sperm bank”, “Cattell aimed to construct a precise "periodic table" of personality (though ultimately, as we'll learn, he became notorious for far more dangerous ideas).” Trying to fit people's personalities into a periodic table scheme strikes me as the kind of thing that an autist would aspire to achieve, a fascinating venture, but offensive to many.)
Raymond Cattell references
Paul, Anne Murphy(2005) The cult of personality testing: how personality tests are leading us to miseducate our children, mismanage our companies, and misunderstand ourselves. Free Press.
[includes a lengthy biographical description of Raymond Cattell]

Arthur Crew Inman (1895-1963) (diarist, recluse and eccentric)

Jamie Hyneman (one of the “Mythbusters”, voice and face not emotionally expressive, technical-minded, odd taste in food)

Sid Vicious (real name Simon John Beverly, 1957-1979, bass guitarist and songwriter of the iconic punk band the Sex Pistols, reputed to have taught himself to play the bass guitar in overnight with the help of an illicit stimulant drug (may be evidence of autistic persistence with autistic insomnia or only the effect of drugs), was often photographed with bizarre facial expressions, became a heroin addict under Spungen’s influence, arrested for the murder of Spungen but died, from a probably suicidal overdose, before he could be tried)
Sid Vicious references
Parker, Alan (2004) Vicious: too fast to live. Creation Books.

Nancy Spungen (1958-1978 American groupie, girlfriend of Sid Vicious, heroin addict, was very unsettled, bright, wakeful, active and avoidant of hugs as a baby and was prescribed a sedative in infancy, first psychiatric evaluation at age 4 found an IQ in the 120-130s with “motor-visual deficiency”, stuttered at one time, at 10 years scored in IQ test in 120-130s, at 11 parents were advised to place her in an institution due to violent outbursts, attacked mother with a hammer after being refused a visit to a science museum… a classic case of a misunderstood, pathologically bored, angry and alienated intellectually gifted autist?)
Nancy Spungen references
Spungen, Deborah (1983) And I don’t want to live this life. Corgi Books.

Douglas Coupland (Canadian author, wrote the books “Generation X” “All families are psychotic” “Girlfriend in a coma” and “Eleanor Rigby”, and a book about computer geeks working in a place that resembles Microsoft Corp; “Microserfs”, coined many (excellent) neologisms (a common literary behaviour of writers identified as having Asperger syndrome), in Coupland’s books there are themes of poor employment prospects, McJobs, alienation from society, alienation from family, loneliness and computer technology, Coupland studied physics and sculpting (a systemizing/spatial thinker?), his family of origin has been described as “unemotional, undemonstrative”, reputed to have irregular sleeping habits, unfashionable dressing habits, and reportedly not involved with drink or illicit drugs nor an owner of a TV set, has had at least one depressive episode, lists autist artist Andy Warhol as an influence, used the title of a Smiths tune for a book title, like a few of the complex and intelligent people in my “famous aspies” list Coupland is both gay and has religious beliefs)

Jack van Tongeren (Australian racist group leader, ex-convict and Vietnam veteran, has a remarkably deadpan face and unexpressive voice, possibly the result of an evil Jewish conspiracy to steal Jack's body language. Van Tongeren’s mother has speculated in a press interview that he may have Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome (as diagnosis that also has been speculated about with the singer and model Nico, described in this posting). Van Tongeren has demonstrated some talent at visual art in a display of his work in an Eastern states gallery. Autistic people are thought to often have talents in areas that are thought to involve superiority in the functioning of the brain's right hemisphere, such as visual art, music, chess playing and mathematics.

Miles Davis (jazz music legend, from a relatively rich black family, synaesthesia was a theme used in his work, used illicit drugs, had depression, can anyone find a photo of Davis smiling in a friendly manner?)

Marlon Brando (1924-2004, Hollywood actor, reputed to be difficult to work with, was a friend of Michael Jackson)

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) (poet and horror story writer, his epilepsy might have been due to alcoholism, sensory hypersensitivity a recurring theme in stories)

Isaac Watts (1674-1748) (hymnwriter, theologian and logician)

Xavier Herbert (Australian writer of the longest Australian novel “Poor fellow my country”, an eccentric, “… an often-offensive yet heroic figure in Australian literary history.” ” He understood what it was like to be a non-person, an invisible person.” ”… he took the situation of Aboriginal Australians and rubbed it in the face of white Australia from the 1930s until he died in 1984.”)
Xavier Herbert references
Negus, George (2004) Xavier Herbert. George Negus Tonight. ABC TV 18/10/2004.
http://www.abc.net.au/gnt/history/Trans ... 224186.htm

Steinke, Nicole (2003) In Capricornia Country: the Legend of Xavier Herbert. Hindsight. First broadcast on ABC Radio National 810am 16/02/2003.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/history/hindsi ... 783756.htm

Clive Robertson (Australian TV identity, once described himself as a misanthrope, apparently has a very keen sense of smell, appears to have turned into a mysogynist in his old age, which is sad)

Dr James Watson (controversial Nobel Prize winning biologist, co-discoverer of DNA, according to some sources he has a son with autism but lately one of his sons is being described as schizophrenic in media reports, Watson has been described as rude, his willingness to openly discuss politically-incorrect subjects such as eugenics and the relationship between race and IQ is I believe an example of the autistic tendency to be honest and open regardless of social sensitivities. I think Watson has somewhat odd facial expression, which can also be seen in photos of Watson when he was a young adult. I have written more about Dr Watson here: http://incorrectpleasures.blogspot.com/ ... ce-in.html )

Dr Michael Wigler (a biologist who is a leading researcher of the genetics of autism, has been variously described as eccentric and “obviously autistic”. The first time I saw this man on TV I thought there was something unusual about his manner. According to one article Dr Wigler has a “rare ability to see mathematical patterns in the complexities of genes”. This is a quote from a Wall Street Journal article by Antonio Regalado: “Dr. Wigler, a brilliant and reclusive scientist who played computer games during a recent interview, has come up with a new way to scan chromosomes in search of genetic errors.” I can’t think of any better explanation for such unusual and unsocial behaviour than Asperger syndrome.
Dr Michael Wigler references
Regalado, Antonio (2005) A hedge-fund titan stirs up research into autism. The Wall Street Journal. December 15, 2005.
Reprinted at Post-Gazette Now:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05349/622925.stm
[includes as description of autism researcher Dr Michael Wigler]

Sylvester Stallone (actor, has a first-degree relative with an autism diagnosis, has a very autistic-sounding monotonous voice, seems to always be playing characters who are inarticulate or "a man-of-few-words" and are conspicuously masculine, does he really need to take testosterone supplements?)

Edward Lear (epileptic writer of classic nonsense limericks and verse for children)

Sir Gilbert Walker (physicist, statistician, best known for describing the Southern Oscillation, a meteorological phenomenon associated with the El Nino effect, was a mathematician at Cambridge, professor of meteorology at Imperial College London, interested in electromagnetism and the dynamics of SPINNING TOPS and projectiles, also an expert on mathematical aspects of sport and games, his father was an engineer, at 17 won prize for making a gyroscope (which is really just a spinning top))
Sir Gilbert Walker references
Walker, J. M. (1997) Pen portrait of Sir Gilbert Walker, CSI, MA, ScD,’s. Weather. (Royal Meteorological Society). 1997 Volume 52, No.7, pages 217-220.
http://www.rmets.org/pdf/walkergt.pdf

Dr Gunther von Hagens (German “rogue anatomist”, he established a multi-national Institute for Plastination which preserves bodies using the plastination process that was discovered and perfected by von Hagens. He developed the successful Body Worlds exhibitions of preserved human bodies and body parts. He performed the first public autopsy in the UK for 170 years with a paying capacity audience. Von Hagen was in a controversial TV documentary series “Anatomy for beginners” showing his dissections of human bodies done before a live audience. My husband and I find von Hagens’ work fascinating, but “rogue” anatomists do tend to have critics (and what a complete tosser one of his critics shown in a documentary is). Von Hagen has been called the Walt Disney of death, and has been accused of running a freak show. He has been accused of being insensitive to ethical issues to do with consent. He obviously has charisma, as many people consent to donate their bodies to his organization. I think his personal appeal is his apparently innocent sense of wonder and his passion for learning. I believe that if viewers didn't feel that Hagens has the kind of social innocence or social detachment that is associated with scientists, watching him dissect human bodies would seem to be socially unacceptable. The body and the anatomist both have to be separated from the social world.

Von Hagens’ work is demystifying, displaying and examining aspects of life (death and the human body) that have been hidden and repressed in our society because of the emotional baggage and social barriers that have been attached to these aspects of life. An autist is just the kind of person who is rationally detached and socially unconcerned enough to disregard social restrictions and emotional barriers to expose aspects of life that some people would prefer were left private. This is the kind of work that made sex researcher Alfred Kinsey famous, and Kinsey has been identified as possibly having had Asperger syndrome by one AS expert (Lyons & Fitzgerald 2005, James 2005, Fitzgerald 1999). Aspies are the kind of people who are able to set aside emotional and social baggage so that human bodies can be seen as a subject of study, a source of scientific or legal evidence or as raw materials for a creative, educational or scientific process. I once attended a funeral in which an undiagnosed adult autist touched the body to point out evidence supporting their theory about the cause of death. Aspie philosopher Jeremy Bentham’s body was dissected in front of a group of his friends in accordance with his will (Lucas & Sheeran 2006).

My somewhat autistic husband and I own many books about anatomy and medicine which have photos of real bodies, and one of us excelled at studying human anatomy in school. One of the first internet web sites that we ever looked up was the Visible Human project in which you could slice through many images of a real human body with your computer. We both have different unusual ideas about what we would like to have done with our bodies when we die (but social and financial restrictions probably will prevent these amusing ideas from being realized). We would like to shock and startle people even after we have gone. Our inappropriate behaviour knows no bounds.

Years ago when I discovered that the exhibits of a medical/anatomy museum that was once in Canberra had been removed, and the building occupied by a film museum, I was very disappointed and angry, as the only time I have ever had the opportunity to see anatomical specimens preserved in bottles was when I was a very young girl (I was fascinated), and due to the influence of politically correct people and good-taste Nazis in our society it was unlikely that I (or our children) would ever have the opportunity to see such an interesting spectacle ever again. Tasteful, politically correct people are the natural enemies of people like us.

The word “plastination” is a neologism, and aspies are renowned for our ability to create new words (and new techniques, and new ideas, and new scientific paradigms). The study of anatomy and the development of the plastination process is obviously von Hagens’s special interest, which he explains he has had since childhood.

In the UK documentary “The anatomist: Gunther von Hagens“ von Hagens said he had been a really odd child and that as an adult he has little care for the opinions of others, a true individualist. His wife described him as an “absent-minded professor” and she described how he would stay up all night in his lab working on his project. These characteristics are typical of people who have Asperger syndrome. Who else but an autist would dare to be a “rogue anatomist”?)

Although AS is not typically associated with athleticism, some famous athletes had AS traits. Among them were:

Paavo Nurmi (Finnish long distance runner)-Very remote, did everything alone, obsession with running cost him his marriage.

Jules Ladoumege (French middle distance runner)-Orphaned at birth, very remote, very sound sensitive. Died alone with only a cat and a dog for company.

Roger Bannister (English miler-first man to break the four minute mile) Probably the most high functioning famous individual with AS. Became a physician, specializing in neurology and married for over 50 years to artist Moyra Jacobssen, of Swedish descent.

John Landy (Australian miler, second to break four minute mile)-Far more extroverted than Bannister, but was very scientific and an avid butterfly collecter in his youth.

I've been wondering about any potential 'aspieness' in musician Joe Walsh - as exemplified in songs of his such as 'Life of Illusion' and 'Ordinary Average Guy'. Besides music, his 'nerdy' interests include amateur radio (he holds an 'extra' class license in the USA).

Mike

I was just watching Anthony Bourdain's show today and his attention to detail with the sensory elements of food that people, even chefs, food reviewers and connosieurs overlook...

That makes a really strong case and if he said it himself. Yeah. I believe it.

Regarding that really long post, the one that jumped out at me was Morrissey. I can relate to Morrissey on a lot of levels, but I don't think he has aspergers. Reports of his childhood/adolescence are too "normal" (also, he's left handed? I never knew that. That's not a diagnostic marker, but I have read that there's some sort of connection). I'd think something like schizoid personality disorder is more likely or maybe he's just...

Well... since when is it not okay to just be weird?

EDIT: No. Morrissey's right handed. I just found a pic of him signing an autograph with his right hand. Sure some people are left handed except for writing but I think the person who wrote that probably got confused by "Southpaw Grammar"

oh my god. almost none of those people could possibly have aspergers.

When I was watching Kathy Griffin's "My Life on the D-List", I wondered about Steve Wozniak. Some of his stuff like his obsessions with repeating letters and numbers are things I do (alliteration shows up a lot in my writing) and he seemed to really not get when he was boring Kathy.

i heard courtney love had something ... i'd believe it

Jade Goody
The C4 Storm Chaser "Don't know his name"

What are Aspie love songs?