More Incredible Aspies

I have already produced a list of people who were very likely to have been Aspies, and so far it seems to be the most popular post. I guess that it is because it is very inspiring to hear about people who have the same ‘problems’ who have managed to excel in their life. Granted, not all of them lived happy lives, but I believe that that is because they lived in a time before Aspergers was as widely known or understood as it is now. There is more that can be done to increase awareness, but I feel very lucky to live in the current era. Whilst reading through Succeeding in College with Asperger Syndrome, by John Harpur et al. I came across some more interesting individuals who have been identified as probable Aspies. On a side note, the above book is an excellent one and though it came a little too late for me, it did provide a lot of useful information and advice that helped me to get through university. I would recommend taking a look at a copy. Digression aside, here are some of the better cases that they present.

Again, the focus is very much on science and maths, which is no surprise as it is an area in which Aspies generally excel. I hasten to add that this is not the case for all Aspies. I was always terrible at maths and physics and I’m pretty sure that I suffer from dyscalculia (like dyslexia, only involves learning problems with numbers) which I inherited from my mum. Thanks a bunch mum. I was good at biology, but due to an almost complete lack of interest on my part, virtually useless at chemistry (probably because of the almost mathematical nature of the periodic table). Well these individuals suffered no such flaws. Ever heard of a man named Charles Darwin? Something to do with monkeys right? Or was he the one who fought the pope on top of the Notre Dame whilst simultaneously playing a Ukulele? Joking aside, the man was responsible for kick starting the theory of evolution as opposed to creationism. Regardless of your own personal stance on the matter, I am certain that you’d agree that that involved a huge amount of obsessive note taking, observation and perseverance. Harpur et al. have suggested that this is due to his work being an SI. If you’ve ever looked at genetics, you’ll have probably come across Gregor Mendel. He was the Austrian monk who bred pea plants in order to prove the existence of and study genetics. He was also apparently an Aspie. Another Aspie scientist who surprised me was Nikola Tesla, who was instrumental in discovering innovative applications of electricity (ever heard of the Tesla Coil?).

Another area where Aspies seem to excel is in music. I play the guitar, but that’s about it for me. Mozart, Bela Bartok and Erik Satie are all thought to have been Aspies. Harpur et al. give their rejection of contemporary thinking and the immense amount of innovation in their works as the main, though not only, reason why they are considered to have been Aspies.

There are so many more incredible Aspies out there, and I hope to find even more examples of Aspies who excel. I was genuinely surprised by a few of the names both in this list and the one before. Whenever I start to feel limited by my ‘curses’, I always think of them and what they achieved. I know that I’ll never reach their respective levels of genius, but it’s nice to think that I have the potential.