Re: Asperger's -- make it stop!

["Nemesio Valle, III" <nevst3@imap.pitt.edu>]

Title: Re: Asperger's -- make it stop!

At 8:36 AM -0400 5/3/01, Elmer Elevator wrote:

> Compare the stature and lasting achievements of those
> pointing the Asperger's finger at GG with Gould's own stature and
> enduring achievements. Small wonder such "experts" want to
> drag him down to their miniscule size. They already know they're
> doomed to obscurity, if not oblivion. And Gould will grow in fame and
> admiration forever.

 

This is not an argument.  In fact, your entire post is devoid of any argument that GG did not have it.  You just seem insulted that someone might argue that he had any sort of deficiency; it's almost defensive.

In the field of psychology, there are many branches.  Some study the chemistry of illnesses, some do clinical work, etc..  There is a growing branch of historical psychology that looks at past figures and analyses them based on what they know from memoirs, biographies, handwriting samples, and so on.  This study is not necessarily for the benefit of furthering knowledge of psychology, but gives people insight into the minds of great figures from the past.  In fact, amongst musicians/composers, among those who have been canonized as "great" there is a phenomenal array of mental illnesses which are manifestly obvious even from the layperson's standpoint (take Mozart or Schumann as the most obvious examples).

I was surprised and disappointed that I was the only person this past November to attend the giant joint conference held in Toronto.  I was there primarily as a member of the American Musicological Society, but the Canadian Society of Music Libraries, Archives and Documentation Centres met as well.  Mr Conway mentioned the work of Timothy Maloney; well, his work has come to fruition and he presented a paper called "Glenn Gould: Eccentric or Autistic?" on 4 November at this meeting.  It was an hour and a half presentation with all of the arguments for and against it (and it was the short version, by his account).

I went to the meeting fully prepared to argue against the label of autism - indeed by modern standards it seems pejorative - but his comprehensive/meticulous attention to detail left little argument.  In clearly defining and clarifying the crucial differences between "mainstream autism" and Asperger's, the diagnosis seems increasingly accurate.  And, by taking the basic indicators from the two main forms of diagnosis and comparing them to the historical evidence we have from the many biographies (including Ostwald's, with which he has many problems), he cites countless (and I mean that) examples of how GG fits into just about every criterion.

Before anyone criticizes the possibility that GG did in fact have a mild Asperger autism, I suggest you educate yourselves to exactly what it is.  One of the criteria is NOT "capuccino (sic) obsession" and such sarcastic comments only hampers the promotion of understanding.

At 8:36 AM -0400 5/3/01, Elmer Elevator wrote:

> This is all about conformity. In GG's posthumous case, it's
> ghoulish. GG wasn't sick. Efforts to portray him as sick are
> sick.

Having a mental condition should be no more embarrassing than having a physical one; there is no violation of "the respect for the memory of someone" to say that they had a stroke, why should it be that way with another form of illness, mental or not.  It's not like someone is making the claim that he was a child-molester.  I think that people who are "insulted" by this diagnosis have a sad perspective on what many mental illnesses are -- simply an illness, just like diabetes or muscular dystrophy.  Anyone who thinks GG had NO mental illness is delusional as is clear from his abuse of prescription drugs for physical illnesses he thought he had.  In fact, this is explained very neatly by Asperger's, but you will have to read the paper in order to find out more.

In any event, I encourage anyone who cares to broaden their understanding of GG (perhaps at the expense of "destroying" your image of "the perfect genius") to contact Mr Maloney at the National Libary of Canada and read the ENTIRE manuscript of his paper.  You will find that the evidence for a positive diagnosis is very persuasive.  And, if you are really into psychology, you may find holes in his argument that I did not see, which would be of interest to Mr Maloney, who is an opened-minded fellow.

I find it amazing that in a list of people who care what kind of arrowroot biscuits GG ate to be of absolutely pinnacle importance that helpful, specific medical information would be shunned.

Finally, it may come as some surprise to people that there are MANY people in the Western world who have not heard of GG.  Comparing his fame to that of  psychologists is absolutely preposterous.  There are people who haven't heard of Elaine Pagels, but her research has been revolutionary in the world of religious studies, and there are people who don't know the names "Christoph Wolff" or "Joshua Rifkin" even though their research has contributed to the world of musicology in more fields than I can list comfortably.  Historical figures?  Louis Pasteur?  Rosa Parks? C'mon - most people don't know a lot about a lot, so when we make comments like the following, we only reveal our own lacunae in our knowledge:

At 8:36 AM -0400 5/3/01, Elmer Elevator wrote:

> Again I would remind people of the notorious trendiness of
> psychology and psychiatry. Will Asperger's make the time cut? Will
> anyone even remember it twenty years from now, except as an
> embarrassing footnote?

I might add that there are just as many "trends" in music.  Once upon a time Meyerbeer and Telemann were the rage, but do we hear them a lot now?  Let's be more civil and objective about the research that other people do.  And, before we criticize it, let us first read, assimilate, and inwardly digest it before making passionate outcries of indignity and indecency.  Sheesh.  I am,

Respectfully yours,

Nemesio Valle, III

--
Nemesio Valle, III
University of Pittsburgh
Duquesne University

Address:        5802 Callowhill Street
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"The purpose of art is not the release of a momentary ejection of adrenaline but is, rather, the gradual, lifelong construction of a state of wonder and serenity."
              Glenn Gould

"I have never met a man so ignorant that I couldn't learn something from
him."
               Galileo Galilei

"Specialization is for insects."
        Lazarus Long

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                Bela Bartok

"Understanding is both the first principle and the source of good sound writing." 
          Horace