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| Arthur Conan Doyle |
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (1859-1930) was a Scottish writer best known for his detective fiction featuring the character Sherlock Holmes. Originally a physician, in 1887 he published A Study in Scarlet, the first of four novels about Holmes and Dr. Watson. In addition, Doyle wrote over fifty short stories featuring the famous detective.
Mrs. Hudson, you're underfoot!
Sherlock Holmes's long-suffering landlady and housekeeper often saw, at close range, how impatient, insensitive, inconsiderate, and indifferent he could be with people.
More information: Sherlockian
His obsessive interest in the craft of crime-solving crowded out almost everything else from his life, including the possibility of warm and reciprocal relationships. His colleague Dr. John Watson was the only person privileged to share his personal space, with the possible exception of his brother Mycroft. And the relationship with Watson was bounded to that of wizard and apprentice.
These three core characteristics have led many to speculate that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, his creator, had, more or less unconsciously, diagnosed him with what's now known as Asperger's Syndrome.
Holmes was a fictional character, created for the amusement of Londoners in the late Victorian and early Edwardian periods. How can a fictional person be diagnosed with a developmental disorder?
So, how did Conan Doyle manage to craft this character over 100 years ago, considering that the Austrian psychiatrist Dr. Hans Asperger didn't show up to propose the syndrome until 1944?
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| Sherlock Holmes |
Well, for starters, Conan Doyle had several of the elements of the character in his own experience, and possibly in his own head.
He was a brilliant intellectual, educated at the University of Edinburgh, in Scotland. He became a physician, which placed him in frequent contact with the whole spectrum of normal and abnormal people.
He was a brilliant intellectual, educated at the University of Edinburgh, in Scotland. He became a physician, which placed him in frequent contact with the whole spectrum of normal and abnormal people.
Conan Doyle was also a super-achiever, a polymath, proficient in many sports, keen to travel the world, and willing to relocate in the service of his developing career. Holmes was often characterized as wiry, unusually strong, and agile when dire circumstances demanded it.
As a writer as well as a trained scientist, I often ask Is fiction really fiction? Is our knowledge of human beings limited to the truths we discover in research laboratories, or would we be better advised to think of all of life as the laboratory?
More information: Flavorwire
To measure the success of our societies, we should examine how well those with different abilities, including persons with autism,
are integrated as full and valued members.
Ban Ki-moon
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