Vladimir Nabokov

NABOKV-L post 0005207, Sat, 24 Jun 2000 15:37:48 -0700

Subject
Re: Nabokov and Autism (fwd)
Date
Body
From: barabtarlog@missouri.edu

It may take even less to make one say "We" or "1984": it is easy to imagine
times when parents will be "encouraged" to administer medication to curb
the early signs of "precosity", to prevent developing signs of
"asocialness," passivity, and non-mixing, much as they now treat
"hyperactivity" or "lack of attention".

>From: mary krimmel <mkrimmel@sciti.com>
>
>It takes only the first paragraph of Kurt Johnson's report on the
>"Asperger's syndrome" article to make me say "Luzhin".
>
>Mary Krimmel
>
>
>>From: "Johnson, Kurt" <JohnsonK@Coudert.com>
>>
>>Re: Nabokov and Autism--
>>"The Little Professor Syndrome"
>>
>>New York Times Magazine, June 18, 2000, p. 54
>>by Lawrence Osborne
>>
>>This article is about "Asperger's syndrome" a recently diagnosed form of
>>autism, according to the article. I suppose the controversial matter is the
>>mention of Nabokov in this regard (I'll get to that). It appears that
>>Asperger's syndrome is a form of autism indicated by extreme precosity in
>>youth, combined with various physical symptoms (extreme sensitivity to noise
>>etc.), general lack of social skills, restricted and unusual patterns of
>>behavior and interests, often connected to striking precosity in languages,
>>which blossoms in adulthood to remarkable, if not sometimes strange,
>>talents, interests and interest/obsessions, manifestations of genius in
>>restricted areas etc.
>...
>...