| A famous psychiatric, Michael Fitzgerald from | | | | they are yet or how many there are, but we are |
| Trinity College, Dublin has claimed that many | | | | talking about multiple genes of small effect. Every |
| geniuses in the fields of science, politics and the | | | | case is unique because people have varying |
| arts have achieved success because they had | | | | numbers of the genes involved." |
| Asperger's syndrome(AS), a mild form of Autism. | | | | "Asperger's sufferers can be so successful mainly |
| Michael Fitzgerald said that lots of geniuses | | | | because they are more focused and persistent, |
| showed autistic traits, such as Isaac Newton, | | | | they do not get distracted and they are not |
| Albert Einstein, George Orwell and H G Wells. | | | | interested in outside society." he added. |
| According to the diagnosis after death, these | | | | Michael Fitzgerald compared the charateristics of |
| people had Asperger's syndrome: Ludwig van | | | | 1600 autism patients to some geniuses and found |
| Beethoven, Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus, Andersen | | | | they have many traits in common. His book |
| Hans Christian and Kant Immanuel. | | | | "Genius Genes: How Asperger Talents Changed |
| At a meeting of the Royal College of | | | | the World" was pubilshed at the end of last year. |
| Psychiatrists' Academic Psychiatry, Fitzgerald | | | | But there are also different opinions. Amanda |
| argued that the gene linked to Asperger's | | | | Batten, of the national autistic society, said it is |
| syndrome were the same as those associated | | | | important to avoid stereotypes of people with |
| with creativity and genius. "Psychiatric disorders | | | | autism as geniuses. Anyway, it is estimated that |
| can also have positive dimensions. I'm arguing the | | | | for every 10,000 people, there are 60 to 120 |
| genes for autism/Asperger's, and creativity are | | | | people with autism, and the percentage of genius |
| essentially the same. We don't know which genes | | | | is definitly less than that. |