Autism and Math Talent
Autism and Math Talent
Autism and Math Talent
Mathematical Talent
IOAN JAMES
A
thought is something that is seen time and time again in the
not an illness, but autism can coexist with mental Asperger genius.
illnesses such as schizophrenia and manic-depres- Asperger syndrome is not the only form of autism with
sion. It shows itself in early childhood and is present this connection. The Irish psychiatrist Michael Fitzgerald, for
throughout life; sometimes it becomes milder in old age. example, tells me that virtually all the people he diagnoses as
Nowadays it is recognised as a wide spectrum of disorders, autistic have an interest in mathematics. Their greatest wish,
with classical autism, where the individual is wrapped he says, is to bring the world under the control of pure
up in his or her own private world, at one extreme. It is reason, to create order and meaning out of the chaos
estimated that in the United Kingdom slightly under one that they experience around them, particularly in the
percent of the population, about half a million people, puzzling social domain. Such people are naturally attracted
have a disorder on the autism spectrum The corresponding to science, especially to the mathematical sciences, since
figure for other countries is not available, although it is mathematicians tend to create order where previously chaos
unlikely to be very different. Autism is present in all seemed to reign. He attributes this attraction to a feeling of
cultures and, as far as we know, has existed for untold security that they find in the rational world of mathematics,
generations. which compensates for their inability to make sense of the
Hans Asperger, a Viennese psychiatrist, found that some mysterious social world.
of his patients had a mild form of autism, with distinctive Much has been written about this, and the general public
symptoms that later became known as Asperger’s syn- are now more aware of the presence of mildly autistic
drome. He was not the first to describe the syndrome but people in everyday life. Since I first wrote about autism in
he may have been the first to recognise a connection with mathematicians in the Intelligencer [20] some years ago,
mathematical talent. As he observed (see Frith [13]): ‘‘to our more has been learnt about the disorder and more has been
own amazement, we have seen that autistic individuals, as published. In this follow-up article I begin by describing
long as they are intellectually intact, can almost always research that places the link between autism and mathe-
achieve professional success, usually in highly specialized matical talent on a firmer footing. Then I describe some
academic professions, often in very high positions, with a of the more recent case studies of Asperger geniuses in
preference for abstract content. We found a large number mathematics and associated subjects.
of people whose mathematical ability determines their Simon Baron-Cohen, director of the Autism Research
professions.’’ Later he wrote, ‘‘It seems that for success in Centre in Cambridge, has tried to put the connection on a
science or art a dash of autism is essential. For success the more quantitative basis. For this purpose he devised a self-
necessary ingredient may be an ability to turn away from administered questionnaire for measuring the degree to
the everyday world, from the simple practical, an ability to which an adult with normal intelligence has the traits
rethink a subject with originality so as to create in new associated with the autistic spectrum. From the answers to
untrodden ways, with all abilities canalised into the one the questions a number is obtained, which he calls the
speciality.’’ He went on to describe autistic intelligence—a autistic-spectrum quotient, providing an estimate of where
kind of intelligence untouched by tradition and culture— a given individual is situated on the continuum from nor-
unconventional, unorthodox, strangely pure and original. mality to autism. (Anyone who wishes to take the AQ test
The ability to immerse oneself wholeheartedly in work or will easily find it by googling Simon Baron-Cohen.) When
Savilian Professor of Geometry at Oxford, or not. It is much less common among females than among
Ioan James reinvented himself as a writer males; it is difficult to find an example of an outstanding
on nontechnical subjects. His latest book, woman mathematician who was a clear case. It is not
‘‘Driven to Innovate,’’ describes the lives of uncommon for individuals to have only a few features of
leading Jewish mathematicians and physicists the syndrome, not the full profile. Examples of well-known
born in the nineteenth century. He has also mathematicians who showed more than a trace of Asperger
written a series of books about the lives of behaviour, without necessarily meeting all the diagnostic
famous mathematicians, physicists, biolo- criteria, are Paul Erdös, Ronald Fisher, G. H. Hardy, Alan
Turing, André Weil, and Norbert Wiener. A detailed anal-
gists, and (not yet published) engineers.
ysis for Srinavasa Ramanujan has been provided by
His interest in autistic creativity has led him
Fitzgerald [10], for William Rowan Hamilton by Walker and
to write ‘‘Asperger’s Syndrome and High
Fitzgerald [27]. Some other cases are discussed by Fitzger-
Achievement’’ and ‘‘The Mind of the Math-
ald and James [12]), whereas Baron-Cohen [1] describes one
ematician’’ (co-authored with psychiatrist (who was, in fact, a Fields Medalist).
Michael Fitzgerald). Among other distinc- Sheehan and Thurber [26] have suggested that John
tions Ioan James is a fellow of the Royal Couch Adams had the disorder and that this lay behind
Society and an honorary fellow of two both his success in identifying the unknown planet Nep-
Oxford colleges. tune as the cause of anomalies in the orbit of Uranus and
also his failure to persuade the Astronomer Royal to search
Mathematical Institute for it in the orbit he had calculated. Most of those who
University of Oxford encountered the mathematical physicist Paul Dirac have a
Oxford OX1 3LB story to tell about his eccentricity. His recent biography by
England Farmelo [8] describes his aloofness, defensiveness, deter-
e-mail: imj@maths.ox.ac.uk mination, lack of social sensitivity, literal-mindedness,