Einstein's autistic traits.

Post Reply New Topic

Can anyone list the probable autistic traits / symptoms that Einstein had?

The most notable traits where that he himself said that he was a visual thinker ( which is a common trait for autism ), he didn't like to be in crowds, he was obsessed with his field of study and he was extremely stubborn. If he had autism it was more likely a more mild form because he was quite sociable.

I believe Nikola Tesla displayed much more traits of autism than Einstein. His autobiography states how he thinks in visualizations, had overly sensitive sensory and was obsessed with several things like the numbers three, six and nine.

Three, six, nine, interesting thanks.

9 = 9
18 (1 + 8 = 9)
27 (2 + 7 = 9)
36 (3 + 6 = 9)
45 (4 + 5 = 9)
54 (5 + 4 = 9)
63 (6 + 3 = 9)
72 (7 + 2 = 9)
81 (8 + 1 = 9)
90 (9 + 0 = 9)

2
4
6
8
10 (1 + 0 = 1)
12 (1 + 2 = 3)
14 (1 + 4 = 5)
16 (1 + 6 = 7)

3
6
9
12 (1 + 2 = 3)
15 (1 + 5 = 6)
18 (1 + 8 = 9)
21 (2 + 1 = 3)
24 (2 + 4 = 6)
27 (2 + 7 = 9)
30 (3 + 0 = 3)
33 (3 + 3 = 6)
36 (3 + 6 = 9)
39 (3 + 9 = 12, 1 + 2 = 3)
42 (4 + 2 = 6)
45 (4 + 5 = 9)
48 (4 + 8 = 12, 1 + 2 = 3)
51 (5 + 1 = 6)
54 (5 + 4 = 9)
57 (5 + 7 = 12, 1 + 2 = 3)
60 (6 + 0 = 6)
63 (6 + 3 = 9)
66 (6 + 6 = 12, 1 + 2 = 3)
69 (6 + 9 = 15, 1 + 5 = 6)
72 (7 + 2 = 9)
And so on.

Last edited by Grommit on 16 Jan 2015, 2:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.

1+5 = 6

Here is an interesting article on this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_root

Tesla was so remarkable that the world has still not fully caught up with his astonishing capacity for thought, invention, ability to see beyond the conventional framework of things to what can be. Brilliant mind, tragic life, and every time I see Edison falsely depicted as the inventor of Tesla's inventions, I feel like screaming for 10 minutes... Unlike Einstein, Tesla was not lionized nor given credit for his astonishing breakthroughs, and I suspect he must have been deeply harmed by the ignorance, prejudice, envy from lesser minds and the thefts of his work. It just saddens me beyond words. Even now, the full range of his innovative thought and inventions is not well known nor understood outside a narrow part of the scientific community - there is a blind spot in the popular culture regarding him that persists... the lionization of Edison, (and teachers who taught falsehoods disregarding Edison's appropriations of Tesla's work), seems partly responsible for perpetuating that. It is still going on, all these years later. He was persecuted, discounted and alienated. Perhaps that is an object lesson in some way about the prejudice innovators still have to confront for thinking radically outside the conventional squares: personal attacks, scorn from lesser minds, isolation and alienation. Yet his inventions were groundbreaking and remain his intrinsically - that can be wilfully or ignorantly overlooked but even that can't diminish his astonishing contributions at the end of the day. Both men were outstanding innovators, and the world benefited from their immense gifts.

Well, it's very hard to define all the autistic traits Albert Einstein has, but I suggest you to read a biography about him...

*Interested in sceince.
*Felt lonely in this world.
*Was sometimes social awkward.
*Was a science and technology lover.
*Could concentrate very long on his discovered theories.
*He had a schizophrenic son, a sign that he had some autism/schizophrenia genes.
*One son of Einstein was a engineer.
*The other son of Albert Einstein was interested in psychology (obsessed according to Albert Einstein), but became schizophrenic, the son was to much busy with his work, instead of trying to reserve his energy for more important things (according his father, who told him once: "Life is like riding a bycicle, to have balance, you have to keep moving forward".

I think Einstein was quite sociable as you say, because he attracted people to him because of his reputation. I don't think he was a naturally sociable person. At university he didn't have a lot of friends or contacts. The best position he could obtain was working in a Swiss patents office. When he was at Princetown, students crowded to his lectures, but we was in fact a very poor teacher. He was obsessed with finding a solution to a unified field theory, which occupied the last thirty years of his life. His famous statement, God Doesn't Play Dice and his rejection of Quantum Mechanics somewhat diminishes his reputation as the greatest thinker after Plato, Da Vinci and Newton.

@SteelMaiden: I personally don't believe in retrospective diagnoses, but the main reason people seem to think Einstein was autistic was because some saw him as socially inept and obsessive, but if he was a genius (by modern-day IQ standards), then that could also be attributed to having a high IQ. He's also been reported to have had a speech delay (and echolalia) and I know some have found the way he preferred to dress as "autistic-like". You may find this article (and the references listed) interesting.

Most of these really aren't autistic traits or symptoms.

I don't really know what you mean about autism and schizophrenia genes though? Are you saying the fact that one of his sons had schizophrenia could prove that he was autistic? Because that's wrong. Very few studies have even been done about the hypothesized genetic link between autism (most of the articles I've read are really referencing fragile x syndrome when they say autism) and schizophrenia (and some have also included things like intellectual disability and even bipolar disorder as sharing the same genetic link). I've even seen a study hypothesize autism and schizophrenia are linked by exposure to inflammation. But really, the highest heritability estimate for schizophrenia is less than 50% and that's for monozygotic twins. Because of this, one of the most prominent theories about the development of disorders - especially schizophrenia - is the stress-diathesis hypothesis, which tries to explain why certain people develop certain disorders. Genes alone do not cause one to develop a disorder, so as of now, a son having schizophrenia doesn't mean much as far as trying to prove Einstein had autism, because it's comorbid with (and often indistinguishable from) so many different disorders.

Jezebel. To be fair to Steelmaiden, she is asking what autistic traits Einstein possessed. She is not saying that Einstein was autistic. This is like Jerry Seinfeld saying that he has austistic traits, while not admitting that he is autistic.

I didn't say they were saying he was autistic. I simply said I personally don't believe in retrospective diagnoses or the controversy/interest people seem to have with the topic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Fi ... iatrist%29

I think Einstein was definitely on the spectrum.

Last edited by B19 on 17 Jan 2015, 4:55 am, edited 2 times in total.

Whenever Einstein is mentioned here with respect to autism, I am often called to inform people that although I think he was clearly in the spectrum, he was as much a mystic as he was a scientist.


"I didn't arrive at my understanding of the fundermental laws of the universe through my rational mind."-
Albert Einstein.

What made Einstein a genius through my eyes, was his left and right hemispheres danced in such unison and with such refinement.

Why is it that you don't believe in the interest people have in the topic?

Albert Einstein Autistic - From Autism/lovetoknow website:

According to New Scientist and BBC News, he may have had Asperger's or high functioning autism. However, it is impossible to tell from the modern perspective but there are some traits to consider. The article Einstein and Newton Showed Signs of Autism notes some signs of autism that are apparent in Einstein's case.

Language Delays
Perhaps the most compelling autism symptoms are from Einstein's early years. He was a late talker, reportedly speaking his first words when he was between two and four years old. When he did develop language, he often repeated certain sentences with seeming obsession, similar to perseveration and echolalia among individuals with autism.

In spite of the glaring delay in speech, there seems to be no indication in current speculation about communication, which is quite different. Einstein may have used spoken words later than average children may, but he may have used other effective means of communication in its place.

Small Talk
A considerable symptom of autism an Asperger's syndrome is difficulty with social reciprocation and conversation. Albert Einstein was considered a loner and he noted that he did not require direct contact with other people. However, he was known for his great sense of humor, which is unusual in cases of autism.

Behaviors
Among the most common traits of autism is self-stimulatory behaviors (stims) and there seems to be little evidence that Einstein engaged in stereotyped repetitive movements commonly associated with the disorders. Neurotypical people engage in stims as well when they watch television, chew fingernails, or tap their pens. The basic difference is people on the autism spectrum engage in behaviors that are not in the "normal" realm.

Some reports suggest that Albert Einstein had tantrums when he was a child. Abraham Pais and Roger Penrose note that his tantrums ceased when he was about seven years old in the book, Subtle is the Lord: The Science and the Life of Albert Einstein.

Self Awareness and Sensory Issues

Self-awareness is a considerable issue on the autism spectrum. Many individuals on the spectrum have difficulty processing sensory input, which may lead to trouble with body awareness including proper posturing and distinguishing the self from others. In the book, Dear Professor Einstein, a grieving father suffering the loss of his eleven-year-old son to polio asked Einstein how he could believe that the child no longer existed after death. Einstein replied that the human experience as individuals is a delusion.

The notion that Einstein perceived the human condition in such a way is quite similar to the theory of mind, that many individuals with autism experience. Many people on the spectrum have difficulty understanding that other people have emotions and thoughts that differ from their own.

Genetic Predisposition
There appears to be genetic components to the predisposition for an individual to have autism. Parents have a 1 in 150 chance of having a baby with autism; parents of autistic children have a 1 in 75 chance of having another child on the spectrum. Albert Einstein's genetics may play a role in some of the speculation.

The article, Autism Genes Can add up to Genius discusses links to musical, artistic, and mathematical splinter skills, mentioning Einstein as an example of such creativity and genius. Some note that Einstein had relatives diagnosed with autism and dyslexia but none of them names any specific relatives.

The Einstein Syndrome
Another consideration is the Einstein Syndrome, in which very intelligent children begin speaking late. Parents are often concerned about developmental delays among this population but the children do not meet the criteria for a diagnosis of autism or related pervasive developmental disorder.

.

To be quite honest, I think it tends to be pointless because we'll never know for sure whether he was autistic or not. I suppose the interest itself isn't the problem, but rather it's people I've seen who are interested in the topic. I've seen discussions about it (and similar topics) be very controversial, because people often get passionate/heated about the topic and start arguing about whether they can prove it or not. That's when I begin to find it pointless. I suppose I can understand the interest, but I don't understand when people start believing they know as a fact that he was or wasn't autistic.

As I see it, it's just the human condition to form opinions and impressions about other people, not only in respect to ASD, and it begins in childhood. That's why biographies, which are typically rich in opinions as well as factual background, are perennially popular. It's not surprising that people on the spectrum are interested in famous people who showed autistic traits, it would be surprising (to me) if they didn't.

People who aren't on the spectrum are interested too though, so I don't think it has anything to do with that. It's similar to how people try to claim what Einstein's IQ was. I don't really get that either.