I think part of why the discussion crops up about the character now is because of the BBC Sherlock -- the actor, Benedict Cumberbatch, referred to playing the character as "kind of autistic" (I may have the exact quote wrong, but it was along those lines). Except I think that he, like, well...lots of people, was thinking of autism in a colloquial way that means "detail-oriented socially awkward person" and not actually as a real thing with real, identifiable characteristics that say what variety of detail-oriented socially awkward person. Because there are lots!
(BBC Sherlock canonically claims to be a sociopath, though my personal read on that is that he internet/armchair diagnosed himself as a teenager and really latched onto it as an identity.)
So much of what Sherlock Holmes does and is relies on his deep reads of emotions and motivations, on being able to centrally process that information, derive and execute complex plans, and so on that...I have no idea who he'd be if he was on the autism spectrum, I guess. Just as I have friends who I have no idea who they'd be if they weren't on the autism spectrum. Bipolar I'd certainly buy, for Doyle's original Holmes and for Jeremy Brett's, as well. Not sure about the BBC one, yet, but there hasn't been enough of him to really know at this point.
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Date: 2010-09-24 11:32 pm (UTC)(BBC Sherlock canonically claims to be a sociopath, though my personal read on that is that he internet/armchair diagnosed himself as a teenager and really latched onto it as an identity.)
So much of what Sherlock Holmes does and is relies on his deep reads of emotions and motivations, on being able to centrally process that information, derive and execute complex plans, and so on that...I have no idea who he'd be if he was on the autism spectrum, I guess. Just as I have friends who I have no idea who they'd be if they weren't on the autism spectrum. Bipolar I'd certainly buy, for Doyle's original Holmes and for Jeremy Brett's, as well. Not sure about the BBC one, yet, but there hasn't been enough of him to really know at this point.