But for every other person who wishes to understand the dice-toss of genius vs. madness, this is just the book to get started.


Don't forget Autism   February 10, 2004
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

Although this is a fine book, many others have recently pointed out that autism spectrum conditions may also have contributed to the emergence of the modern human mind. It too is found in all racial groups to an equal degree. I was disappointed that autism's contribution to the emergence of the human mind was dismissed in less then one page, saying that autistic people have too narrow a focus to their obsessional interests to be of any use. As a person with an autism spectrum condition, Asperger Syndrome and a PhD student, I find this disappointing. I am not saying that the central thesis of the book is incorrect, but the additional contribution of autistic people was ignored. I believe it is likely that both conditions worked to create the human mind. I imagine autism brought mathematics, physics and engineering, affinity for physical systems and predictable logic whereas Schizophrenia brought us art, religion, randomness, lose association and novel creativity. You can see that both conditions could intertwine and contribute. The association with autism and schizophrenia appears genetic. Einstein, now considered to have had Asperger Syndrome, had a son who was Schizophrenic. Also note that autism was not distinguished from as schizophrenia until the 1970's and it's milder form, Asperger Syndrome, was not accepted as a valid diagnosis until the 1990's. To balance this book I would recommend Prof. Fitzgerald's book, Autism and Creativity: Is there a link between Autism in Men and exceptional ability.


The basic premise is flawed   September 25, 2003
 7 out of 56 found this review helpful

This book, like many others published today, presumes that mental illness is 'genetic', just because child abuse runs in families. Child abuse is the (obvious) cause of all mental illness, but is conveniently ignored by modern 'scientists' who will do anything to avoid facing the painful feelings in their subjects. People are not 'schizophrenic', they are reacting to the abuse they suffered as children. The modern invention called 'evolutionary psychology' is another attempt to completely ignore the ever present suffering of children in modern society, in all countries.
The natural (genetic) human state of the brain is happiness, free from fear, anxiety and anger. When a child has been brought up by parents who truly love him/her, with no violence, that child will grow into a calm, intelligent, non-'mentally ill' person. Unfortunately, almost 100% of the population of the planet are betrayed by their own parents, who routinely use violence against them.

The fact that 'schizophrenia' runs in families is used to 'prove' that it's caused by 'genes' - this is utter codswallop. Violent men and women pass their violence onto their children, just as their genes. The fact that you can trace genes in violent people back for twenty generations merely means that their great great (etc.) grandparents were abusive towards their children. The genes are merely markers for family history.

The current (braindead) acceptance of 'my genes made me do it' is very dangerous indeed - whole groups of people will be refused jobs, insurance, and other vital parts of life, because of completely irrelevant 'genes' 'for' whatever illnesses their parents happened to get.

The author also mentions the 'association' between dyslexia and schizophrenia: anybody with an ounce of sense could see that abusive parents are unlikely to spend much time teaching their children how to read, because they themselves weren't taught to read properly either. ('Dyslexia' is caused by bad teaching methods, as simple as that, as Dianne McGuinness has proved in her book "Why children can't read".)

Basically, read it with a pinch of salt, and always consider the alternative viewpoint (which you never hear any more) that child abuse actually affects people...