GG: OT (sorta): Article about Musician with Tourette's Syndrome

["Anne M. Marble" <amarble@sff.net>]

I saw this article in Friday's Washington Post. It's about a jazz pianist
(Michael Wolff) who was very adept with music from a very early age. When
he was in his 30s, he learned that he had Tourette's Syndrome. He realized
that might explain some of his musical skills, this way of thinking, etc.
For example, "Learning the piano wasn't hard. He has always been able to
hear music in his head playing backward and forward at the same time."
Also, Tourette's is often misunderstood -- it's more than just tics. People
with TS often think differently than others. He said that his thoughts "fly
around." (You mean that's not normal?! <g>)

His life story was the basis for the movie "The Tic Code," which points out
that maybe Tourette's isn't really a bad thing, especially for musicians.
Wolff himself isn't persuaded by all the new theories that Tourette's might
be a blessing in disguise to musicians, etc. However, finally learning
about the condition has helped him in both his life and musicianship.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38926-2001Jun7.html

Of course, you still have nature versus nurture. I'm sure there are plenty
of people born with these abilities. But not all of them have the drive,
chutzpah, etc. to make something about it. This really ties in with the
book I'm reading, which is about a clandestine attempt to cure serial
killers by changing their genetic makeup. The hero believes that nurture is
more important than nature, however. And I'll bet he'll turn out to be
right.

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Anne M. Marble
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