GG -- Another Possible Syndrome or Two (not Asparagus)

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

I've heard some people theorize that Glenn Gould may have
had Tourette syndrome. Though I'm dubious about it, it's not as "out there" as it seems. Tourette syndrome is often
misunderstood. When TV shows cover TS, they almost always
show people with the most severe symptoms. Most people with
TS have minor symptoms such as tics or throat clearing.
They may also have symptoms such as obsessive thoughts and
compulsive and ritualistic behaviors. They also tend to be
good with music. (Understandably, many TS patients don't
take medications because it interferes with their musical
or other abilities.)

OTOH it's also possible that TS has become another "disease
du jour." :( For example, in the 1990s, someone theorized
that Mozart had TS. That theory is now considered with a
big grain of salt. It's sad when this happens to a condition
because it often spreads misconceptions about the syndrome
and takes attention away from people who really had it.
(Does anyone remember the theory that people with porphyria
were mistaken for vampires in Medieval times? That theory
has been disproven, but people with porphyria still have to
put up with people who say "Oh, you have that vampire
thing!")

And if anyone replies to this message by saying "How dare
you say Glenn Gould had porphyria, I will spank them with a
damp slouch cap. ;->

And Now For Something Completely Different
Bob Merkin and others have mentioned synesthesia (aka
synaesthesia) in connection with GG. This is a condition in
which people experience their senses in a different way
than others. For example, they may "see" a sound or "feel"
a sound. This reflects the way GG often talked about
musical keys. One of the writers in an on-line writing
community I belong to (www.hollylisle.com) has synaesthesia
and discussed its impact on his writing. The first thing he
mentioned is that for a long time, he never realized other people didn't experience the world the same way as he did.
(That could apply to a lot of creative people. <g>) There's
some neat stuff about Glenn Gould and synesthesia here:
http://www.gould.nlc-bnc.ca/phase3/epayzant.htm

Or of course, it's most likely that Glenn Gould was simply Glenn Gould. (Though the synaesthesia theory does make a lot
of sense, particularly considering the early musical training!) It doesn't matter in the long run anyway, as
long as he made recordings and wrote essays and inspired
people and so forth.