1 link 4 February 2013

[sasha_feather]

wellingtongoose: Bipolar Sherlock

Does Sherlock have a bipolar affective disorder? Is he a manic depressive? If so, how is he treated? How does it affect his life and his relationships?

Comments

Hmm...

[ysabetwordsmith]

I don't think so. I think he
seems like that, but
there is a crucial difference.
Those are innate mental
conditions, and as such, they
tend to do their thing
regardless of external factors.

What Sherlock has is a very low
bullshit tolerance coupled with
a very low boredom tolerance.
The cyclic effect is primarily
because he varies between brief
circumstances which are ideal
for him (on a case) interspersed
with long interludes of toxic
circumstances (not on a case).
Consider how quickly intelligent
apes become self-destructive
or despondent if locked in
non-stimulating environments.
To Sherlock, ordinary life is
the equivalent of a barren cage,
and he reacts accordingly. Let
him out into the light of a
hard case, and he thrives.

He's still a dick, but imagine
if an ordinary person could
only interact with talking dogs
and baboons. No wonder he's
impatient and frustrated and
hostile most of the time. He's
painfully aware that people
around him are constantly
screwing things up in ways he
can't prevent, that can and do
hurt him and people he cares
about. You either learn to
damp down your caring somewhat,
or you really go nuts.

Re: Hmm...

[jackandahat]

Yeah... no. Not always - there's always been that idea that super-smart = super-rude, but I think it is somewhere between a myth and an excuse.

(I mean the following with no disrespect to BBC Sherlock fans, I hope you enjoy your show and get many more seasons. It just doesn't work for me.)

One of the reasons I love Elementary above (BBC)Sherlock is that in my opinion they've toned down the degree of arsehole. He's still rude, abrasive, and a pain in the arse, but he seems to expend less intellect making people feel bad about themselves.

BBC!Sherlock doesn't seem to care about people except as puzzles. If Elementary!Sherlock doesn't, he fakes it well (see: Scene with Katya, the kidnapped prostitute, or him sitting with Watson while she waits for ex to check into rehab.)

I have a fairly low tolerance for "I'm brilliant therefore I have a pass to be a rude little shit". I went to school with those kids and honestly... most of them didn't have as much to contribute as they thought. The ones who could rein it in for five minutes went a lot further. Sure, you'll get the odd person who is genuinely so hyperfocused on what they're doing that they "don't have time" for people but my belief is the rude ones would still be fucking rude even if they were unintelligent.

(OT: I have to ask - why are your comments always bunched to the side? Is there some specific way you post them?)

Re: Hmm...

[iosonochesono]

ITA with this. Most people I know who are a 'Sherlock-level' of smart actually tend to be pretty compassionate. The few times they do come off as assholes it's because they are just sort of socially awkward.

Like one of my uncles, lol. He kept trying to teach me geometric anomalies when I was a little kid or other far-reaching math concepts and I could barely grasp math aimed at my grade. I love him, but I can't say it surprises me that he has a hard time making lasting relationships. He's a very compassionate person, just... It's hard for him to come back down to Earth because mentally he's over on Pluto.*

Though I would think there have been some scenes that show Sherlock on BBC as possibly caring about people. The scene that comes to mind is when he is tearing apart one girl's Christmas gift and completely dishing out on her... Just to realize the gift is for him. He's the one being secretly admired. He looked to me in that episode as though he thought he were a complete jerk; it's one of the reasons I don't think he's a complete, unadulterated sociopath.

*Yes I know Pluto's not a planet.

Also I should probably note that most people I know with that level of smart have easier times self-entertaining and spend less time being bored, but that probably is more variable pending on what the person finds interesting. Like sure, my uncle finds everything entertaining because he sees algorithms everywhere.

Re: Hmm...

[jackandahat]

Yeah - my experience of people that smart is that if they're forced to do work that's too easy (for example, as often happens in schools.) then they will be bored at best and cause trouble at worst. Given nothing to do, and without the constraint of "sit down and do this and only this" they'll find something to do.

Of course, that occasionally means you leave them alone for an hour and come back to find they've devised an exercise program for the cat and are in the process of constructing an obstacle course, but still.

Re: Hmm...

[iosonochesono]

Oh my God that's hilarious.

But yeah, that's mostly what my experience is. This idea that smart people are assholes because they don't even see other people as people I think mostly just gives people who think they're smart an excuse to act like buttheads.