Holmes: Anti-Social or Asperger's?

Sherlock Holmes – Anti-social or Asperger’s?

         Sherlock Holmes is one of the most famous fictional characters to ever grace the pages of a detective novel. Some would even say he is the most famous of them all. Usually portrayed in popular culture as smoking a pipe and wearing a deerstalker hat and a cape, Sherlock Holmes is recognized by many. But who is Sherlock Holmes? Is he really just an introverted genius? Or is there something else going on?
         If one were to read the Sherlock Holmes books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, one could reasonably argue that Sherlock Holmes is merely an introverted genius. But, one could more accurately argue that Sherlock Holmes is not only an introverted genius, but rather a young man with Asperger’s syndrome.
         Asperger’s syndrome is a mental retardation, more generally referred to as Pervasive Developmental Disorder. It is a milder form of Autism, in which the individual has limited social skills, and a propensity for saying things not entirely appropriate for the situation. Other signs of Asperger’s include a fixation with a single topic or idea, an ability to remember seemingly inane facts, and no delay in cognitive or linguistic development. Also, in some cases, there is a lack of awareness of certain sensory perceptions.
         Sherlock Holmes shows signs of this disorder in many of the books. For example, in one of the Sherlock Holmes books, The Hounds of the Baskervilles, Sherlock is sitting in a smoke-filled room, completely unaware of the heaviness of the smoke. Only when Watson comes in and starts to cough, is Sherlock brought to awareness regarding the smoke. And even then, it takes a good deal of prompting by Watson before Sherlock notices the amount of smoke in the room.
         Another point in which Sherlock Holmes shows apparent signs of Asperger’s Syndrome, is when in The Hounds of the Baskervilles, Holmes speaks of his “special hobby” of studying the different type-sets of the newspapers. This is a symptom of Asperger’s Syndrome. More specifically, it relates to the habits of those with Asperger’s Syndrome to produce a fixation with a single topic or idea, usually something very impractical and minute. In most situations, to know the difference between the typeset for the Times and the typeset for the Chronicle is not a very practical topic to know.
         Sherlock Holmes is without a doubt, a very intelligent man. But when one bothers to read deeper between the lines of these great detective books, one finds that in actuality, Sherlock Holmes is more than just an average genius, he is an extraordinary example of a man not only living with Asperger’s Syndrome, but using it to his advantage. The Sherlock Holmes books are books that need to be read more often by today’s society, who knows, maybe society may learn something from it.