Einstein Syndrome: Characteristics, Diagnosis, and Treatment
What is Einstein Syndrome?
Einstein’s sister was born without any eyes or ears. She could not see colors or hear sounds. Her brain was so small that she had no cerebral cortex (the area responsible for thinking). The only thing she did have were her feelings. These feelings were very strong and they caused her to act in ways that were often irrational. For example, she would scream when something hurt her. She screamed because it hurt.
But what if someone else was hurting her? What if she didn’t want to get hurt?
Her parents tried everything to make her feel better but nothing worked. Eventually they gave up trying and just let their daughter cry herself to sleep every night. They tried different medications, homeopathic remedies, hypnosis, massage therapy, acupuncture…everything! Nothing helped except giving up hope and letting their daughter suffer alone.
When Einstein died, his family decided to do something about their daughter. They asked him for advice.
His response was simple: “If you really love me, then don’t worry.”
That is the story of how Einstein’s sister lived her life. When she grew older she became a writer and published several books on various subjects including her experiences with Einstein.
She eventually wrote a book called My Brother Albert which was published in 1981.
In her book, she describes what life was like growing up with a genius like Einstein. He would keep his brain in a jar on his desk in his bedroom.
He was too attached to it to put it back into his head. His sister doesn’t remember when he started doing this but thinks it was around the time his first wife died of a mysterious illness.
One day, she walks into his room and sees him crying over a broken jar. She asks him what’s wrong and he replies, “I had a son.” He goes on to say that he has been trying to clone himself so he wouldn’t have to die but the clones kept come out defective.
The last jar he was working on shattered and killed the clone inside. He became so upset that he threw the jar against the wall which caused it to break.
Einstein’s sister realizes that this must be what happens when a person dies. No longer is she a baby, she is a mature woman.
She decides that it is time for her to move out and get a job.
But where will she work?
Later that week she finds a job as a doctor and moves into an apartment. Her first patient is a boy who fell off his skateboard and broke his arm. He screams when she touches his arm but she assures him that he will feel much better once it is fixed and puts his arm in a sling.
Time goes on and she continues to work as a doctor. She works hard and is the most dedicated doctor at the hospital.
At the age of 65, she has outlived her boss by 10 years and is now in charge of the hospital. She decides to continue working since she enjoys it and also wants to keep herself busy. She still thinks about her brother but they never see each other since he died when she was a baby. She still has a family of her own but never talks about Einstein. She doesn’t want people to think she is crazy.
In the year 2004 she finally retires from her job and decides to write her autobiography. The book she is writing right now.
When it is finally finished she dies peacefully in her sleep.
The book dissapears soon after she dies. Perhaps the nursing home misplaced it or destroyed it by accident.
If anyone did read it, they probably thought it was just the delusions of an old woman with Alzheimer’s disease.
This is her story.
Sources & references used in this article:
… : Diagnostic Dilemmas in Developmental Disabilities: Fuzzy Margins at the Edges of Normality. An Essay Prompted by Thomas Sowell’s New Book: The Einstein … by I Rapin – Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2002 – Springer
Savant syndrome: Realities, myths and misconceptions by DA Treffert – Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2014 – Springer
Catatonia: a clinician’s guide to diagnosis and treatment by M Fink, MA Taylor – 2006 – books.google.com
The Einstein Syndrome by T Sowell – 2001 – academia.edu
