UNIT 7

16. ARE ECCENTRICS

GENIUSES OR SIMPLY MAD?

Dr David Weeks is a Clinical Psychologist at the Royal Edinburgh Hospital in Scotland. He has
done several major studies into eccentricity and thinks that around one in 10 000 people are
eccentric. They share some common traits:
"One link is that they are very happy people and their curiosity is the major facet of that
happiness. They get very preoccupied with subjects and topics they are interested in. Their curiosity
knows no limits and this is important because, as far as we know, curiosity is the only intellectual
motivation."
Dr Weeks noted that many eccentrics can become obsessed by topics that they are interested in.
Kevin Butt is very interested in earthworms:
"At one time, I had a worm named Peter, who was a very good friend of mine. I had him for
some four or five years and it was a great shame when Peter died. My whole time is spent working
with earthworms. As soon as you mention earthworms, or worms as most people call them, people
think you are mad."
Dr Weeks claims that "eccentric" people have produced some of history's major ideas:
"From time to time, they may seem to be absurd or even silly, but they have some very
important ideas - from discovering a major antibiotic to getting the idea that shower curtains are
better if weighted."
Asked if there was a link between eccentricity and genius, Dr Weeks said:
"A high proportion of geniuses behave in an unusual way and so appear eccentric to others.
Geniuses and eccentrics are linked in other ways. They share a high IQ, for instance, and have very
creative ideas."
There are other types of eccentric apart from geniuses. Actors and singers, especially pop stars,
are often shown as being larger than life. For example, Boy George is well-known for wearing a
skirt and make-up:
For a long time before the band ever took off or before I entered music, I was dressing up and
walking around the streets of London. I once went as Boudicca to the Changing of the Guards. We
left our squat and went down to Buckingham Palace and then spent about two hours being
photographed by Japanese people."
Singer Richard James of Aphex Twin drives a tank around the streets of London, rather than a
car:

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 "I do things on impulse, like buying armoured cars and things like that. Instead of a big gun,
my tank's got a machine gun and instead of caterpillar tracks, it's got big wheels. It's fully taxed and
insured for the roads now. It's difficult to say whether you are unusual or not. To actually do what I
want to do, you have to have unusual hours and do unusual things like sleeping very little every
day, which is unusual for most people. I am really happy when I cut sleep down to half an hour
every night."
Is there a bad side to being eccentric? Dr Weeks' studies suggest that eccentrics can have
romantic problems. Many of their attempted relationships do tend to break down. He says that, over
a lifetime, they have more relationships than the average person. But they are always very friendly
with their previous partners.
And are great eccentrics a dying breed? Dr Weeks believes that eccentricity may increase as
people throughout the world have more leisure time. He says that in societies where there is more
money and free time and where people have more power to do what they want, the number of
eccentrics increases.
(BBC English Magazine, May 1994)

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