I read an article recently which described somewhat of a paradigm shift in the understanding of autistic people with exceptional abilities. The two defining characteristics of autism are the social dysfunction and repetitive behaviors. Until recently, the focus was on the former in trying to understand of these exceptional abilities (e.g., that what autistic people lack neurologically for social skills they make up for in another department). Now the trend is to view the repetitive behaviors as the key, as its becoming understood just how obsessive and circumscribed their thinking is, always in someway related to that unique skill. Of course this is a special case, but its clear that the lesson should apply to normal people as well, and I simply can't see someone who shuffles all day between email, Twitter and Facebook spontaneously discovering a new six-digit prime number any time soon.

Speaking of Norbert Weiner, its been said that he had to bring with him a card with his home address written down went to work, lest he not make it back. Probably an apocryphal story, but its true that that mastery can cut both ways.

I'd be curious about your thoughts on Kindle. For my part, I know its inevitable, and I don't think it really fundamentally changes reading, but I'll hold out until I could get a copy of of, say, C.P.E. Bach's Essay on the True art of Playing Keyboard Instruments. Plus I find being surrounded by books comforting and I don't know wilco tango foxtrot I would replace them with.

Sebastian