John Couch Adams's Asperger syndrome and the British non-discovery of Neptune

We discuss the mathematical acumen of John Couch Adams together with cognitive and behavioural characteristics that suggest Asperger syndrome. We also review the historical events involved in the investigation of the unknown planet thought to be affecting the orbital motion of Uranus. Adams produced...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Notes and records of the Royal Society of London 2007-09, Vol.61 (3), p.285-299
Main Authors: Sheehan, William, Thurber, Steven
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adams
Asperger Syndrome
Astronomy
Autistic disorder
Mathematics
Neptune
Neptune Discovery
Observational astronomy
Pervasive child development disorders
Planet detection
Research Article
Uranus
Writing
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Summary:We discuss the mathematical acumen of John Couch Adams together with cognitive and behavioural characteristics that suggest Asperger syndrome. We also review the historical events involved in the investigation of the unknown planet thought to be affecting the orbital motion of Uranus. Adams produced a vital computation necessary for the discovery of Neptune that was insufficient unless integrated with specialized knowledge of other members of a British 'team' and then presented formally to the scientific community. Reasoning from the premise that complex scientific discoveries often involve cooperative social dynamics, we conclude that Adams was precluded from sharing his contribution in a collaborative manner, in part, because of empathic and social communication deficiencies related to his disorder. However, it was a 'team' failure, not Adams's alone.
ISSN:0035-9149
1743-0178
DOI:10.1098/rsnr.2007.0187