Hi ajbrenner; Re manic depressives and engineering... All of the best engineers I've known are a little manic. This isn't a bad thing, it basically makes them capable of doing more, being more imaginative, and probably enjoying life more. I've known engineers that were still effective in their 80s, and still manic, but a lot of them burn out early.
The problem happens when they switch from mania to depression. Engineers are too macho to go to professionals for help, especially the ones from the last generation, so their attempt to balance themselves out with chemicals pretty much always ends up in free fall. Some of them are then no longer fit for work, and have to move on to something else.
There is a famous case of an Electrical Engineer, a guy who invented some important stuff, who drank himself to death in the Carribbean as soon as he had enough money to retire. For some reason, his name comes up in conversation among (electrical) engineers. Paul was never his intellectual equal, but he is still clearly in sad decline. I would have to guess it's drink that is responsible for the obvious symptoms, but the underlying problem is probably manic depression, not alcohol addiction.
It's pretty sad, the guy has a PhD from MIT, and was once an important mover and shaker in technology. Now he's just a pointless potty mouth on the internet, sort of the intellectual equivalent of a bag lady.
If I had the reputation I certainly wouldn't sully it by using the kind of insults and slurs he comes up with. But who knows, maybe I, too, will regress to childhood as I approach senility. In any case, I am definitely going to stay away from the heavy drinking, and I will continue to strive to make myself a nicer person as I get older, as I believe that is the only way to improve one's own happiness...
-- Carl |
