From: Lee Daniel Crocker (lcrocker@mercury.colossus.net)
Date: Wed Apr 22 1998 - 00:45:44 MDT
> >Do you think that Van Gough was a 'rationally creative' mind?
>
> I think Van Gough was a creative painter. He was also mentally ill.
Actually, there is some evidence that he suffered from Meniere's
Disease--an inner ear disease that causes sudden "drop attacks" of
severe vertigo complete with vomiting and sweats (which at the time
were thought to be epileptic seizures), along with some hearing
loss, tinnitus (Van Gogh described "screaming"--it's not clear
whether he heard voices or just ringing) and balance problems.
There are certainly times I might have cut my ear off if I could
have stopped the constant noise.
The disease most of the time goes away (mine has been in
remission for a while now), but in those few cases where it
progresses, it can become very disabling, and lead even a normal
healthy mind to have problems coping.
If he had had access to the tests and drugs I've had, he might
have been a perfectly ordinary fellow like me--only a more
talented artist.
-- Lee Daniel Crocker <lee@piclab.com> <http://www.piclab.com/lcrocker.html> "All inventions or works of authorship original to me, herein and past, are placed irrevocably in the public domain, and may be used or modified for any purpose, without permission, attribution, or notification."--LDC
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