Althouse: "Pentagon thinktank claims Putin has Asperger's

February 5, 2015

"Pentagon thinktank claims Putin has Asperger's – has Putinology gone too far?"

"[T]he studies, which focused on videos of the Russian president... are primarily the brainchild of one person, Brenda Connors of the US Naval War College (USNWC) in Newport, Rhode Island. Connors, a 'movement patterns analysis' expert, is a former State Department official and professional dancer who has been described, by a psychologist from the University of Chicago, as a 'dancer and diplomat.'"

30 comments:

traditionalguy said...: She asks questions only women can see. Putin is a smart man, which makes him Asbergers from a woman's point of view. He is almost as bad as Lawrence Summers.; 2/5/15, 9:28 PM
mccullough said...: What do the phrenologists have to say?; 2/5/15, 9:39 PM
Scott said...: Brenda Connors wants to claim that Putin has Asperger's syndrome, but she doesn't want to be associated with diagnosing him as having Asperger's syndrome. And nobody else does. Her psychologist buddy won't touch any such diagnosis, because he has to subscribe to a code of ethics to practice his profession. Connors does not.

So what the fuck is this? Government-sponsored innuendo? I mean, Putin is a gangster, we all know this, and we don't have to pile on by playing to the prejudices of snotty people regarding developmental disorders.; 2/5/15, 9:40 PM
ken in tx said...: I think my wife is autistic. Do you think I am objective?

I love her anyway.

The Pentagon probably still loves the Kremlin. They have shared so much together.; 2/5/15, 9:46 PM
Scott said...: "Autistic" is Katherine Hepburn explaining Pablo Picasso.; 2/5/15, 9:49 PM
The Godfather said...: Gee, that asparagus syndrome thing must be why the "Reset Button" didn't work!; 2/5/15, 9:50 PM
Scott said...: Does Asperger's make your pee smell funny too?; 2/5/15, 9:53 PM
Scott said...: Just grind a rump roast, shape the meat into patties, and voila! Aspergers.; 2/5/15, 9:58 PM
Chef Mojo said...: Some flag officer deep in the bowels of the Puzzle Palace was thinking:

"Sure. Why not? Let's take money we're not paying to our enlisted personnel, and pay for this diplomat-dancer egghead whiz kid to get the goods on Putin! Hells yeah! That'll show those Air Force weenies and their F-35!"; 2/5/15, 10:03 PM
Hagar said...: My son told me he has Asperger's. I told him I do not really believe there is any such thing, and in case it is not any excuse for his behavior.; 2/5/15, 10:22 PM
Rob said...: Did she write her analysis of Putin, or did she dance it?; 2/5/15, 10:30 PM
FullMoon said...: Cut/paste
I just read the original Pentagon paper that this article was citing. I'm a psychiatry resident at Washington University in St. Louis, which is a place that's well-known for studying the neuroscience of autism (of which Asperger's is a type). There are so many problems with the paper that I think the person who wrote it should be fired immediately. Here are the first few that come to mind: (1) A significant portion of the science quoted is simply wrong, including many things that are used to make big conclusions. I don't want to point out every single MAJOR scientific problem because there are so many of them. One example is that she refers to the "temporal lobe of the prefrontal cortex" as the source of Putin's movement problems. In fact, there is no such thing as the "temporal lobe of the prefrontal cortex" - the temporal lobe and prefrontal cortex are completely different parts of the brain, and neither of them has any influence on subconscious/involuntary movement. It also says that the findings could only be confirmed by MRI, which is also simply false - MRI has no utility in autism/Aperger's. Also, she repeatedly states that the neurological insult would have happened in childhood and brain plasticity would never have recovered, which is also false - brain plasticity recovers remarkably well in children, and even in an adult, it would have mostly recovered if it was caused by the etiology that she suggested. (2) The author is a political scientist with no medical training. As an aside, there are lots of spelling and grammar mistakes in the paper. (3) The author's qualification as a "certified movement analyst" is something that is only provided by a single school, whose only accreditation is by the National Association of Schools of Dance. The person who started it was an expert on dance movements. (4) Most of the psychological findings described in the study would be much better explained by Narcissistic Personality Disorder, which is very common among world leaders because narcissism leads people to seek leadership roles. Any psychiatrist can tell you that, but because the author of the study has no medical training, she didn't know that this is a more likely diagnosis.; 2/5/15, 10:39 PM
JAORE said...: "dancer and diplomat"? What a concept! Rahm Emanuel for Sec/State.; 2/5/15, 11:04 PM
David said...: ""[T]he studies, which focused on videos of the Russian president... are primarily the brainchild of one person, Brenda Connors of the US Naval War College."

Another woman with much to tell us.

Full Moon has given us a good assessment of her credibility. However, who says that what these women are telling us is correct? The Pope didn't.; 2/5/15, 11:59 PM
great Unknown said...: In FullMoon's analysis, he/she invokes Narcissistic Personality Disorder. This appears to be an accurate diagnosis of Brenda Connors.; 2/6/15, 6:35 AM
Robert Cook said...: Isn't "Pentagon Thinktank" an oxymoron? Or is it just another way of saying "Pentagon Propaganda Office?"; 2/6/15, 6:37 AM
George M. Spencer said...: Much more interested in learning about the psychological profile Putin has on Obama.

You only have to know the basics on his childhood and know that voting for Obama was a high-risk move.; 2/6/15, 6:43 AM
tim maguire said...: If part of the definition of Asperger's is "strongman trying to maintain the global influence of a nation in decline," then, yeah, I think he has it too.

(Does anyone know the clinical term for "juvenile man trying to weaken the global influence of a strong nation?"); 2/6/15, 6:45 AM
tds said...: It is an attempt to warm up his international public image. Putin: one of those guys who have it exceptionally hard in society.; 2/6/15, 6:46 AM
Bob Boyd said...: "has “difficulty basically feeling calm in complex social settings”, like many large diplomatic functions."

Before the rewrite it said, "Putin always looks like he's ready to strangle John Kerry by the end of the evening."; 2/6/15, 6:56 AM
Known Unknown said...: Is he really into trains?; 2/6/15, 7:18 AM
Bob Boyd said...: EMD said...
"Is he really into trains?"

Laslo?; 2/6/15, 7:24 AM
Anonymous said...: FullMoon: I just read the original Pentagon paper that this article was citing.

Thanks for doing that so we don't have to.

The sad thing is, that a "movement patterns analysis expert dancer diplomat", who publishes stuff about the "temporal lobe of the prefrontal cortex", probably has a pension plan, inexpensive gold-plated health-care, and job security that you can only dream about.; 2/6/15, 7:51 AM
Fernandinande said...: Only mental illness could explain why Putin isn't your friend.; 2/6/15, 7:57 AM
DAS79 said...: As the father of a 15 son who has Aspergers, I am insulted by someone who is not a professional in the psychiatry/psychology field diagnosing Putin as having this condition. When I saw the headline only last night, I told my wife that it was wrong. Putin is a 2-bit bully who worked his way up the ranks, like Hitler, Mussolini, and Stalin, who Putin is trying to emulate as Russia's leader on the world stage - so far, he hasn't yet appeared to have taken the next step of murdering his political opponents and innocents as "Uncle Joe" did. My son is introvertted & wants to be liked by everyone and fit in with society - hardly the traits of Putin. Heck, our glorious leader has some of some of my son's traits (except for being introverted, humble, and accepting responsibility for his actions, but I digress) and where has that gotten us and the world - someone who is being bullied at the table by Putin. Again, Putin's public actions do not appear to be those of someone with Aspergers.; 2/6/15, 7:57 AM
DAS79 said...: I had a typo. My son is 15 years old.; 2/6/15, 7:58 AM
Drago said...: Robert Cook: "Isn't "Pentagon Thinktank" an oxymoron? Or is it just another way of saying "Pentagon Propaganda Office?"

All they have to do is slap a "Pravda" stamp on the cover sheet and you'd lap it up.; 2/6/15, 9:00 AM
Gordon Scott said...: Not a frickin' chance he's Aspie. One would need social skills and perception to climb to the top of that greasy pole, and stay there. Vlad's practically anti-Aspie.; 2/6/15, 9:31 AM
NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...: DAS79 said...
As the father of a 15 son who has Aspergers,

I've got a 20 year old step-son who's an Aspie and I agree with your assessment 100%.; 2/6/15, 10:56 AM
The Godfather said...: Very informative discussion, particularly FullMoon and DAS79. So I guess there must be another reason why the "Reset Button" didn't work. I wonder what it is?

Maybe Hillary! knows.; 2/6/15, 11:00 AM