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Medical Students Profile Middle-Earth's Gollum
An anonymous reader writes "Several medical students and a lecturer in 'old age psychiatry' have written up their analysis and final diagnosis of Gollum in the British Medical Journal. Other readers note the possibility of metal toxicity from the One Ring in their Rapid Responses." Hopefully everyone has had a few days off to 'Research' this by watching RotK's extended cut.
It was lead, I tells ya! ;)
:(
Site's melted.
A blog like any other.
i would have to agree there 3 replys and its down. Maybe they can but an award on there site? Can somnebody get a google cache up?
I'm glad our educational system has progressed to the point that students can get acclaim for watching fantasy movies and devoting their time to "studies" of this kind. The human condition is so much better off now. Thank you very little.
Revealing Gollum's private medical information constitutes a violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.
My friend and I theorized that under that dirty little loincloth of his, Gollum probably doesn't have much of his manhood left, having shrivelled up and dried off after centuries of disuse. Maybe we should write it up and send off our theory to the British Medical Journal too. I'd feel so erudite seeing my name published there.
"Backups are for wimps. Real men upload their data to an FTP site and have everyone else mirror it." -- Linus Torvalds
my neurology professor gave a lecutre about neurologic disorders in star wars. the most interesting part was the observation that yoda may have suffered from William's Syndrome
Does it still count as paranoinia if you are right?
They reckon Gollum was 'feeling' persecuted by being watched by The Eye of Sauron - classic schizo fantasy elements in our world but in Middle Earth in fact true. -
Now if only they Dentists would take me seriously when I tell him the MPAA are monitoring my downloads through my fillings.
but web site diagnosis is clear: slashdotted.
user@ubuntubox:~$ stfu This server is going down for shutdown NOW!
He's a fictional character, who was written by a guy who can no longer talk. So you can't tell WHAT is wrong with him, because we have no evidence of it.
So untill we can revive corpses, lets stop being silly.
I like muppets.
Gollum suffers from a severe case of being a book/movie character with behavior patterns that may have some similarities to real-world ailments, but which are ultimately artificial constructs of Tolkein's/Jackson's minds and therefore fruitless to "research." :D
The coolest voice ever.
Now, to figure out just what alloy that it was that the embedded scrollwork was made from which would glow red at a temperature below the melting point of the amalgam (something with phosphorous in it, perhaps?)....
What is the difference between a small revolutionary change and a large evolutionary change?
Actually, the diagnosis is not entirely accurate.
"Too much time on my hands...."
and it would also violate the Privacy Act of 1974.
I think I think, therefore I think I am.
"I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself"
Google news has a few articles about it - here's clips from the original article via other articles on google. By the way, slashdotting a medical journal is a bad thing - I'm a medical student and I rely on these resources to guide or double-check decisions, or to keep up to date.
... On initial consideration schizophrenia seems a reasonable diagnosis. However, in the context of the culture at the time it is unlikely. Delusions are false, unshakeable beliefs, not in keeping with the patient's culture. In Middle Earth, the power of the ring is a reality. The passivity phenomena Gollum experiences are caused by the ring, and these symptoms occur in all ring bearers. Gollum does not fulfil the ICD-10 criteria for the diagnosis of schizophrenia.
..."
"A space occupying lesion such as a brain tumour is unlikely as his symptoms are long standing. Gollum's diet is extremely limited, consisting only of raw fish. Vitamin B-12 deficiency may cause irritability, delusions, and paranoia. His reduced appetite and loss of hair and weight may be associated with iron deficiency anaemia. He is hypervigilant and does not seem to need much sleep. This, accompanied by his bulging eyes and weight loss, suggests hyperthyroidism. Gollum's dislike of sunlight may be due to the photosensitivity of porphyria. Attacks may be induced by starvation and accompanied by paranoid psychosis.
The presence of two personalities, Gollum and Sméagol, raises the possibility of multiple personality disorder.
"There is no disorder of the form of thought. He uses neologisms such as "triksy" and "hobbitses." Gollum has nihilistic thoughts, believing that he is a murderer, liar, and thief; although there is some basis in fact for this and he shows little guilt or remorse. He is preoccupied with, and deeply desires, the ring. He has obsessive thoughts but no compulsions, though he would do anything for the ring. He is hostile towards Frodo, the current owner of the ring. He has paranoid ideation about Sauron ("the eye is always watching") and about Samwise Gamgee ("the fat hobbit... he knows"). Gollum has difficulty controlling his thoughts and actions, exacerbated by prolonged contact with the ring. As Gandalf and Frodo have similar symptoms in the presence of the ring, we can attribute this somatic passivity to the ring. There are features of dissociation. Smeagol has separated his personality and is now Gollum as well."
"Gollum displays pervasive maladaptive behaviour that has been present since childhood with a persistent disease course. His odd interest and spiteful behaviour have led to difficulty in forming friendships and distress to others," she said.
"He fulfils seven of the nine criteria for schizoid personality disorder, and if we must label Gollum's problems we believe that this is the most likely diagnosis,"
Wiki entry on Schizoid
is that gollum is a obsessive compulsive, paranoid schizophrenic. Am I right?
Meh.
that ukrainian dude looks like a pudgy gollum by now
actually.. you miss the fact that he has split personalities... which if i recall correctly is called Dissociative personality disorder... throw that in there too...
Kyle
http://www.unlogikal.net/
Not to mention dissociative personality disorder.
Of course, being under the influence of an embodiment of evil for 500 years may have those effects... who knows?
All I want is a kind word, a warm bed and unlimited power.
You must be new here.
Moll.
Hello! Has it occured to these medical geniuses in the making that Gollum is not human? That his physiology and biochemistry might be naturally very different from what their textbooks suggest is "normal"? Unless these people also happen to have degrees in veterinary science and xenobiology, any "conclusions" they reach is pure conjecture.
Oh yeah, and if that weren't enough, Gollum is fictional.
In the immortal words of a thousand Fark headlines, "Still no cure for cancer."
-- I Am Not A Terrorist.
"Gollum displays pervasive maladaptive behaviour that has been present since childhood ... His odd interests and spiteful behaviour have led to difficulty in forming friendships ..."
Wow, that sounds a lot like me, and nearly everyone else who reads Slashdot, I'd bet. He is ultimately diagnosed as schizoid. Raise your hand if you can honestly say you don't exhibit at least 3 of those symptoms.
Because we don't know the effects of the ring psychologically. We have some vague descriptions, and we get to see some of the results, but nobody has a clue how that thing works etc.
Buy Steampunk Clothing Online!
That WOULD explain it's being maleable enough to fit fingers of different sizes.
Does it explain its malevolance, slipping off fingers at the worst possible moments, or refusing to come off when it would be best if it did?
I didn't know mercury was sentient...
You can't take the sky from me...
Ok, even by Slashdot standards this is going to be a seriously geeky post. Prepare yourself - you have been warned.
Gollum is at least 969 years old, and probably a whole lot older. Proof follows.
In the Silmarillion, there is a quote in "Of The Rings of Power and the Third age" that goes as follows:
Gollum found the ring while there was still a ruling king in Gondor, before the reign of the Stewards.
The reign of the Stewards began in TA 2050, after the death of King Eärnur at the hands of the Witch-King. So we know that Gollum had the ring before TA 2050.
The ring was destroyed in TA 3019. That makes Gollum at least 3019-2050=969, and that's only if he found the ring on the very day the Stewards claimed Gondor.
The Third Age begins with the defeat of Sauron by the Last Alliance. The earliest Gollum could have found the ring would be the day Isuldur lost it (TA 2), so he could be as old as 3019-2=3017.
So Gollum is somewhere between 969 and 3017 years old. Splitting the difference makes him probably around 2000 or so. In any event, he's a lot older than 587.
So how's that? Geeky enough for you? =)
Weaselmancer
rediculous.
Malable, sentient & malevolent?
It's that stuff the T2 was made out of, Duh!
Forget going to Mt. Doom, we'll just take it to the particle accellerator torus at Orthanc.
Who is John Cabal?
One thing that was mentioned in the movie commentaries, but not mentioned in the medical journal reports is that the One Ring, along with other mystical phenomena, provides sensations of euphoria to its bearer. Also, if a bearer is deprived of contact with the One Ring, he experiences symptoms akin to withdrawl. All bearers of the One Ring experienced these symptoms, but because Gollum had possession of the Ring for over five centuries, his symptoms are extreme. So, on top of Antisocial Personality Disorder, Dissociative Personality Disorder, as well as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, I would have to diagnose Gollum with addiction to the One Ring, and have him checked into a substance abuse treatment center as soon as possible.
Meldroc, Waster of Electrons
No the personalities can directly communicate ruling out Dissociative personality disorder. The ring allways struck me as parasitic in nature, feeding of the current owner's normalicy and promoting it's own agenda; but I'll admit a certain symbiotic element in that it prolong it's host's lifespan. So it would seem more like a possesion rather than an illness.
Apocalypse Cancelled, Sorry, No Ticket Refunds
When asked for comment, Dr. Gregory House muttered something sarcastic and hobbled away.
They're at least as interesting as the article.
You are SO wrong. If there was a prize for geeky wrongness, you are it. You are the wrongest LoTR geek on the planet and here is why: you didn't read the book.
The book says in Appendix B, The Tale of Years, Third Age and I quote
Which makes him only 556 years old. I hereby banish you to an eon of nerd. Go, and never return! And take those medical students with you!
insecurity asks the wrong question irritation gives the wrong answer
The article was interesting and enteraining. I did notice a couple of unconsidered aspects. First, the ring renders the wearer transparent to visible light. Depending on upon its response in the ultraviolet spectrum (UV-B exposure is necessary), this could have induced some Vitamin D deficiency. This would have been exacerbated by Gollum's increasing photophobia, growing nocturnal habits and finally his relocation to a subterranean habitat. In addition to rickets, restlessness and irritability are possible symptons of inadequate Vitamin D.
------ The only greater hazard to your liberty than n politicians is n+1 politicians.
pseudo-mod: "+3 Funny"
I was being sarcastic. Thanks for stopping by to explain the joke, though. Good work.
-dswensen
Well, coincidentally the BBC have a report about movies which have amnesiacs acting as they are supposed to.
Finding Nemo and Memento are amonst the gud'uns. Overboard and the Tom'n'Jerry movie are amongst the bad'uns.
The research was done by the National Society for Epilepsy, so its being used as a publicity piece I guess to highlight misconceptions about amnesiacs. Epileptics can suffer from amnesia as part of their condition. This does make it different to the subject story - which I guess is just a bit of speculative fun from people with too much time on their hands.
Professor Karmadillo Songs of Science
This can't be right: "Sméagol (Gollum) is a single, 587 year old ... When Gollum was 25, the ring was stolen by Bilbo Baggins".
The events of "The Hobit" must be at most a decade or two earlier than those of LotR. By the time that Bilbo aquired the ring, Gollum was already far gone; thus he must have been over 500 years old when he lost the ring to Bilbo.
Gollum's main aliment is a powerful addiction to the strong magic that both sustained and ravaged him over the centuries. Hobbits, which Gollum basically is, do not normally live to be over 150.
Jackson's movies worked with that angle, having him look and act like a totally ravaged junkie.
My Karma: ran over your Dogma
StrawberryFrog
The BMJ has a tradition that the Christmas edition of the journal usually consists of spoofs. Some of it often makes extremely good reading, even to the non-medic.
So - to those who consider this a 'serious article in a well-respected journal' - chill out!
To me the movie made it clear that gollum's mental problems were the result of:
1) Magic power of the ring.
2) 550+ years of solitude.
3) Terrible guilt.
Yep, looks like it. I'd like to know what made Cherie smile like that and tip her head to the side.
"Happy New Year
So, just in case you have forgotten, from 1 January 2005:
all NHS organisations must reply within 20 working days to any credible written request for information from anywhere in the world
the request can be made by email or written on a piece of paper and made to any member of staff
it does not have to refer to the Freedom of Information Act
you cannot ask the reason for the request, or question its reasonableness you can work with the person requesting information to help them clarify what it is they are after so that you can best meet the request
and, from 1.1.05, the European Environmental Information Regulations take effect which means that any verbal or written question about [the environmental effects of your services or products] must be answered
as well as maintaining your publication schemes"
thank God the internet isn't a human right.
When 900 years old he reaches, be so healthy he will not. Hmmph!
___
It's the end of my comment as I know it and I feel fine.
I just got done watching Elephant Man.. brilliant movie... in it, there actually IS a medical diagnosis of John Merrick (The Elephant Man), but not so much a psychological one. I'd say he'd pretty much be in the same situation as Gollumn, except for the all-powerful mind control ring of invisibility that is.
If you were in the process of becoming an undead with part of Sauron's consciousness in your head. Any bearer of the Ring other than a Hobbit would have been become Sauron with several centuries. The Hobbits were so closely connected to the Earth that they were resistant to it's power in a way that no other living creatures were, except Bombadil.
This is easily the nerdiest story I've ever read.
*bows* to the overlords
You can't blame Tolkien for not checking your sources. Even the Tale of Years is under suspicion, but at least it provides a factual basis. You might get away with such remarks about Galadriel for instance, but Gollum is much firmer ground even if the odd errant statement about the Ring got out. And remember, if you find a discrepancy, point it out, don't just run away with theories. You didn't even post where you found that line, so the non-geeks could check.
But I didnt add Smeagols apparent age at the time of finding the Ring. 587 is a very good guess, but he could have been as old as 611 (55 at the time).
insecurity asks the wrong question irritation gives the wrong answer
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