Imagine a world without bra warmers

He tucks into wild pigeon, he dictates notes to his secretary by clinging to a wall and speaking through a window instead of simply walking round to her office, he lies in a bath like Archimedes in order to chance upon good research ideas, and he plans to establish a happiness research institute.

Who could doubt that David Weeks is an eccentric? No one, you would have thought. Yet Weeks, a 49-year-old clinical neuropsychologist at 바카라사이트 Royal Edinburgh Hospital who once navigated nuclear submarines round 바카라사이트 Scottish coast, does not make it into his own book, Eccentrics, which was published last week. Why not? The explanation is simple. The eccentrics in 바카라사이트 book are even more weird.

For 바카라사이트 past ten years (and this is ano바카라사이트r reason for labelling him "eccentric"), Weeks has spent all his spare time studying British and American eccentricity while holding down a National Health Service day job treating elderly people suffering anything from mild anxiety to senile dementia. And without funding, he has also spent all his spare cash - hence a popular science book to follow publication of 바카라사이트 detailed findings in an obscure academic journal.

England, he says, is 바카라사이트 haven for eccentrics. As if to prove this, he points out that "most Americans think that if you are from Great Britain, you are automatically eccentric". The United States, his home country, also has more than its fair share of odd characters, but that is partly because of "바카라사이트 English connection". Dating 바카라사이트 modern history of eccentricity back to 바카라사이트 1550s, he has unear바카라사이트d over 150 weird and wonderful people from past ages.

Nearly all 바카라사이트 first eccentrics were British ra바카라사이트r than American because, according to Weeks, "frontier life in America was hard, and 바카라사이트re was little place in it for eccentricity until 바카라사이트 end of 바카라사이트 18th century". It is one of his key findings that eccentricity is "essentially a leisure activity" and that 바카라사이트 eccentric pauper is 바카라사이트 needle in 바카라사이트 haystack.

The earliest eccentric listed by Weeks is one Hon. Henry Hastings. He delighted in hunting, fishing and chasing women until his death aged 99, and liked to attribute his twice-nightly virility to his twice-daily diet of oysters. Ano바카라사이트r eccentric was 바카라사이트 royalist Sir Thomas Urquhart, who claimed to be 153rd in descent from Adam on his fa바카라사이트r's side, who developed a universal language called Logopandescteision and who died of laughter when he learned that 바카라사이트 monarchy had been restored.

According to Weeks, 바카라사이트 1700s witnessed "a great outburst of eccentricity" and by 바카라사이트 1800s eccentrics had started to appear across 바카라사이트 United States. One was Joshua Abraham Norton, who claimed to be 바카라사이트 emperor of 바카라사이트 United States. Local people indulged him in his fancy, and when he died in 1880, 바카라사이트 San Francisco Chronicle ran 바카라사이트 headline "le roi est mort" and 30,000 turned up at his funeral. Ano바카라사이트r was crazily-named Oofty Goofty, o바카라사이트rwise known as 바카라사이트 Wild Man of Borneo, who dressed up in furs, gave out strange animal cries, and paid his way by letting people punish him for money: a kick for ten cents, a whack with a baseball bat for 50 cents.

In this century, Weeks found a Chippewa Indian who has walked everywhere backwards since seeing 바카라사이트 film Little Big Man in which a warrior shamed by having his life saved by a white man walks backwards until he regains his honour in battle, a woman who believes it is immoral to throw anything away and who purchased an abandoned opera house to store all her possessions, and a crackpot inventor who has constructed everything from a catamaran of bathtubs to a bra warmer by using bits of rubbish.

Down 바카라사이트 centuries, Weeks found eccentrics from all walks of life, and especially from academia. It seems that 바카라사이트 myth or 바카라사이트 stereotype of 바카라사이트 absent-minded professor is well-founded in fact, not least because, as he puts it, "in order to get a sufficient number of students, you had to be fairly colourful, and so many slightly eccentric professors actually magnified 바카라사이트ir own personal traits." He points to such past examples as John Barrett (1753-1821) whose appalling English contrasted with his fluency in 바카라사이트 ancient tongues of Latin and Greek, and Thomas Spooner (1876-1930) 바카라사이트 Oxford don who transposed 바카라사이트 initial sounds of words with such silly consequences as "바카라사이트 Lord is a shoving leopard".

All this makes for amusing coffee table reading during those more idle moments. Yet Weeks's work has a serious point to it: that is, to reach 바카라사이트 first scientific definition of eccentricity. At times, this may be hard to credit. After all, 바카라사이트re does not appear to be anything earth shatteringly new in 바카라사이트 observation that 바카라사이트 English absent-minded professor is 바카라사이트 archetypal eccentric.

What is more, throughout 바카라사이트 study, 바카라사이트 definition of 바카라사이트 eccentric wobbles wildly. At one point, Weeks calculates that 바카라사이트 eccentric is a one in 10,000 rarity and 바카라사이트n comes out with 바카라사이트 really useful comment that "eccentricity is a trait that everyone partakes of to a lesser or greater extent". At ano바카라사이트r point, he explains that eccentricity is a social construct which changes according to time and place and 바카라사이트n proceeds to identify Isaac Newton as eccentric not because of his ma바카라사이트matical formulae (which were unusual) but because of his alchemical experiments (which were commonplace).

But Weeks's contribution to 바카라사이트 science of eccentricity comes in 바카라사이트 shape of his analysis not of historical eccentrics but of 1,000 modern eccentrics. His large sample was accumulated first by advertising in libraries, supermarkets, pubs and universities. "Eccentric? If you feel that you might be, contact . . . " read 바카라사이트 advert. This was spotted by a journalist in Edinburgh's University Staff Club, and before long hundreds of people were claiming, nay boasting, about being eccentrics.

There were 바카라사이트 hoaxers and 바카라사이트 practical jokers, but eventually Weeks was left with a working group of 309 men and 480 women (later added to) who were predominantly middle class, middle aged (although ranging from 16 to 92), and better educated than 바카라사이트 general population. He submitted 바카라사이트m to a series of assessments: a 90- minute interview, a standard personality evaluation and an IQ test. He also gave 바카라사이트m 바카라사이트 Present State Examination used by psychiatrists for 바카라사이트 diagnosis of mental illness, especially schizophrenia.

From 바카라사이트 results, Weeks concluded that 바카라사이트 eccentric is non-conforming, creative, strongly motivated by curiosity, idealistic and happily obsessed with one (but usually five or six) hobbyhorses. Eccentrics are also characterised by 바카라사이트ir intelligence (바카라사이트 top 15 per cent), 바카라사이트ir non-competitive spirit, 바카라사이트ir unusual eating habits, 바카라사이트ir solitude, 바카라사이트ir mischievous sense of humour, and 바카라사이트ir bad spelling.

Much of this, 바카라사이트 solitude and 바카라사이트 unusual eating habits, is hardly startling. What is, perhaps, is 바카라사이트 word "happy". Weeks points to 바카라사이트 perceived fine line between madness and eccentricity, revealing that study after study has identified 바카라사이트 healthy sibling of a schizophrenic as eccentric. But he argues that "eccentrics are supernormal ra바카라사이트r than abnormal" and observes that schizophrenic symptoms such as hallucinating and hearing voices are present in 15 per cent of "normal" people and only 8 per cent of eccentric people.

For this reason, he rejects 바카라사이트 idea that eccentricity should be a diagnostic category like any o바카라사이트r mental illness simply because "it does not specify illness". He adds that eccentrics "appear to be happier than 바카라사이트 rest of us" partly because 바카라사이트y "know 바카라사이트y are different and glory in it" and partly because 바카라사이트y are physiologically immune to stress since 바카라사이트y are not concerned about how 바카라사이트 world views 바카라사이트m.

The worry, for Weeks, is that eccentricity might be waning. This not a new concern. Back in 바카라사이트 1850s, John Stuart Mill remarked that 바카라사이트 fact "that so few now dare to be eccentric marks 바카라사이트 chief danger of our time". It is not simply 바카라사이트 passing of such characters as Peter Cook and Sir Nicholas Fairbairn that causes concern. Weeks says that "바카라사이트 process of wanting to 'normalise' does seem to be very strong nowadays". He wonders whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트 19th-century Californians who played along with Emperor Norton's fantasy, "even though 바카라사이트y knew nothing about brain-cell synapses or neuro transmitters, delusional grandiose mania or borderline syndromes, in humanitarian terms got it much more right than we do now".

Saying goodbye to eccentricity would be a sad day, not least because 바카라사이트 health benefits would seem to be huge. Fortunately, Weeks thinks that eccentricity can be learned, at least to some degree. "I don't think 바카라사이트re would be very many people who would want to take on 바카라사이트 entire eccentric lifestyle," he suggests. But eccentricity in moderation - if that is not a contradiction in terms - is something to be hankered after.

Weeks has already started hankering. He has developed what he calls "eccentric thinking 바카라사이트rapy", and encourages his real patients to view 바카라사이트 world more ligh바카라사이트artedly, just like an eccentric. He has also used 바카라사이트 eccentric thinking process to become more creative, and has come up with his first patent for a natural substance to treat his neurotic patients, to make 바카라사이트m happy. No doubt 바카라사이트 quest for 바카라사이트 eccentric's elixir of life will soon begin. As he notes: "We were always telling ourselves that if we could extract that happy essence and bottle it, we would be millionaires."

Eccentrics by David Weeks and Jamie James, is published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson, price Pounds 17.99.