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https://theconversation.com/terry-pratchetts-novels-may-have-held-clues-to-his-dementia-a-decade-before-diagnosis-our-new-study-suggests-273777>
"The earliest signs of dementia are rarely dramatic. They do not arrive as
forgotten names or misplaced keys, but as changes so subtle they are almost
impossible to notice: a slightly narrower vocabulary, less variation in
description, a gentle flattening of language.
New research my colleagues and I conducted suggests that these changes may be
detectable years before a formal diagnosis — and one of the clearest examples
may lie hidden in the novels of Sir Terry Pratchett.
Pratchett is remembered as one of Britain’s most imaginative writers, the
creator of the
Discworld series and a master of satire whose work combined
humour with sharp moral insight. Following his diagnosis of posterior cortical
atrophy, a rare form of Alzheimer’s disease, he became a powerful advocate for
dementia research and awareness. Less well known is that the early effects of
the disease may already have been present in his writing long before he knew he
was ill.
Dementia is often described as a condition of memory loss, but this is only
part of the story. In its earliest stages, dementia can affect attention,
perception and language before memory problems become obvious. These early
changes are difficult to detect because they are gradual and easily mistaken
for stress, ageing or normal variation in behaviour.
Language, however, offers a unique window into cognitive change. The words we
choose, the variety of our vocabulary and the way we structure description are
tightly linked to brain function. Even small shifts in language use may reflect
underlying neurological change.
In our recent study, we analysed the language used across Terry Pratchett’s
Discworld novels, examining how his writing evolved over time. We focused on
“lexical diversity” — a measure of how varied an author’s word choices are —
and paid particular attention to adjectives, the descriptive words that give
prose its texture, colour and emotional depth."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
