Showcase: aslaspergirl's "Marie Skłodowska Curie"

Marie Skłodowska Curie

21:57 JESSICA


It's Friday! Meaning! Famous person with Asperger's Syndrome profile time!!!

"Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained." --- Curie


7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934


Marie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize (Physics), which she won in 1903 with her husband, Pierre. 8 years later, she was the sole winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry, becoming the first person honoured with two Nobel Prizes. Her work contributed to the theory of radioactivity and she discovered two elements – polonium and radium.

Here is a brief video of Marie.

Asperger's Syndrome
Marie was able to read at the age of 4 and her memory was exemplary. She was described as fixated and obsessed. Her concentration was so strong that it was difficult to break her attention and was she deeply concerned with the details of her work. She once quoted to her brother, "One never notices what has been done; one can only see what remains to be done." Her desire for knowledge was so great as she wanted to understand more in order to reduce fear of the unknown. "I was entirely absorbed in the joy of learning and understanding."

Marie's sense of clothing was not socially fashionable and preferred her clothes to be dark so she could wear them in the laboratory. She was socially awkward and had difficulty in emotional reciprocity. She was perceived as having no sense of humour and took everything very seriously. Her capacity to integrate herself socially was limited and her friends mainly consisted of scientific workers. Since her passion for learning was so great, her need for social interaction was minimal.

Radium treatment was the fastest growing medical treatment in the early 1900s and highly marketable. She choose to continue living in poverty rather than benefiting from royalties. Marie felt that that it would be contrary to the scientific spirit. Her sense of right versus wrong was very strong and she rarely lied.

Her forceful character led her to a level of independence unusual for her time. During this period, gifted women were scorned and looked down upon. She was more curious about ideas than people, which was considered highly unusual since women were expected to be nurturing, social beings.