Testing Trump’s Competence: Language and Cognition

As the linguist said to the psychologist…

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Linguist: His language skill has plummeted, he cannot stay on subject, or complete sentences, he repeats himself, he’s incoherent, he has simplistic vocabulary and tangled grammar.

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Psychologist: It could be stress, or anger, or fatigue.

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Linguist: Other leaders can cope, he can’t.

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A me... speak... problem?

Psychologist: Maybe he speaks this way to appeal to his supporters who also talk like that.

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Linguist: But he can’t adjust his unscripted speaking style to suit the listener. He only has one style. You talk at a rally, maybe you choose to go incoherently emotive. You face an intellectual adversary, you switch to cerebral suasion. He can’t do that anymore.

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Psychologist: Are you suggesting he is suffering from some cognitive disability? To determine that, you need to administer a psychological test to get data. He won’t submit to that.

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Linguist: To a linguist, the data is there. Just parsing his speech suggests a serious prognosis.

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Voice-over

Apparently he wasn’t always so linguistically disabled. In the 1980s and 1990s, he could give coherent interviews. Now, linguistic evidence suggests Trump is a severely linguistically and cognitively crippled leader. Political office demands coherent communication and crystal clear cognition. He doesn’t demonstrate this.

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The Vegetarian: A Novel

A book…

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Ji su: It starts off unremarkably. Told from a husband’s perspective. His wife suddenly becomes a vegetarian. Throws all the meat out of the fridge. Cooks only vegetables, no fish, no eggs.

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Mi na: Seriously vegan?

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Ji su: And her sister is surprised, but tries to understand. Everyone but her sister drifts away over some years.

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Mi na: Tragedy?

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Ji su: Not entirely. Nice imagery. “Summer trees flicker like huge green fireworks.” Insightful. “She’d become the hard-working, self-sacrificing eldest daughter…a sign not of maturity… but a survival tactic.”

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Mi na: Yes, that makes you think a bit about why elder siblings become the responsible ones.

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Ji su: Many things are not as they seem.

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Voice-over

The Vegetarian. By Han Kang. Ably translated by Deoborah Smith. 2016 Man Booker Prize. Mental illness as seen from the sufferer, the caregivers, family, friends, doctors.

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Asperger's Syndrome

Allan is Jerry’s counsel and wants to use mental illness as a defence.
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Allan: They say Albert Einstein might have had Asperger’s syndrome. Thomas Jefferson. Some say Bill Gates even exhibits certain signs of it. Very good company Jerry.

Jerry: It’s a relief actually.

Allan: Really?

Jerry: I always hated that I couldn’t be normal. Turns out, it’s because I’m not.

Allan: Jerry, it’s also a viable defence. We just need the psychiatrist to give you a diagnosis.

Jerry: No. No. With a diagnosis in court, it’ll be a matter of public record. I’ll be the autistic lawyer. Forget about disbarment. No one will ever hire a mental case, even though it's only a pervasive developmental disorder. I could certainly never be a lawyer again. No. No. No.
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Voiceover

Even though Asperger’s syndrome is not a serious disorder, Jerry knows that using this defence will jeopardize his employment prospects. The rights of those with physical disabilities are fairly well protected in law, but those with mental disorders, even when they do not diminish a person's ability to function, and may even enhance it, are still discriminated against.
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