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Did any of you guys know John Lennon was a Dyslexic?
3 October 2010
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mithveaen
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BTW Skye when I see your animated signature I hear the drums in my head and I start.. “I am he as you are he.” a-hard-days-night-john-1

Here comes the sun….. Scoobie-doobie……

Something in the way she moves…..attracts me like a cauliflower…

Bop. Bop, cat bop. Go, Johnny, Go.

Beware of Darkness… 

30 October 2014
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Another thread asleep for four years, but here I go. Are you guys sure about this? I find it hard that someone like John, with such command of English language, was dyslexic (but then again I’m not an expert). Same thing about the man who wrote Penny Lane . Can anybody cite sources or post a link? It would be much appreciated.

Forsan et haec olim meminisse juvabit” (“Perhaps one day it will be a pleasure to look back on even this”; Virgil, The Aeneid, Book 1, line 203, where Aeneas says this to his men after the shipwreck that put them on the shores of Africa)

30 October 2014
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LittleBeatlemaniac
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@Oudis 

I found a site which states that John was dyslexic 

http://dyslexiahelp.umich.edu/…..ohn-lennon

Paul himself says that he was dyslexic

http://www.goodreads.com/autho…..exia-tutor

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1 November 2014
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Mr. Kite
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Oudis said

Another thread asleep for four years, but here I go. Are you guys sure about this? I find it hard that someone like John, with such command of English language, was dyslexic (but then again I’m not an expert). Same thing about the man who wrote Penny Lane . Can anybody cite sources or post a link? It would be much appreciated.

I don’t know whether he really was or not, but if he was dyslexic that wouldn’t impede his use of the English language, just make it difficult to read it.

Maybe difficulty in seeing words correctly could’ve even contributed to the word games he liked to play.

He did have bad eyesight for sure, so dyslexic or not reading would be tough without his glasses.

And off-topic for a moment, digging up old topics is fun, isn’t it? a-hard-days-night-ringo-10

If I spoke prose you'd all find out, I don't know what I talk about.

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1 November 2014
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Mr. Kite said 

And off-topic for a moment, digging up old topics is fun, isn’t it? a-hard-days-night-ringo-10

You bet  @Mr. Kite! Too many Sleeping Beauties in this forum (most from 2010)

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Forsan et haec olim meminisse juvabit” (“Perhaps one day it will be a pleasure to look back on even this”; Virgil, The Aeneid, Book 1, line 203, where Aeneas says this to his men after the shipwreck that put them on the shores of Africa)

1 November 2014
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Ron Nasty
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Given John’s bad spelling dyslexia is a possibility, Lewisohn even acknowledges this in Tune In.

John was never diagnosed with dyslexia however (it wouldn’t have been on the radar in the 1940s & 50s), and bad spelling is the only associated symptom John had for dyslexia. I would suggest that while it is a possibility, it is also a stretch. John was a voracious reader from a very early age, so he doesn’t seem to have had any problems in one of the main areas of that diagnosis.

There does tend to be this habit of diagnosing historical figures with various conditions and illnesses based on scant evidence in retrospect though. John’s reputed dyslexia seems to fall into this camp to me.

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1 November 2014
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Ron Nasty said
There does tend to be this habit of diagnosing historical figures with various conditions and illnesses based on scant evidence in retrospect though. 

Very true. I like reading biographies and have thought that many times. Thanks, @Ron Nasty.

Forsan et haec olim meminisse juvabit” (“Perhaps one day it will be a pleasure to look back on even this”; Virgil, The Aeneid, Book 1, line 203, where Aeneas says this to his men after the shipwreck that put them on the shores of Africa)

1 November 2014
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Why do people throw mental disorders at dead famous people? Why does it matter if they had a disorder or not?

https://youtu.be/52nwiTs7bk8

Brainwashed by RadiantCowbells.

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1 November 2014
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One reason is they are dead and can’t reply.

"I told you everything I could about me, Told you everything I could" ('Before Believing' - Emmylou Harris)

2 November 2014
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@Starr Shine? Firstly, I have to say this, dyslexia is NOT a mental disorder, but a learning disability. They are very different things.

However, I get the point you are making. It is something that it done with many mental, genetic and physical conditions. I can see the reasons why it is done, even if it often clutching at straws.

There is a one word answer to your question. Inspiration. You learn that you are dealing something that feels like the end of the world to you, what can be better then learning someone you admire overcame and excelled?

A good example would be someone like Winston Churchill, who struggled with depression, he would call it his “black dog”. He learnt coping mechanisms, led a World War while suffering with it, and was one of the giants of the 20th Century.

It’s about reassuring people that they are not defined by their condition or illness, as people often feel, and offering examples of those who have excelled, despite struggling with something that when you first hear it may sound like the end of hope. It tells you there is always hope.

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2 November 2014
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Interesting theory. I’ll have to research this one a little bit.

He was a very good reader though. I can’t imagine a dyslexic kid writing the Daily Howl. 

We were just trying to write songs about prostitutes and lesbians

16 November 2014
3.55am
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Annadog40 said
Why do people throw mental disorders at dead famous people? Why does it matter if they had a disorder or not?

First, let me echo what Ron Nasty said above, dyslexia is not a mental disorder. However, to answer your question, I really think it’s about de-stigmatizing the conditions. To speculate/assert that John or Paul is dyslexic or that Lincoln was bipolar is not about putting that person down, but more about making people realize that great things can be accomplished despite the extra burden of ______ [fill in the blank with your condition of choice].

But I don’t think John was dyslexic. He learned to read quite easily (according to Mimi and George) and at a young age. Plus, he spent a great deal of his childhood locked away with books. If he had any trouble in primary school (besides behavior), it probably had more to do with his poor eyesight than anything else.

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16 November 2014
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a-hard-days-night-ringo-8Poor eyesight combined with boredom for traditional school subjects (maybe a little HD/ADD?), further compounded by a rebellious streak as wide as a California freeway. a-hard-days-night-john-3 A common recipe for indifferent scholastic performance by brilliant people.

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8 January 2020
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I saw a news story from this week that made the claim that John was dyslexic. Of course I had to come check “the Bible” to see if there was any truth to the statement.

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8 January 2020
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My mother is mildly dyslexic, and she was a voracious reader as a child, she just reads very slowly and struggled with reading out loud. So it’s possible to be an avid reader despite dyslexia, if it’s mild, but I don’t think that necessarily means John was. His eyesight and creative/rebellious streak was probably more of an issue than anything. Just my opinion…

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8 January 2020
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On a mildly related note…

I’m sure I have dyscalculia which is being dyslexic only with numbers. I’ve had this problem my whole life, but I didn’t know that it was an official disorder with a name until my new coworker told me about it this past year.

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8 January 2020
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I have a friend who says he has dysgraphia (dyslexia with writing but not reading). He did a psychology assignment about it in which he was compelled to battle his dysgraphia ahdn_paul_01

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Ahhh Girl said
On a mildly related note…

I’m sure I have dyscalculia which is being dyslexic only with numbers. I’ve had this problem my whole life, but I didn’t know that it was an official disorder with a name until my new coworker told me about it this past year.

  

Go to the doctor and get it diagnosed. It could make a big difference in your life.

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9 January 2020
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I have directional dyslexia (not remembering if I go left or right, and not remembering sequences of directions—I have to spend extra time remembering spatial relationships and then reversing them in my head). 

I also confuse opposites with each other, like hot and cold, up and down, forward and back.

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10 October 2020
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Beatlebug said
My mother is mildly dyslexic, and she was a voracious reader as a child, she just reads very slowly and struggled with reading out loud. So it’s possible to be an avid reader despite dyslexia, if it’s mild, but I don’t think that necessarily means John was. His eyesight and creative/rebellious streak was probably more of an issue than anything. Just my opinion…

  

Exactly. My son is the same. Interestingly he shows that same love of distorting language and wordplay that John exhibited too. 

That very early on John couldn’t remember the lyrics to others songs and supplied his own imaginative versions instead could also be a sign that he had dyslexia of some kind. His own descriptions of his schooldays and his feelings of alienation there suggest that it may well have been the case.

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