Talk:The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

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[edit] Character list clarification

With the spoiler warning, we should remove all confusion as to whether or not Judy is actually dead. The current discriptions are confusing and unclear. I'll explain more later when the codeine wears off (I need a root canal and my tooth hurts horrifically).A.Arc 17:59, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Error, someone fix it

"and also his belief that seeing three, four or five red cars in a row means it's a "good", "quite good", or "super good" day, respectively, while four yellow cars signify a "black" day. " That is not true. That is not written in the book. He doesn't [i]believe[/i] that the cars means something about the day. He only uses them as a guideline as to how [i]he will perceive the events of the day[/i]. He knows that the cars doesn't tell him something about the actual events. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.166.201.239 (talk) 18:07, 10 September 2007 (UTC)

You can fix it yourself. --Jnelson09 (talk) 01:35, 9 December 2007 (UTC)


what was the point in writing that jnelson09? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.199.228.195 (talk) 20:41, 30 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Aspergers?

Is it stated he has Aspergers? All I know is that he is an autist? -- The book never says Asperger's syndrome. I changed this to "form of autism" and clarified that the author never states which condition.

It is clearly stated on the inside front cover, but not within the story itself. I've amended the article. Chris 42 17:10, 5 February 2007 (UTC)
Yeah, but the newer print (ISBN 9780099450252) of it doesn't include that message, so I can see where the confusion arose from. Been reading this book myself, and although it is a fun read, I agree with the critque is has received from the Aspie community. It portrays us as dangerous simpletons, something which the vast majority really aren't!
In all honesty, I think he either has moderate autism or severe Aspergers, mainly due to the 'curling up on the grass' thing near the beginning of the book; it has been reported that Aspies with more severe autistic traits sometimes do this, although it isn't commonly associated with Aspergers. Seems that he goes a little over the top on recounting what he has remembered of specific events as well, although varying degrees of cognitive savantry have been reported in moderate cases of autism (where direct interaction with people & enviroments isn't too badly affected). CitrusC 12:53, 7 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] THEORY OF MIND

one incident described in the book is in fact a recreation of a famous experiment regarding Theory of mind.

Please do tell which! AaronSw 07:45, 23 Nov 2004 (UTC)

I would presume the one with the Smarties tube. Salvadors 07:27, May 21, 2005 (UTC)

Yes could someone please exand that part. It's the only bit of the article which doesn't really make sense to someone without background knowledge 195.93.21.36 19:12, 15 June 2006 (UTC)

I have added the experiment Plch 01:13, 28 June 2006 (UTC)

Salvadors speaks with a wise tongue. In other news, some backcovers describe Cristopher's condition as Asperger's Syndrome, not autism. Not that this matters terribly, as they're pretty much labels for different portions of the same spectrum, and his AS would be a very deep one. --Kizor 11:48, 12 July 2005 (UTC

I've removed the words 'murdered' and 'dog-murder'. The word 'murder' refers specifically to the unlawful taking of human life. One cannot 'murder' a dog.

  • Good point, anonymous person! I wonder, what would the correct term be? Canicide? Amicide? ThePedanticPrick 20:01, 26 July 2005 (UTC)
    • I believe it would be animal cruelty, however that's a large category so to the best of my knowledge there is no one specific word for murdering a dog.
      • How about theft or destruction of property? -Acjelen 02:28, 12 August 2005 (UTC)
        • Minor problem though as, whilst 'murder' usually refers to the taking of human life, the narrator uses the term, NOT seeing a distinction, and therefore I would find it MORE in keeping were it to be returned to the article. Also, by removing it, you are ofering a biased opinion - namely that human life is different to animal, and while it is a widely kept view, it is not necessarily a true one and thus cmpounds the thoughts of others. Please return it Anonymous or original writer. Thank you.Crescent 11:35, 19 November 2005 (UTC)
          • Its not a biased opinion, its a dictionary definition, murder refers to killing a human, not an animal... http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=murder
            • Er, did you actually read that page? check meanings 2,3,4 and 5 of the verb to murder Quirkie 02:14, 19 January 2006 (UTC)

It is also clearly the view-point character's position. Scare-quotes may be justified; removal is not.Septentrionalis 20:23, 9 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] 'Real novel' quote

  • "I am veined with iron, with silver, and with streaks of common clay. I cannot contract into the firm fist which those clench who do not depend on stimulus."

It would be interesting to identify this, if genuine.Septentrionalis 20:23, 9 March 2006 (UTC)

It looks like it's a slight misquote from "The Waves" by Virginia Woolf. The original says "Veined as I am with iron, with silver and streaks of common mud, I cannot contract into the firm fist which those clench who do not depend upon stimulus." [1] It alludes to Nebuchadnezzar's dream of a statue of gold, silver, bronze, iron and clay in Daniel 2:31-33. Translation into plain English: "I'm not a tough, heartless guy." Jammycakes 21:57, 16 May 2006 (UTC)

I have read this book. It is a correct quote. --89.213.0.43 23:05, 27 July 2006 (UTC)

I've added this to the article 172.141.73.47 11:07, 10 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Reading guide edition

Co0uld anyone explain the difference between the reading guide edition of the book and the usual edition of the book. What extra information does the reading guide edtion of the bok include? 195.93.21.36 18:09, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] The Title's Origins

"The curious incident of the dog in the night-time" is also a line in the Sherlocks Holmes mystery "Silver Blaze." Can someone confirm this? 72.68.192.201 03:02, 2 August 2006 (UTC)

The quote appears in full at the top of the "Silver Blaze" article. I'm not sure it needs to be reproduced here, though. I think the current explanation is enough. Chris 42 11:24, 2 August 2006 (UTC)

// [Nicos] Yes, this is the origin of the title.... //

[edit] Autism/Asperger's Syndrome

This page says that Christopher has Autism, while the blurb on my edition (Vintage 2004) says he has Asperger's Syndrome. Clarification? 82.46.0.67 19:42, 19 September 2006 (UTC)

Isn't Asperger's a mild form of autism? Update: 'Doctors see Asperger's syndrome as a mild form of autism. It is sometimes called "high-functioning autism". This means somebody with autism who looks like they do not have autism, but their brains still works differently than that of other people.' (from Wikipedia's article on Asperger's Syndrome in Simple English). Therefore, both the blurb and this page mean the same thing. Saying 'autism' is just describing it in a more vague sense. Should it be changed to Asperger's to reflect the nature of Christopher's condition more clearly? Another update: It's already been changed. :) Baberlp 20:20, 19 October 2006 (UTC)

Perhaps, but his condition at least as described in this article includes things (touch-sensitivity to the point of screaming at every touch, for instance) that I /think/ go beyond the usual depth of Asperger's symptoms and into a different class of autism. The lines are very vague, of course. 72.148.206.54 (talk) 12:49, 29 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Abnormalities section/plot and character info

Added Abnormalities section and rewritten plot, added more info on characters and arranged them in order of importance). Admits that plot could be a little too brief. Abnormalities section can require some adding.... By the way, I just read the book finish today ^_^ heheh Fierywindz 13:05, 11 December 2006 (UTC)lol

[edit] Spoiler Warning please!!!

Is there a wikipedia standard for indicating spoilers in articles about books and movies. The character list alone spoils the plot. Would be nice to have all spoilers limited to a section at the end of the article. Or at least have a "Contains spoilers" warning at the head of the article.

Luckily I read this article AFTER I finished the book. (After having the ending spoiled without warning in the wiki article on Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, I no longer read wiki reviews before I have read a book..) ScottDK 14:01, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

I advise you to read Wikipedia:Spoiler and Wikipedia:No disclaimer templates before implementing the spoiler warnings into the article yourself. These past few months have seen deep discussion about spoiler warnings. –Sebi ~ 22:18, 22 June 2007 (UTC)
One statement in the Characters section is a major spoiler. Moreover, with it being the book of suspense it is, I can't believe anybody thinks this article can live without spoiler warnings. -- Smjg 20:31, 4 August 2007 (UTC)
You think somebody would look up this article and expect not to see how the story unfolds? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.239.14.228 (talk) 05:20, 14 November 2007 (UTC)
Yes. Somebody wanting to find out how the story of a book unfolds would likely read the book. One should be able to read about a book and still have a reason to read the book afterwards.
It's true that some people may still want to read a bit about the plot of a story through Wikipedia. But such info should be provided through a Plot section, which the individual may choose to read or not to read, not by spoilers dotted about the article where anybody can inadvertently see them. As it happens, this article used to have a Plot section, but then it was vandalised away. I'm wondering whether to reinstate it.... -- Smjg (talk) 20:25, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Film?

According to this, Steve Kloves is busy writing a script for David Heyman and might even direct. Should be interesting… HTH HAND —Phil | Talk 15:37, 5 July 2007 (UTC)

The film has been taken off IMDB so not sure if its still gonna be made or not

[edit] British spelling

With regard to recent 'corrections' that were probably well-intended, please observe the following from Wikipedia:Manual of Style#National varieties of English: "An article on a topic that has strong ties to a particular English-speaking nation uses the appropriate variety of English for that nation." This article relates to a book that was first published in the United Kingdom, is written by a British author and features a British protagonist in a British setting. Chris 42 21:41, 20 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] References to The Curious Incident...

In the movie 'I Am Legend', in the scene just after the scene where Robert Neville (Will Smith) kills his own dog, a building is shown whith a huge sign. The sign reads: "Wellington". —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.31.101.231 (talk) 22:59, 26 December 2007 (UTC)

Yeah. So what? Pippin the Mercury (talk) 17:22, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Fair use rationale for Image:Curiousincidentofdoginnighttime.jpg

Image:Curiousincidentofdoginnighttime.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images lacking such an explanation can be deleted one week after being tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot (talk) 20:52, 13 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Title of Article

Isn't the current title a bit too long? Think about it this way:

Most people see Through the Looking Glass's article at Through the Looking Glass. And this book is called "The Curious Incident" for short by most people. So should we move it to the short title? I think it should be done. --20000 Talk/Contributions 15:57, 14 April 2008 (UTC)

No. It should be a redirect but not the title. Bam123456789 Please Talk!! 16:25, 14 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Diagnosis of protagonist

Isn't Asperger's syndrome and high-functioning autism the same thing? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 211.30.226.24 (talk) 06:14, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

I don't think it is. The difference is that Asperger's is very like autism but not exactly the same thing. High-functioning autism, however, is just autism where the person is capable of functioning mostly like normal people. To say that Asperger's and high-functioning autism are the same is like saying that someone like, say, Temple Grandin just has Asperger's. (This is an explanation of the difference as far as I understand it. People tried to explain my own Asperger's to me and I had the hardest time understanding it.) Pippin the Mercury (talk) 17:25, 9 June 2008 (UTC)