# Dilbert Creator Scott Adams on Gaining His Voice **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 26, 2006, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilbert-creator-scott-adams-on-gaining-his-voice/377956 "2006-10-26T08:16:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sleel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@Sleel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleel)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilbert-creator-scott-adams-on-gaining-his-voice/377956/1 "2006-10-26T08:16:33Z")
Scott Adams apparently lost his voice about 18 months ago due to a condition called Spasmodic Dysphonia. He recently posted on his blog about how he has partially overcome this condition, which normally is permanently disabling. (Via [Daring Fireball](http://daringfireball.net): Scott Adams’ blog entry, [Good News Day](http://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/2006/10/good_news_day.html)) Pretty darn cool, if you ask me. Like Gruber at Daring Fireball said, it’s nice to see some uplifting news every once in a while. ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilbert-creator-scott-adams-on-gaining-his-voice/377956/2 "2006-10-26T11:53:13Z")
That’s the same condition Diane Rheem from NPR suffers from, right? I hope Scott’s doctor told him about her…her voice may not be beautiful, but she can still make her living from it. Hope Scott continues to improve. ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilbert-creator-scott-adams-on-gaining-his-voice/377956/3 "2006-10-26T13:20:03Z")
Kitten, if you read the blog you will see that this condition is largely psychological. Scott could speak just fine at speaking engagements and the like, and he could sing you a song with no troubles, but he couldn’t talk normally to anyone in a one on one fashion. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2006, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilbert-creator-scott-adams-on-gaining-his-voice/377956/4 "2006-10-26T17:59:51Z")
Maybe that’s why he brought Loud Howard back. ---
**Author:** ![Indyellen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/indyellen/32/4176_2.png) [@Indyellen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indyellen)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilbert-creator-scott-adams-on-gaining-his-voice/377956/5 "2006-10-27T02:26:36Z")
[QUOTE=crazyjoe] Kitten, if you read the blog you will see that this condition is largely psychological. Scott could speak just fine at speaking engagements and the like, and he could sing you a song with no troubles, but he couldn’t talk normally to anyone in a one on one fashion. [/QUOTE] I beg to differ; part of the brain shutting down does NOT equate to being a psychological disorder. I work for an ENT practice which has physicians who specialize in [spasmodic dysphonia](http://www.emedicine.com/ENT/topic349.htm) treatment; most of the rest of Scott’s blog regarding how dysphonia works is accurate. However, do not confuse a _neurological_ or _muscular_ disorder with a psychological one. ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2006, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilbert-creator-scott-adams-on-gaining-his-voice/377956/6 "2006-10-27T13:55:37Z")
[QUOTE=Indyellen] I beg to differ; part of the brain shutting down does NOT equate to being a psychological disorder. I work for an ENT practice which has physicians who specialize in [spasmodic dysphonia](http://www.emedicine.com/ENT/topic349.htm) treatment; most of the rest of Scott’s blog regarding how dysphonia works is accurate. However, do not confuse a _neurological_ or _muscular_ disorder with a psychological one. [/QUOTE] Apologies, I read the recent entry and looked at it as psychological because a) I’m ignorant and had never heard of the condition before and b) it seems psychological in nature, given how he could sing but not talk. ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2006, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dilbert-creator-scott-adams-on-gaining-his-voice/377956/7 "2006-11-04T17:23:02Z")
[QUOTE=crazyjoe] Apologies, I read the recent entry and looked at it as psychological because a) I’m ignorant and had never heard of the condition before and b) it seems psychological in nature, given how he could sing but not talk. [/QUOTE] That’s because the part of the brain responsible for regular conversational speaking is different from the part of the brain responsible for singing. Kind of like how the severely Parkinsonian patients in _Awakenings_ could not move voluntarily but could still move reflexively – they could catch a ball if you threw it at them and they reacted reflexively, but couldn’t initiate voluntary movement because the _substantia nigra_, a crucial part of the brain’s system responsible for initiating voluntary movements.