The Arc de Siècle: functional neurological disorder during the ‘forgotten’ years of the 20th century, 2020, Stone et al

[Andy]

Jon Stone cross referencing himself again.

In 1900, functional neurological disorder, then known as ‘hysteria’, was a key topic of neurological research. A condition with its own catalogue of signs, symptoms and treatment, like any other; but one that eluded the pathologist’s gaze. ‘Hysteria’ was a standard part of the neurological curriculum for neurologists of the period, from Charcot to Babinski in Paris, and Gowers to Henry Head in the UK (Stone, 2016). This is well-trodden ground for medical historians. However, a combination of factors led to a steep decline in neurological interest in ‘hysteria’ after World War I: the shell shock epidemic and subsequent home office enquiry, the...

Paywall, https://academic.oup.com/brain/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/brain/awaa037/5816705
Not available via Sci hub at time of posting.

 

[Cheshire]

Arc de siècle doesn't mean anything in French.

 

[Arnie Pye]

Arc de siècle doesn't mean anything in French.

When I search for "Arc de siècle" the only reference to it is the article linked in the first post. So I assume it doesn't mean anything to anybody except the authors of the article.

 

[Andy]

Arc de siècle doesn't mean anything in French.

The authors 'treat' FND, words can mean anything they want..

 

[Trish]

Arc de siècle doesn't mean anything in French.

So even in his very first words the author plays fast and loose with language and shows himself up as a pretentious idiot. It can only go downhill from there. One I'm not going to bother to read.

 

[NelliePledge]

tripes a la mode d’edimbourg

 

[Cheshire]

tripes a la mode d’edimbourg

Bravo!

 

[large donner]

The direct translation of Arc de siecle is..

Arse of the century.

Its Stone referencing himself yet again.

 

[rvallee]

Arc de siècle doesn't mean anything in French.

Nothing at all. I'm trying and... nope. Some attempt at spanning a full century or something like that? Considering the core ideas are still identical to this day, and still lacking even a single bit of evidence, it didn't so much span a century as survived it unscathed as an anachronistic aberration.

 

[Cheshire]

Nothing at all. I'm trying and... nope. Some attempt at spanning a full century or something like that? Considering the core ideas are still identical to this day, and still lacking even a single bit of evidence, it didn't so much span a century as survived it unscathed as an anachronistic aberration.

Yes, that's really weird.
Did he think "oh I'm going to speak about Charcot and la Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital, why not put some random French words to add a bit of Parisian chic intellectualism"?

You missed your target, Jon, the result is ridiculous posh pretentiousness.

 

[rvallee]

The Omelette du Fromage: functional neurological disorder during the ‘forgotten’ years of the 20th century, 2020, Stone et al

 

[Jonathan Edwards]

Perhaps he meant Arc en ciel - chasing rainbows.

 

[spinoza577]

tripes a la mode d’edimbourg

He himself writes:

This is well-trodden ground ... However, a combination of factors ...

 

[large donner]

 

[Arnie Pye]

I just found this ... Fin de siècle which means "end of the century". I'm not convinced it makes any more sense than the original bit of dodgy French in the article, but wondered if it was what was intended.

 

[Invisible Woman]

There's also Siècle des lumières -

The Age of Enlightenment was an intellectual and philosophical movement that dominated the world of ideas in Europe during the 17th to 19th centuries.

Where presumably siècle is an age or an era.

I think the only enlightenment here is that the author is a bit of a pretentious arse trying to look cleverer than he actually is, attempting to cover the his own mediocrity with fancy language and failing. Miserably.

 

[Cheshire]

There's also "arc de cercle" (circular arc) whose pronunciation is very close to arc de siècle. But I don't know why he would have wanted to talk about circular arcs...

 

[chrisb]

I am not a fan of Stone, but think some of the criticism is a little unfair. I see no reason why he should not, knowingly, create a neologism using some metaphor if he wishes to indicate a belief that the end of the century sees us back to where we were at the beginning. Some may not consider the metaphor a triumph.

 

[Jonathan Edwards]

I think he must be thinking of arc de circle, as in coming full circle.
Trying to be clever and put that in obscure language seems to me very relevant to his inability to make a useful analysis of his subject matter.

There is of course the possibility that it was changed to Siecle by a meddling subeditor but even if one does not proof read one's work in full one should presumably glance at the title.

 

[Hoopoe]

Question: I believe in an idea that lacks credibility. How should I sell this idea to the public?

Answer: Wrap it in sophisticated language to really convey how much more authoritative you are.

(if there was good evidence of course you could simply present it, instead of making references to century old anecdotes or accusing your critics of prejudice against mental health or whatever)

Also I'm pretty sure shell shock has nothing to do with hysteria or psychogenic causes. It was just internal blast injuries that got psychologized heavily. The soldiers naming it shell shock got it exactly right.