As I read Arena Israel’s letter just now while reformatting it, I suddenly realized that I had met John Brodie and spoken with him at some length. At 57, I must be getting old, for he struck me as looking quite a bit younger than 36.

John and I had heard one anothers’ witness in Meeting for Worship.

John had come to Friends Meeting a few times, and I had heard him give vocal ministry there. I remember that some of his witness was about Jesus Christ. I believe him to have been a person of deep belief and faith. I said hello to him in the supermarket as well, where, like my son, he had taken a job bagging groceries. I felt that in some sense, he was lonely. I felt he had found a home here; he expressed that he enjoyed my own ministry in meeting.

I remember looking across the room at John while he spoke in meeting for worship, and remarking that to me, he looked like Jesus might have looked. My sense of his witness was that he had become ‘tender’ in the classic Quaker sense of the word … that he was doing his best to live a Christ-like life, which for a Quaker, is a very high calling indeed. I believe he had given himself to G-d.

I knew nothing of John’s illustrious career in academia. Like others here in Brattleboro, I was totally surprised to learn of some of the exotic and unusual paths he had already walked at his young age.

This is a great loss.

– John Wilmerding

http://www.reformer.com/Stories/0,1413,102~8855~3234558,00.html

Letters to the Editor

Remembering John Brodie
by Arena Israel

John Brodie, the man from Brattleboro who ran from a Hinsdale police officer and drowned in the river, was not an anonymous recluse as the article in last Friday’s Reformer implied. John was a brilliant, creative, and deeply spiritual person who lived a rich, full, and courageous life in spite of his struggles with bipolar mental illness.

John had a doctorate in physics from Princeton University and a post-doctorate degree from Stanford University. An online search turns up many links for his work in this field.

John had traveled the world and lived and worked in third world countries. He loved to hike and had explored portions of the Appalachian Trail. Like many of us living here, he was drawn to Brattleboro because of its liberal, creative and spiritual counter-cultures. He was seeking a small town that fostered the freedom and openness that felt crucial to his inner growth. He was making the rounds of this area’s diverse meditation, self-awareness and ecological groups. When I asked John which groups he thought were good, he responded that he liked them all. He found something useful in each group and did not discriminate among them.

More than anything, John reminded me of a modern day wandering Sadhu. He had been inspired by the life of Peace Pilgrim, who had walked this country without possessions, promoting world peace. Like her, he had a dream to walk this country. But like the sages in India and China, he wanted to do it barefoot. In our culture sages and madmen tend to be lumped together and condemned, rather than revered. But it would behoove us to understand more clearly the connections and fine lines between geniuses, sages, madmen, and saints. The lines are thinner than we think.

John was a very genuine and heart-centered person. He allowed himself to be vulnerable, sharing openly of himself and his struggles. He had taken a job at Price Chopper because he felt that the simple, basic work would be of help to him. He wanted a change from the complexities that the realm of physics presented. He spoke with humility and humor about how his job at Price Chopper turned out to be anything but simple. Even when bagging groceries he entered into a competition with himself. He strove to be the best and fastest grocery bagger. He then felt humbly relieved to realize that he was just an ordinary bagger like anyone else. John recognized what was most essential: our common humanness.

I only knew John for too brief a time. However, each encounter I had with him was meaningful, because of his openness, honesty, and humility. I admired his courage to be vulnerable and exposed in a culture where those qualities are not typically safe to express. There was some ineffable quality about him that inspired me, and yet at the same time made me want to reach out and protect him. His eyes radiated light, and his soul seemed to burn with a religious fire that was very gentle and respectful of others, and did not seek to convert anyone to anything.

My heart goes out to the police officer involved in John’s death. However, in a small town with a large Brattleboro Retreat hospital, it is imperative that we have police officers specially trained to gently handle people exhibiting signs of mental illness. For me, John is an example of a type of endangered human species. May we as individuals, and as a community as a whole, come to respect and value the more courageous, vulnerable and gifted among us before its too late.

Arena Israel

Divers Recover Body of Vermont Man
by Kristi Ceccarossi

Hinsdale, New Hampshire — Friday, February 3, 2006 — A Brattleboro, Vermont man was found in the Connecticut River on Thursday morning, ending a five-day search for his body.

John H. Brodie, 36, was found near Route 119, about a mile and a half south of the bridges between Brattleboro and Hinsdale. Divers from New Hampshire Fish and Game said he was 120 feet from the shore, submerged in about 20 feet of water.

Brodie lived on South Main Street. Neighbors described him as reclusive, according to Hinsdale Police Chief Wayne Gallagher. They told police they couldn¹t recall seeing any visitors at his apartment.

He has no known family in the area. His parents, in Fulton, Maryland, were notified, Gallagher said.

Police had been searching for Brodie since Saturday night, when he ran from an officer and into the river.

Around 11 p.m., Saturday, Hinsdale Officer Dean Wright approached Brodie, who was riding a bicycle, on Route 119. Police received a call that a man was walking around the neighborhood, ringing doorbells.

When questioned by Wright, Brodie admitted he was ringing the bells and said it was because he was “running for president.”

The officer asked for identification. Brodie gave him a valid Canadian health card. Wright returned to his cruiser to run Brodie¹s name. When it came up clear, he left his cruiser to return the ID. But before he could get to Brodie, he said Brodie ran down an embankment toward the river, screaming.

Wright said he chased him, but was unable to reach him before he hit the water. Brodie took off his shirt, socks and shoes and jumped into the river.

Wright said he tried to coax him back to shore, but after saying the water was cold, Brodie reportedly slipped below the surface.

The average temperature of the river this time of year is between 35 and 37 degrees. At that temperature, hypothermia sets in quickly.

The dive team from Brattleboro¹s Fire Department aided in the search over the last several days. New Hampshire Fish and Game found Brodie around 10:47 a.m., Thursday.

An autopsy will be done on his body in Concord, where the state¹s medical examiner is based.

Obituary

John Hartley Brodie

Brattleboro, Vermont — John Hartley Brodie, 36, a theoretical physicist, accidentally drowned on January 28, 2006, near Brattleboro, where he was residing.

He was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, attended Society of Friends (Quaker) services in Sandy Spring, Maryland, and graduated from Atholton High School in Howard County, Maryland, where he became an accomplished pianist and lacrosse player.

He went on to receive his B.S and M.S. degrees from Cornell University in physics. He then took a year off from his studies to travel around the world, mainly to the Far East, where he developed an interest in Eastern philosophies and religions.

He returned to continue his studies at Princeton University, where he received a Ph.D. degree in theoretical physics in 1998. His dissertation was on gauge and string theories. He went on to do research on string theory, first at the Stanford University Linear Accelerator, and then at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

Physicists call string theory the “theory of everything” because it attempts to integrate diverse forms of energy into an overall concept. Brodie published a number of research papers in peer-review journals on this subject.

In 2004, Mr. Brodie took a leave from his research to teach at the Monteverde Friends School in Costa Rica. While there, he traveled to Nicaragua to help Habitat for Humanity construct housing for poor inhabitants.

Over the years, Brodie became an avid environmentalist, supporter of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and, not surprisingly, a strict vegetarian. He also opposed the current war, and was active in the peace movement.

His avocations included playing his guitar, hiking, camping, cycling, yoga, and meditation.

Survivors include his parents, Harry and Angela Brodie of Fulton, and a brother, Mark and his wife Amy and their two children of the Los Angeles area.

Funeral services were held on February 11 at Friends Meeting House in Sandy Spring, followed by a reception in the Community House.

A memorial service will be held at the Putney Friends Meeting at 2 pm on Saturday, March 4. The meetinghouse is located on Route 5 just north of the Putney village center.

/OR/

http://tinyurl.com/j7c5h

[text from article already linked from the main post has been deleted -cvj]

I met John when he first came to the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo, Ontario, and John attended Ouaker Meeting in Kitchener. We quickly became friends and soon became very close friends. I spent the last 3 to 4 years of his life being his trusted friend or confidante.

The comments on your blog sadden me, because most of them seem to focus on ‘mental illness’. I sincerely believe, that is exactly why we are looking at John’s untimely death… John did NOT represent or embody ‘mental illness! If there was any ‘mental illness’, it was that of our society. It’s society that is ILL, not the person that needs help on occassion. Unfortunately we are only willing to help with pills and restraints, which is really the same thing. Very sad indeed…. What ever happened to listening to people without judgement?? The circumstances of John’s death are bizarre: a door bell being rung by John and it goes unanswered, BUT!! the cops were called!! What harm did John do that would warrent calling 911 ??? Who’s crazy here?

I had very close contact with John, especially in the past 2 years. I talked to him on the phone for an hour and a half that very morning on the day of his death. He had asked me to come to Brattleboro the following Tuesday. He wanted to have my input to help him buy a house he had spotted there. Yes, he was ‘flying high’ that morning, in the mental ‘heath’ lingo it would have been called ‘manic’. But that is neither here nor there, when John was ‘flying high’ he did not change one little bit. He continued to be this very sweet and nice person. Harmless is what he was.

I believe it is society and psychiatry that would not let John live any longer than he did. John was this most amazing man, he had a lot to offer to this world - and I’m not talking theoretical physics here - he wanted a better world, but the world was cruel. The world failled John.

John was suffering from a deep seated pain that manifested itself in him needing compassion more than anything at times. The ironic thing is that John was a very compassionate person, but there was NO compassion for John that night. Psychiatry seems to be sold on this ‘chemical imbalance’ in the brain fraud, instead of investigating and healing the root causes of emotional distress. But, hey, that takes time… Labels and pills cost a lot less, so psychiatry and their cohorts think, but they are wrong. In far too many cases it costs lives.

I was devastated when I learned about John’s death almost a week after he had drowned. His mother called me as soon as they had recovered his body. I went to all three of John’s Memorial Services. I thought it might help me heal, but it’s a slow process.

To me John did NOT accidentally drown, he was driven into the water by all of us! We all lost a very special person when John died. That seems to be the way, we don’t seem to be able to hang on to people we need most. Crazy world!

Peace,

Inez

-cvj

I like what I see in the brain-trust of the blog. Sean, CVJ, Joanne, Mark, Risa are obviously “the cream rises to the top”.

[ Bush administration (& politicians in general) adheres to the Sewage Plant model of bureacracy: “the turds rise to the top” ]

I had my brief fame as a grad-student, when I led a breakthrough in my field (rare, but sometimes happens).

The case-studies of J Brodie, Iris Chang, M Mahowald, William Cottrell (Caltech grad student sentenced to Federal prison for Environmental Terrorism) bring to light the issue of CONTROL. I.e., “Power [ great Intellect ] without Control [ COOL IT ]..is USELESS”. This is a quote from Drag Racing, referring to tire-spin: racers adjust the engine + clutch combination (based on track conditions) to minimize wheel-spin at the start-line.

[snip, snip…..-cvj see below]

I’m getting feedback that I need to tone-down the length of my posts, so I’m starting the above blog as an “enclosure”

http://cosmic-variance.blogspot.com

to act as a depository of my verbose analysis. I tend to overanalyze things, that’s just the way I’m wired.

On the way back from LAX to Pasadena (Egypt solar eclipse), I shared the van ride with the Caltech Bursar..a nice lady. I brought up the issue of “knife edge students” @Caltech (& my HS), & mentioned my concern & desire to meet with Caltech brain-trust. She told me they had built-in programs to *look for* problems, & address them. That’s “talk-the-talk” (lip service), I wonder about “walk-the-walk” (really doing it). I mentioned how Harvard had made such adjustments, after a crisis of suicides many yrs back.

She then mentioned that a 13 yr old girl was admitted as a GRADUATE STUDENT, who was a math whiz (both her parents are Math profs @UCLA).

Oh no..here we go again! I don’t question her academic capability, but the “social/emotional” aspect. How does she expect to fit in with people almost twice her age? I expect some kind of rejection, which will no doubt cause stress.

[snip snip….-cvj See below]

She became an International Securities Lawyer (big name firm in Houston), but my HS president told me she came down with some debilitating chronic fatigue syndrome & is basically retired. I think she burned out. Which was what happened to me, to some degree.

Chronic fatigue syndrome is not merely a state of being burned out. It usually manifests itself as an unusual complex of severe symptoms including extreme fatigue, short term memory loss, joint and muscle pain, swollen glands, etc. I was extremely ill and misdiagnosed as having CFS for years until it was finally discovered by an immunologist that I actually had a severe antibody deficiency (subclass of primary immune deficiency). Now after many years of intravenous immune globulin, I’ve returned almost to normal, and I can actually do math again! Although what causes CFS is still controversial in general, I now know from their discussions that many of the people in my old CFS email list probably actually had an immune deficiency and weren’t properly diagnosed.

I think this case is illustrative, this & the above cases are NOT mental illness, but simply *breaking down* after going TOO Hard, TOO Fast.

“Harder, Faster”
– from offroad racing

“You know I say, pressure busts pipes. And, you know he [ Bill Parcells, football coach..very similar to Bobby Knight, a relentless disciplinarian/tyrant ] wants to see if you’re gonna be the pipe that busts”
— Curtis Martin, played 4 seasons for B. Parcells

THIS is what’s going on. America has a hyper-competitive culture (”America likes a winner, hates a loser” from the movie “Patton”), & whether its Academics or Sports there is this INCREDIBLE pressure to win. Bill Parcells, Bobby Knight were both “old school” guys, who became good friends at West Point. The latter explains their focus on extreme discipline.

“Winning isn’t Everything, it’s the ONLY THING”
– Vince Lombardi, legendary football coach, GB Packers

I was going to meet w/Caltech President & both Provosts (physicists) to tell them that they NEED to teach a course on Moderation. I’m seeing their students (& some profs) imploding. I point to that quote I’ve used repeatedly from Formula 1 “In order to PUSH the limits, sometimes you have to EXCEED the limits”. The avg SAT score of Caltech undergrad is 1500, so all these kids are really bright & driven:

“Superior Minds, breed Superior Ambition”
– Spock, “Space Seed” (the followup episode was TWOK, “The Wrath of Khan”)
[ famous Trek episode, Khan & other superior minds ended up taking over the world. They became brutal dictators, & were thrown out..put into a ship & sent into space ]

I believe the *perceived* mental illness, is simply a nervous breakdown due to overwork. That’s what happened to Iris Chang, she developed clinical depression after driving too hard & getting massive sleep deprivation.

I mean, Come on! These people who are high-performance are pushing hard..of course they will “break” & suffer the effects. The brilliant work of John Brodie, Iris Chang (& others) comes at a price. “You have to pay the price” is a famous quote from Sports: meaning, you have to put a LOT of dedication into training, & years of work (minor leagues, in the case of Baseball).