These people are literally imprisoned in a second skeleton, ... It transforms muscles, tendons, ligaments -- connective tissues become sheathed in bone. It spans joints, locking them into place and rendering movement completely impossible.

Generally, though, these people are quite healthy, ... Perhaps there is an auto-inflammatory component because they tend to be tremendously resistant to infections. But if they happen to get a cold or respiratory infection, it's more likely to become a complicated issue.

[Life expectancy for people with FOP is] tremendously variable, ... The average life span is mid-40s, but it ranges from the teens to the 80s.

It should be quite clear that it is possible for unpleasant people who are small in various ways other than in their artistic genius to produce great art. Art and morality have no necessary connection.

A recommendation to scholars: Write only one book about Lincoln; give it your best shot, and then move on.

Can a great artist be mean-spirited, grasping, harsh to his family, violent in his emotions, vindictive in his hatreds, an all-purpose scoundrel? If our test cases are the likes of Wagner, Picasso, and, let me say, Dickens, the answer is a resounding yes.