The Stylometric Impacts of Ageing and Life Events on Identity

Abstract Using data containing stylometric markers for depression and Alzheimer’s disease, the 45 novels of Iris Murdoch and P.D. James are examined to see if a signature of an individual, their personality, changes over time due to life events and natural ageing. We use variants of the critical slowing down 1-lag autocorrelation and coefficient of skewness techniques with a multivariate identity measure, RPAS to visualize these changes. We find that life events such as depression, anxiety, and Alzheimer’s disease might be identified outside of natural ageing through a tipping point phenomenon. We believe these techniques might be a useful self-help tool to aid in the signalling of depressive episodes, such as averting suicide, and the early identification of Alzheimer’s disease, or for law enforcement personnel monitoring terrorists on watch lists.

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