In fourth century Greece, a young Athenian named Demosthenes built himself an underground study, and shaved one half of his head so he couldn’t go out in public. The young Demosthenes entered his subterranean world and there he would remain, oftentimes without intermission, for two or three months.
As a boy, Demosthenes had a speech impairment, an “indistinct utterance and shortness of breath”, according to Greek philosopher Plutarch, that caused his sentences to be broken and disjointed, making it difficult for him to be understood. The first time Demosthenes made a speech in the public assembly, his stammering pronunciation caused him much distress, so much so that he sought the advice of an actor and set
