
Steve Silberman on Autism - lermontov
http://fivebooks.com/interview/steve-silberman-on-autism/
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prutschman
The more people I meet with autism the less idea I have what it means as a
category.

~~~
tamana
You amd all the scientsts who study it. It's a giant bucket of symptoms for
which we don't have a well understood mechanism or diagnostic criteria. And
since societt can't comprehend too many things at once, anyone who wants
funding calls their thing "autism"

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stared
(shameless plug) My recent article on nerds, science, Asperger syndrome (and
pop culture): [http://crastina.se/autistic-traits-science-and-the-nerd-
ster...](http://crastina.se/autistic-traits-science-and-the-nerd-stereotype/).

~~~
notthegov
How do we distinguish between someone who is an introvert and someone who is
socially lazy? Or someone who is quiet and someone who is mean?

Also saying everyone is somewhere on the austic spectrum is questionable. I am
skeptical of such claims and think behaviorial choices and self-fulfilling
prophechies are to blame.

Scientists and engineers can be outgoing. Introverts can be gregarious. I
resist the temptation to label ourselves, I'm this or I'm that. Or the
temptation to indulge our emotions; "I just speak my mind".

You are whatever you limit yourself to be. Focus, being in the zone and being
mathematically inclined is not Aspergers. We are all smart enough and human
enough to know and feel emotions. We aren't robots no matter how much our
intellect makes us hate society or become misanthropic or antagonist towards
the opposite sex.

If Temple Grandin can do what she did, a shy awkward nerdy kid can learn
confidence, can challenge himself to break out of pre-defined molds, and be
anything and everything humanly possible and then some.

Being social isn't easy for anyone just like coding isn't easy for anyone.
Except those who practice it.

~~~
nitrogen
_If Temple Grandin can do what she did, a shy awkward nerdy kid can learn
confidence, can challenge himself to break out of pre-defined molds, and be
anything and everything humanly possible and then some._

Exceptions cannot be used to define norms. "If she did it, anyone can" is
demeaning to both the person who accomplished whatever "it" is, _and_ to
everyone else who hasn't done "it."

