10 replies to this topic

[BrandonKing]

Im autistic, i was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome in seventh grade five years ago. I do not consider it a disability in fact we are mentally superior i dare say. asperger syndrome can be best described as not knowing how to act socially but the intelligence level is generally between average to superior intelligence. Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton were diagnosed with asperger syndrome and they were two of earths smartest physicist. so maybe its possible that autism or some forms of autism are in fact the next step to human evolution, one step closer to PostHumanism

Edited by milkdude94, 13 December 2010 - 03:48 PM.

[Brainbox]

I did vote against autism being a defect. On the other hand however, it is a deviation from a certain mean of what is perceived as being "normal" by "normal" people.

The examples you did refer to are from times where an individualist approach could result in significant success. To a certain extend, individualism is still an important factor for success, but the social and communicative aspect of normal day functioning are more important now then ever. In every day economy and research teamwork is very important. I guess that you, like every "normal" person, would benefit from looking at how to improve aspects of your personality that could lead to an optimal integration with your peers.

[BrandonKing]

I did vote against autism being a defect. On the other hand however, it is a deviation from a certain mean of what is perceived as being "normal" by "normal" people.

The examples you did refer to are from times where an individualist approach could result in significant success. To a certain extend, individualism is still an important factor for success, but the social and communicative aspect of normal day functioning are more important now then ever. In every day economy and research teamwork is very important. I guess that you, like every "normal" person, would benefit from looking at how to improve aspects of your personality that could lead to an optimal integration with your peers.

well i find, due to my autism, that i see things with a cold clarity, my vision isnt clouded by what society deems right because its not always so. i look at things with a more practical view usually and things that society deems wrong, like stem cell research, human cloning, even adults and teens dating(teens are in their best breeding years, its natural for adults to be attracted to them for that reason, humans basic animal instinct for breeding and survival. most people see things as society does my anti societal nature deems me the opposite. i myself have been driven to transhumanism and this site in particular because ever since i realized religion is wrong(it makes slaves out of people and uses them for its own goals) i have had an obsession over conquering death and i do agree with Aubrey De Grey that it is a disease, his research was very influential in my ascension to transhumanism. hell most of my life keeping in touch with whats going on in the world of science has always been a hobby when im supposed to be studying or doing homework trivial things that arent worth my attention. so most people mistakenly think i go to a private high school at them moment because of how much stuff i know that isnt taught, but i have always gone to public school which comes as a surprise to those that dont already know. now im not pretending to be a child genius or anything im not even close to the smartest person at my school, hell i can barely do math because when everyone else was learning math i was reading, i just try hard in the courses i like thats all. course i find math very interesting i just cant do it. but i have always nevertheless had a great interest in science. my freshman year i passed biology with over 130%.

[niner]

This is kind of a tough poll, due to the way it's phrased. My son is on the autism spectrum. He's "high-functioning", i.e. he has Aspergers, aside from some irrelevant differences. He is brilliant and creative and funny, and I love him very much. He's reasonably popular with the other kids at his (public) school, though he finds socializing very difficult. His mother and grandmother both have mental characteristics that I see in my son, as do I. This is not unusual in the families of Aspergers kids, so I have to come down on the side of it having a significant genetic component. To describe it as a "defect" sounds like you're asking us to put a value judgment on it. My son's condition makes him difficult to deal with at times, and causes him significant discomfort. It causes him to have a difficult time navigating our society. These things are all negatives. His different brain wiring gives him the ability to visualize his thoughts. It gives him a highly developed three dimensional sense, and a great facility with mathematics. These are positives. There are more of both. To try to boil it down to a single good/bad descriptor is too simplistic. He'll require special attention, which he's getting, and in return he will have special talents. I think that he is going to have a successful life. He'll face more pain and difficulty than, say, his brother will, but he has the possibility of great rewards as well.

My vote was for "genetic defect", as I feel it has a large genetic component, though I quibble about the term "defect". If one is on the autism spectrum but is toward the neurotypical end, then it might be considered a plus. If one is much further down the spectrum, it is unquestionably a negative, though there is a broad gray area where the "value" of it will depend on circumstances. The spectrum is so wide that we need different language to describe different portions of it. For the purposes of this poll, I think we should be talking about the Aspergers subset rather than autism.

[PWAIN]

I voted for defect but I largely agree with the sentiments expressed by niner. I also note that the Autism spectrum is huge and it is wrong to generalise. For instance, not all Autism is high functioning and so clearly that has a negative impact on those people.

As a side note, I seem to know a lot of people who are on the spectrum in various capacities and most seem to cope somehow. There is a big range in the level of those affected and in most cases, I prefer to consider it a personality quirk. I also note that most of these people on the spectrum have kids with similar tendancies, indicating a genetic component.

I believe a society works best when there is a balanced mix of neuro typical and spectrum members.

If a pill was available to automagically make a person permanently neuro typical and was permanent, I would be morally torn about it's use in all but the more sever forms, however if the effect was temporary, I would encourage all to give it a try to see what an NT lifestyle is like. The reverse (a pill that temporally puts a person in a high functioning state) would also be interesting.

[caliban]

Automatic message


This topic has been moved from "Community -> Immortality Institute" to "Bioscience, Health & Nutrition -> Bioscience -> Genetics".

[Maosef]

Im autistic, i was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome in seventh grade five years ago. I do not consider it a disability in fact we are mentally superior i dare say. asperger syndrome can be best described as not knowing how to act socially but the intelligence level is generally between average to superior intelligence. Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton were diagnosed with asperger syndrome and they were two of earths smartest physicist. so maybe its possible that autism or some forms of autism are in fact the next step to human evolution, one step closer to PostHumanism

Well im dyslexic and as well as that being one of the most irritating of learning disabilitys its only recently that it has dawned on me that it might equip me with unique gifts. So whilst we may hold claim (im not 100% convinced) to have multi-dimensional vivid imaginations, to actually try and correlate that information together and present it is always a hurdle. So from the people I know and have experienced (familiar with work, i.e Paul dirac) who have autism it seems they do have a unique gift accompanied by an obtrusive defect, so from that I believe it might be balanced but to call it genetic superiority might be bridging on arrogance

[okok]

When in comes to thinking, i 've always seen natural language as a necessary evil, either to document your own thoughts or to communicate them. Other than that, as a "lossy" conversion process it's more of a stereotyping hindrance to varying degrees, depening on how fluent, verbose you are.

[The Immortalist]

so maybe its possible that autism or some forms of autism are in fact the next step to human evolution, one step closer to PostHumanism

No your just trying to make yourself feel better by posting on a forum that some possible strengths that comes around with your disability make you superior to other people. Theres many intelligent, rich, and successful people in this world who can communicate properly and clearly who do not have "mild autism".

[BrandonKing]

so maybe its possible that autism or some forms of autism are in fact the next step to human evolution, one step closer to PostHumanism

No your just trying to make yourself feel better by posting on a forum that some possible strengths that comes around with your disability make you superior to other people. Theres many intelligent, rich, and successful people in this world who can communicate properly and clearly who do not have "mild autism".

no i am simply pointing out a widely ignored possibilty after all Hans Asperger once said "in order to be successful in science or art a dash of autsim is essential." and Aspies cant really communicate all that well im only 17 i go to public school but because my autism has allowed me to achieve a state of higher learning compared to my peers most adults assume i go to a private school despite the fact most my knowledge is self taught because my interests are not taught in high schools

autistic people can certainly revolutionize the way things are done because the unique way we think and process information i mean look at Temple Grandin she revolutionized the beef industry by literally thinking like a cow and creating a cow friendly environment to make the beef industry more humane and she has Asperger Syndrome

personally im under the impression im pretty useless and have no purpose on this earth but i dont want to die because i know there is nothing awaiting me afterwards so i intend to do what i must to ensure my self preservation hence my interest in BioMedical Gerontology

and the people on this website are some of the few NeuroTypicals that are thinking sensibly among the autistic community these types of interests are widely talked about and doing my service to this site i refer most who are interested to this website whenever possible

[BrandonKing]

I voted for defect but I largely agree with the sentiments expressed by niner. I also note that the Autism spectrum is huge and it is wrong to generalise. For instance, not all Autism is high functioning and so clearly that has a negative impact on those people.

As a side note, I seem to know a lot of people who are on the spectrum in various capacities and most seem to cope somehow. There is a big range in the level of those affected and in most cases, I prefer to consider it a personality quirk. I also note that most of these people on the spectrum have kids with similar tendancies, indicating a genetic component.

I believe a society works best when there is a balanced mix of neuro typical and spectrum members.

If a pill was available to automagically make a person permanently neuro typical and was permanent, I would be morally torn about it's use in all but the more sever forms, however if the effect was temporary, I would encourage all to give it a try to see what an NT lifestyle is like. The reverse (a pill that temporally puts a person in a high functioning state) would also be interesting.

as far as i can see it my autism is a MAJOR factor in who i am so by "curing" it that would be as if i stepped out of my body and someone else stepped in it would no longer be me in any sense of the word. and its hard for their to be a balanced mix of ASD and NT because just Asperger Syndrome alone(one of the most common forms) its like 3-4/1000 people get it

i dont consider it a defect for the reason that its just my brain is wired differently thats like saying being flat footed or left handed is a genetic defect its just i was wired differently upon creation of the zygote when the sperm met the egg nothing more nothing less