Hi, my name is Briony Keir, I’m from the UK. I stumbled on this site after getting into an argument with someone on the internet and wondering why they ended up failing to refute my arguments and instead resorted to insults. I’ve had a read-around before posting and it’s great to see an environment where rational thought is promoted and valued; I have a form of autism called Asperger Syndrome which, among many things, allows me to rely on rationality and logic more than other people seem to be able to—I too often get told I’m ‘too analytical’ and I ‘shouldn’t poke holes in other peoples’ beliefs’ when, the way I see it, any belief is there to be challenged and, indeed, having one’s beliefs challenged can only make them stronger (or serve as an indicator that one should find a more sensible viewpoint). I’m really looking forward to reading what people have to say; my environment (both educational and domestic) has so far served more to enforce a ‘we know better than you do so stop talking back’ rule rather than one which allows for disagreement and resolution on a logical basis, and so this has led to me feeling both frustrated and unchallenged intellectually for quite some time. I hope I prove worthy of debate over the coming weeks and months :)
This is not at all unusual here at LessWrong… I can’t seem to find a link, but I seem to recall that a fairly large portion of LessWrong-ers (at least relative to the general population) have Aspergers (or at least are somewhat Asperger-ish), myself included.
I’m not entirely sure though that I agree with the statement that Aspergers is “a form of autism”… I realize that that has been the general consensus for a while now, but I’ve read some articles (again, can’t find a link at the moment, sorry) suggesting that Aspergers is not actually related to Autism at all… personally, my feeling on the matter is that “Aspergers” isn’t an actual “disease” per se, but rather just a cluster of personality traits that happen to be considered socially unacceptable by modern mainstream culture, and have therefore been arbitrarily designated as a “disease”.
In any case, welcome to LessWrong—I look forward to your contributions in the future!
I’m not entirely sure though that I agree with the statement that Aspergers is “a form of autism”
If anything, I’d be tempted to say that autism is a more pronounced degree of asperger’s. I certainly catch myself in the spectrum that includes ADD as well.
The whole idea of neurodiversity is kind of exciting, actually. If there can be more than one way to appropriately interact with society, everyone gets richer.
If anything, I’d be tempted to say that autism is a more pronounced degree of asperger’s
That seems to me to be basically equivalent to saying that aspergers is a lesser form of autism. Again, sorry I can’t find the links at the moment, but I recall reading several articles suggesting that the two might actually not be related at all, neurologically.
The whole idea of neurodiversity is kind of exciting, actually. If there can be more than one way to appropriately interact with society, everyone gets richer.
I agree. Unfortunately, modern culture and institutions (like the public education system for one notable example) don’t seem to be set up based on this premise.
Hi, my name is Briony Keir, I’m from the UK. I stumbled on this site after getting into an argument with someone on the internet and wondering why they ended up failing to refute my arguments and instead resorted to insults. I’ve had a read-around before posting and it’s great to see an environment where rational thought is promoted and valued; I have a form of autism called Asperger Syndrome which, among many things, allows me to rely on rationality and logic more than other people seem to be able to—I too often get told I’m ‘too analytical’ and I ‘shouldn’t poke holes in other peoples’ beliefs’ when, the way I see it, any belief is there to be challenged and, indeed, having one’s beliefs challenged can only make them stronger (or serve as an indicator that one should find a more sensible viewpoint). I’m really looking forward to reading what people have to say; my environment (both educational and domestic) has so far served more to enforce a ‘we know better than you do so stop talking back’ rule rather than one which allows for disagreement and resolution on a logical basis, and so this has led to me feeling both frustrated and unchallenged intellectually for quite some time. I hope I prove worthy of debate over the coming weeks and months :)
This is not at all unusual here at LessWrong… I can’t seem to find a link, but I seem to recall that a fairly large portion of LessWrong-ers (at least relative to the general population) have Aspergers (or at least are somewhat Asperger-ish), myself included.
I’m not entirely sure though that I agree with the statement that Aspergers is “a form of autism”… I realize that that has been the general consensus for a while now, but I’ve read some articles (again, can’t find a link at the moment, sorry) suggesting that Aspergers is not actually related to Autism at all… personally, my feeling on the matter is that “Aspergers” isn’t an actual “disease” per se, but rather just a cluster of personality traits that happen to be considered socially unacceptable by modern mainstream culture, and have therefore been arbitrarily designated as a “disease”.
In any case, welcome to LessWrong—I look forward to your contributions in the future!
If anything, I’d be tempted to say that autism is a more pronounced degree of asperger’s. I certainly catch myself in the spectrum that includes ADD as well.
The whole idea of neurodiversity is kind of exciting, actually. If there can be more than one way to appropriately interact with society, everyone gets richer.
That seems to me to be basically equivalent to saying that aspergers is a lesser form of autism. Again, sorry I can’t find the links at the moment, but I recall reading several articles suggesting that the two might actually not be related at all, neurologically.
I agree. Unfortunately, modern culture and institutions (like the public education system for one notable example) don’t seem to be set up based on this premise.