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The Geek Syndrome: Autism surging among the children of Silicon Valley [2004]
- da5e 16y agoAm I the only one who gets a fleeting feeling of envy when reading about someone having Asperger's? Like I kinda want it too.
- mahmud 16y agoIrrational, but you're not the only one. There are some gay men who deliberately want to infect themselves with HIV. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bugchasing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bugchasing
- glhaynes 16y agoThat's quite a bit different, I'd say...
- mahmud 16y agoHow is that different? Either way, we have someone wishing for a handicap. Just because one can actually fulfill his wishes while the other can't is immaterial; in either situation, we have someone brainwashed by media/society/interwebs/himself to think those afflicted are better off than he is.
- glhaynes 16y agoThere are many who would say that people with Asperger's aren't just "disabled", but — to use that usually-awful "PC" term but I think it's appropriate in this case — differently-abled; and, thus that our society is richer for having people with Asperger's. This is, of course, a complicated subject. I think there are few without pathological issues that wouldn't be happy to see HIV/AIDS vanish: it doesn't do anybody any good... it kills people. If we had a button we could push to fix HIV, I think we'd all push it. But if I had a button that would "fix" (even to say that feels offensive to me, read the scare-quotes as very strong ones) Asperger's, I'd certainly be far more hesitant to push it. Anyway, I certainly understand your analogy. And if I had a child on the way, I'd hope they didn't have Asperger's, or any other syndrome.
- nnash 16y agoWait... Did you just compare being HIV positive to a handicap?As in something you get your own parking spot for?
- rick888 16y agono..handicap..as in a deficient immune system that gives you a distinct disadvantage at life.
- zbanks 16y agoThose are not the kind of bugs I'm used to searching for...
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]
- mzl 16y agoIn some cases it is interesting, for example when being able to socially hack due to ones learned ability to deconstruct social situations (the learned deconstruction being a survival trait). At other times, it is not so fun. For example when not being able to articulate simple things like "please pass the paper" in a high-stress moment, such as when spilling a glass of water.
- skig 16y agoI wonder how well the McDonalds over there are doing...
- jhrobert 16y agoBeing potentially border line asperger my self, I can confirm that the better ability to systematize and focus long hours is a plus to develop software. It's not so useful to develop a family however (kidding). http://simpliwiki.com http://simpliwiki.com -- beta soon
- zecg 16y agoI first found this article via Hacker News: http://people.csail.mit.edu/seneff/sunscreen_lowfat_autism.html http://people.csail.mit.edu/seneff/sunscreen_lowfat_autism.h...