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There was a story I heard about the autistic guy who volunteered for transcranial magnetic stimulation. Those have been known to temporarily shift someone autis

• noasaservice 5y ago
  That only strengthens my theory that why most of the autistics and neurodivergent people are considered disabled is because of neurotypicals. When a ND isn't precise with their words, expect us to read into context, and then get angry when we don't understand - that's on them, not us.
  • whatshisface 5y ago
    NTs can either read in to context or willfully ignore it (choose to act as if they haven't noticed), while autistic people always have to act without that information. It is kind of like wheelchairs and ramps - people who can climb stairs are strictly better off than people who can only go up ramps, but a society with ramps isn't any less capable than one where you have to climb a ladder to get to your office.
    • plutonorm 5y ago
      I disagree, that tuning into detail and avoidance of the context allows more brain power to be applied to the detail.
    • mistermann 5y ago
      > NTs can either read in to context or willfully ignore it (choose to act as if they haven't noticed) This makes some assumptions about the nature of real-time cognition though...it is possible that any given individual can do this for a given scenario, but the likelihood depends on many variables, many likely unknown.
  • timdiggerm 5y ago
    It's true, blind people are only considered disabled because of sighted people. I am not sure this is the convincing argument you think it is, however.
    • hosh 5y ago
      There is a very well-articulated argument by an autistic woman that, the clinical definitions for autism are framed from the disruption and impact to neurotypical society, but does not adequately address what’s going on for the autistic person. For example, the author herself is diagnosed with high-functioning autism. Her social impact on others is miminal enough where it qualifies for “high functioning”, but having executive dysfunction means she is highly dependent on someone in her life to help her. Our medical and social system does not provide adequate services because she is “high functioning”. She then talked about other people with a different blend of autistic traits who are considered low functioning (high impact on neurotypical social interactions), but don’t have the executive dysfunction like the author. Her example was someone who is non-verbal, yet has a well-developed intellect. I too, thought the idea that “autistic people are disabled because neurotypical people considers autism is a disability” was not very convincing. This author’s argument reframed it in a way that makes more sense to me, and that is, us neurotypicals are only seeing autism only from the lens of how autism impacts us, and we frame the discussion, diagnoses, and public policies along those lines.
      • cogman10 5y ago
        I'm going to assume that when you say "our medical system" you are referring to the US medical system. And let me tell you, it's a WHOLE lot more bleak than that. The US medical system does not provide adequate services for ANYONE other than perhaps children (in some cases). As soon as someone with a special need becomes an adult, nearly all public provided support is torn away. If you aren't 65, then when your child hits 26, they have no guarantee of being able to stay on your insurance. You might be able to make a deal with your employer and health insurance provider but that is by no means a given. Now think of what that means in terms of estate planning. It's possible for your child with special needs to qualify for social security and medicaid but their household income needs to be below poverty levels (with pretty crazy strict means testing). There's a reason so many people with mental disabilities often end up homeless. The fact is, some individuals will need 24/7 care for the rest of their lives. However, because taxes and government are bad and "they should just pull themselves up by their bootstraps" or whatever, the US and many state government are setup to instead worry about keeping them off the benches when they end up homeless. Yes, I have a child with autism, and yes one thing that keeps me up at night is worrying what will happen to them after I'm gone.
  • anothernewdude 5y ago
    That's because language is built on imprecision and context. It's a feature of language.
• phaedrus 5y ago
  This is interesting because I recently read of a theory that clinical depression is actually an altered state of consciousness, like dreaming or being under the influence of psychedelic drugs. It seems to explain a lot about depression as well as posing the question what other things might be an altered state of consciousness. I predict if we're successful in creating general AI and/or artificial consciousness, we'll uncover a veritable zoo of different, altered states of consciousness much like how the standard model of particle physics revealed many more particles.
  • hackerbee 5y ago
    Your comment immediately reminded me of Marvin the paranoid android from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
    • anothernewdude 5y ago
      That always bothered me. He wasn't paranoid, he was depressed.
      • iszomer 5y ago
        Depressed by design.
  • hosh 5y ago
    I could say a lot more about this, but this would slip into what people would consider as woo. So without treading there, I am just going to say, I think this field-effect of neurons will lead to discoveries about field-effect of all cells, not just neurons; that consciousness is not exclusive to neurons; and how acupuncture (at a mechanical level) might work.
    • imcoconut 5y ago
      I completely agree with you
    • bsmitty5000 5y ago
• syspec 5y ago
  Do you have a link or some key words I could use to try and find that story?
  • mwint 5y ago
    Perhaps it’s https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29974430-switched-on# https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29974430-switched-on# ?
  • hosh 5y ago
    I found this: https://www.kqed.org/futureofyou/150161/experimental-treatment-leaves-autistic-man-with-joys-sorrows-of-emotional-life https://www.kqed.org/futureofyou/150161/experimental-treatme... It wasn’t the article I read, but that should have a lot of leads.
  • servytor 5y ago
    I remember it from the cover[0], it's titled "Switched On: A Memoir of Brain Change and Emotional Awakening". [0]: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91mEWtZ15qL.jpg https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91mEWtZ15qL...
• zionic 5y ago
  This is scary if true, because it opens up all kinds of doors for external EM fields modifying human cognition doesn’t it?
  • politician 5y ago
    Maybe those folks worried about 5G were on to something...
    • owlbynight 5y ago
      Spoiler: They weren't
      • imcoconut 5y ago
        Why are you so confident? It seems a fair number of experts have well justified doubts based on studies of already deployed lower energy radiation. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/we-have-no-reason-to-believe-5g-is-safe/ https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/we-have-no... > Citing this large body of research, more than 240 scientists who have published peer-reviewed research on the biologic and health effects of nonionizing electromagnetic fields (EMF) signed the International EMF Scientist Appeal, which calls for stronger exposure limits. The appeal makes the following assertions: “Numerous recent scientific publications have shown that EMF affects living organisms at levels well below most international and national guidelines. Effects include increased cancer risk, cellular stress, increase in harmful free radicals, genetic damages, structural and functional changes of the reproductive system, learning and memory deficits, neurological disorders, and negative impacts on general well-being in humans. Damage goes well beyond the human race, as there is growing evidence of harmful effects to both plant and animal life.” The scientists who signed this appeal arguably constitute the majority of experts on the effects of nonionizing radiation. They have published more than 2,000 papers and letters on EMF in professional journals. > The World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified RFR as "possibly carcinogenic to humans" in 2011. Last year, a $30 million study conducted by the U.S. National Toxicology Program (NTP) found “clear evidence” that two years of exposure to cell phone RFR increased cancer in male rats and damaged DNA in rats and mice of both sexes. The Ramazzini Institute in Italy replicated the key finding of the NTP using a different carrier frequency and much weaker exposure to cell phone radiation over the life of the rats. > Since 5G is a new technology, there is no research on health effects, so we are “flying blind” to quote a U.S. senator. However, we have considerable evidence about the harmful effects of 2G and 3G. Little is known the effects of exposure to 4G, a 10-year-old technology, because governments have been remiss in funding this research. Meanwhile, we are seeing increases in certain types of head and neck tumors in tumor registries, which may be at least partially attributable to the proliferation of cell phone radiation. These increases are consistent with results from case-control studies of tumor risk in heavy cell phone users.
• rootsudo 5y ago
  https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/04/21/475112703/electric-currents-and-an-emotional-awakening-for-one-man-with-autism https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/04/21/4751127... Wow, it really happened. Wow in general.
• sniperjoe360 5y ago
  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3500377/Autistic-man-undergoes-transformative-treatment-allows-pick-emotional-cues-newfound-perception-leaves-divorce.html https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3500377/Autistic-ma... Here's the story