Archive for July, 2011

your dreams will be reduced down to breathing, and you will be grateful

The thing about not-being-a-person is: They will say those people and the price of being a person is to nod and agree that yes, those people aren’t people at all. They will have no idea who they are talking to. You yourself will start to forget, too. They will say a million small things that sow the seeds for violence done against you, and you will smile and let them. You will do math, constantly. How much do I want to be a person today? How much do I want this project to succeed? How much honesty can I afford? How much dishonesty will kill me? What is the cost of coming out? Is there a way to delay, soften, transmute? How long can I survive as half a person? Ever since the world ended ... I don't go out as much. People that I once befriended, just don't bother to stay in touch. Things that used to seem so splendid, don't really matter today. It's just as well the world ended -- it wasn't working anyway. Your dreams will be reduced down to breathing. [Read More]

on 03/5/12 | 2 Comments | Read More

You Are My One Beating H’artWork

Back in April while recommending a somewhat different exercise than the one undertaken here, I suggested "Try it in the spirit of the pranksters behind the early Whole Earth Catalog, who in one issue ...[Read More]

on 07/29/11 | No Comments | Read More

Is this guy for real? Baron-Cohen’s latest book is a real urban legend!

The other night the kids and I much enjoyed watching a very corny and over-the-top horror movie. They had seen it before, so there were lots of "this bit coming up is really gross" moments. There w...[Read More]

on 07/29/11 | 2 Comments | Read More

Blog pieces about the work of Baron-Cohen well worth reading

I am very much indebted to Socrates at The New Republic for writing nice things about my blog, and also for spreading awareness about some most interesting writing in blogs about the work of the fam...[Read More]

on 07/29/11 | No Comments | Read More

Part 2: Autism and Geert Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Theory

Before I jump into Hofstede's dimensions it is worth taking a look at the concept of people with autism as a culture unto themselves. There certainly has been enough discussion on the concept of thos...[Read More]

on 07/28/11 | No Comments | Read More

The Eternal Song, Part Fourteen: Light

Rain, shadows moving, dim fragments of sight. Not much pain, now. The poppy draught had taken Eldest Grandmother’s pain away. It brought sleep, and tangled thoughts. Hushed voices of women, ...[Read More]

on 07/27/11 | 2 Comments | Read More

Introduction to Autism and Geert Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Theory

This is the introduction to a series of articles I will be producing on Hofstede's Cultural Dimension Theory and how it relates to ASD. Cultural theory is a complex subject and when mixing cultures ...[Read More]

on 07/26/11 | 1 Comment | Read More

The Tragedy of the Lords

A tragedy of the commons is said to occur when a resource available to everyone becomes overused until it becomes available to no one.  Everyone loses in the end. A tragedy of the lords is how ...[Read More]

on 07/25/11 | No Comments | Read More

The World Needs Autism (redux)

The world needs autism.  Of this, I am convinced.  The world needs autism now more than ever.  Don’t believe me?  Look around…look closely and carefully.  Contemplate a global awareness.  ...[Read More]

on 07/25/11 | No Comments | Read More

Neo-Typicals of the Divergent Spectrum: A Communiqué (part two: the long)

Neo-Typicals of the Divergent Spectrum: A Communiqué by Anonymous Leadership Functionaries of the Cortical Executive Index of Contents - the short - the long The Long -- Hey You. Drop ...[Read More]

on 07/22/11 | No Comments | Read More

Neo-Typicals of the Divergent Spectrum: A Communiqué (part one: the short)

Neo-Typicals of the Divergent Spectrum: A Communiqué by Anonymous Leadership Functionaries of the Cortical Executive Index of Contents - the short - the long The Short -- So let it b...[Read More]

on 07/22/11 | No Comments | Read More

Soon: An Urgent Communiqué of Vital Import …

A Wild Communiqué Appears! Floating in over the transom this morning came an inspired, rambling, two-part missive, part neurodiversity manifesto, part invitation to a flash mob, part lulzsensical ...[Read More]

on 07/21/11 | No Comments | Read More

Snapshots: Mutual Reciprocity and Empathy Erosion

Two sometime Shift contributors reflecting on current events and recent publication in the autism world, and giving hard looks at under-examined assumptions about social behavior and empathy: Lili ...[Read More]

on 07/21/11 | No Comments | Read More

The Eternal Song, Part Thirteen: Pilgrim

Awiyan had picked dandelion greens all morning in the foothills of the mountain, just above the fog line where the rainforest ended. The gentle slopes, sunlight, and colorful spring flowers almost ma...[Read More]

on 07/20/11 | 8 Comments | Read More

Autism Research, Prenatal Testing, and “The Autistic Genocide Clock”

As originally posted, this page was a response to an article published on MSNBC.com on Feb. 23, 2005, in which Dr. Joseph Buxbaum, a prominent research scientist, predicted that genetic research on a...[Read More]

on 07/19/11 | 1 Comment | Read More

Unity Does Not Mean Uniformity

Society and social interaction are helpful tools for the introvert.  Society does not just happen for its own sake in our point of view.  It requires justification, for from proper justification c...[Read More]

on 07/18/11 | No Comments | Read More

Snapshots: Power and Surrender

Three items that caught my eye as they've floated by this month, presented here without comment. Silicon Valley venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, as interviewed in the New York Times Magazine: N...[Read More]

on 07/15/11 | No Comments | Read More

Lamppost Hierophant

This poem was written for Sam Drezner, the son of filmmaker Todd Drezner who has released a new documentary, Loving Lampposts.  Todd and his wife Erika discovered that Sam was autistic shortly befor...[Read More]

on 07/14/11 | 1 Comment | Read More

Update: Psychopaths, Sociopaths, ASPD and ASD/Aspergers: Recap and Resources

A few years ago there was a rage among psychologists and sociologists looking at the prevalence of sociopaths/ psychopaths in the workplace.  I got caught up in that and did a ton of research; at on...[Read More]

on 07/14/11 | No Comments | Read More

Narcissism, ASPD and ASD/Aspergers

Narcissistic people and Sociopaths/Psychopaths are very similar in their effects on the ASD population in that dealing with either is stressful and can damage our self-esteem and career.  However t...[Read More]

on 07/14/11 | No Comments | Read More

The Eternal Song, Part Twelve: Priestess

As if welcoming a guest to her home, Riadne had swept the cave’s floor and had brought pine branches inside. The fragrant branches both decorated the altar and covered the uneven granite; it was st...[Read More]

on 07/13/11 | 104 Comments | Read More

(Yet Another) Top Ten Myths About Introverts

The overlap in the way both the social and physical worlds are experienced by autistics and introverts is one I continue to find fascinating.  The question of whether the two conditions ought to be e...[Read More]

on 07/12/11 | No Comments | Read More

Extrovert Malfunction in Foreign Societies

Extroverts are extremely specialized and well adapted to the standards of their society.  They are so attached to their ways that encountering other customs and world views is extremely uncomforta...[Read More]

on 07/11/11 | No Comments | Read More

On Literal Thinking

I’m always very interested in the observations of parents regarding the literal nature of their autistic children’s thinking.  I’ve read many tales of children who take idiomatic expressions ...[Read More]

on 07/8/11 | 13 Comments | Read More

Protecting Yourself Against Psychopaths in the Workplace

Once you suspect that you are working with or for (and in some cases above) a sociopath/psychopath/ASPD person the next step is protecting yourself.  This protection goes beyond just keeping your job...[Read More]

on 07/7/11 | No Comments | Read More

The Eternal Song, Part Eleven: Scout

The morning sun seemed too bright to Iwai’s mistrustful eyes as he emerged from the thick fog surrounding the forest. He had gone hunting with his brother many times on these grasslands and had pla...[Read More]

on 07/6/11 | No Comments | Read More

Thank You, Mr. Sauer, You’ll Be Missed

Late last week, a local friend posted on Facebook that retired Central High School teacher Jim Sauer had passed away.  This made me more than a little sad because Jim had become a daily fixture at ...[Read More]

on 07/5/11 | 4 Comments | Read More

Why a True Introvert Will Never Change

Introverts have wished many, many times that we could be more extroverted, that life in society could be just a little easier.  We tell ourselves again and again that we ought to ‘get out more�...[Read More]

on 07/4/11 | 2 Comments | Read More

Autism and Empathy: Dispelling Myths and Breaking Stereotypes (Introductions)

Identifying a need and then filling it is said to be a core skill of the business entrepreneur, but there are needs far and wide which are best met with the payment not of money but of attention to ev...[Read More]

on 07/1/11 | 3 Comments | Read More