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

Posted in featured, Society

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 …

...[Read More]

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

Introverts and Sports

Sports in their most popular form are just another social venue. The minority players are involved in an intricate group activity and the majority spectators are involved in a mass cult of fandom. A [Read More]

on 08/8/11 | 1 Comment | Read More

A quicky on the internet and ASD; how something rotten led me to something beautiful

Because the awareness and (arguably accordingly) the numbers of autism, are on the rise, and yet it still remains mysterious and misunderstood, “autism” is an easy term to toss around when you wan[Read More]

on 08/5/11 | No Comments | Read More

Invitation to a Flash Mob - August 6th

When : Saturday August 6th at 11am. Where – Downtown Olympia on the East side of Heritage Park at Capitol Lake Parking : Free Parking is available around the lake. WTHECK? – Try to find us for ou[Read More]

on 08/5/11 | 1 Comment | Read More

Part 4: Autism and Geert Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Theory - Individualism v Collectivism

Next up for Hofstede’s dichotomies is Individualism v. Collectivism. This measures the degree to which individuals are integrated into groups and how they perceive themselves in that group. Individu[Read More]

on 08/4/11 | No Comments | Read More

The Eternal Song, Part Fifteen: Ebb Tide

Clumps of seaweed cast up on the rocky beach shriveled and stank under a hot cloudless sky. In the tide pools, small fish darted back and forth while crabs scuttled across the pebbles. Apart from th[Read More]

on 08/3/11 | 2 Comments | Read More

Part 3: Autism and Geert Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Theory - Working well with those in authority

Hofstede’s Power Distance Index (PDI) measures how we perceive the hierarchical authority in a given situation (family, work, etc.). On one end you have more autocratic and/or authoritative expectat[Read More]

on 08/2/11 | No Comments | Read More

Reflections on a Changing World

The neurodiversity movement got its start in the early 1990s, when a few autistic people got together on mailing lists and dared to imagine a day when they would be seen as equals in society. Their co[Read More]

on 08/1/11 | No Comments | Read More

Introvert Survival: Handling Extrovert Interrogations

When a Loud person asks you a question it is best to give a quick, snappy, truthful answer. Directly stonewalling or displaying reluctance to answer personal questions from someone you don’t trust y[Read More]

on 08/1/11 | No 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 [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 [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 famou[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 tho[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, soft f[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 I refe[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. Consider[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 ev[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 be: a[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 cal[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 Mar[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 au[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 comes[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: NYT[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 before [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 one p[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 they[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 equ[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 uncomfortable [Read More]

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

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