Comment on Autism and Lesswrong

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 06:41:18 GMT

Well, yes, precisely: the problem with "neurotypical" is that it's politics and social status marking more than anything to do with an individual's neurology. More so than every term is, I mean. Its entire purpose seems to be a bit reframing, a bit "take that!"

I see it used far more as a natural descriptor defined by not having a known set of symptoms. We seem to disagree about the state of the universe here.

What does its use usefully predict?

Expected degree of sensitivity to clothing fabrics. What is likely to happen when you look at their eyes. At a young age it predicts that you are more likely to get confused about whether a duck will appear in a photograph if the duck is removed from the scene after the photograph has been taken. It predicts that you are more likely to accurately deduce what another child believes about the contents of a smarties packet when you have more information than them.

Discuss