[MD] There is a name for what's wrong with you!

[118]

Hi All,

Autism is a complex concept which I have spent 14 years studying due to
events which were introduced to me and I had no recourse but to resolve
within my understanding.  Both to accept and to help.  There are many books
written about it, some by people labeled as autistic.  The clinical
diagnostic spectrum is of course broad, some of this being abetted by the
possibility for getting government money for children with such a diagnosis.
 So, we have the clinical, the government, the arm-chair psychologists, the
lawyers, the parents, and the autistic themselves contributing to this
discussion.  In my current understanding, I would have to say that we are
all autistic during parts of the day because we have human brains.

Much of our thought throughout the day can be considered autistic.  The term
itself is not very revealing except in the sense that it indicates "stuck in
self".  This can be interpreted as either having thoughts that cannot be
communicated, or, not being able to understand the reality which the general
group (labeled normal because of their preponderance) shares.  In my
opinion, there is no doubt that we all exists within our minds.  We have the
illusion of being a social group through the exchange of ideas through
language.  As such, we can say "I know what you are saying".  This
connection through words provides us the bewitchment of connection and
creates the social and intellectual levels some meaning.

The creation of a reality such as Wittgenstein formulated through extensive
use words and concepts is no different, in beginnings, from the one that
Pirsig creates in the sense that its structure is different from the one
commonly accepted.  The trouble with such creation is that it can remain
autistic unless one can get others to subscribe to it and thus create a
common understanding which can be shared.  Obviously the human brain has a
tendency to create a reality in a certain way, and any other paradigm is
considered "abnormal" through agreement amongst the "normal".  However, it
is quite possible that such normal reality is also fortified through a
profound indoctrination which we call education.  As children we are not
allowed to maintain our own realities but must succumb to "group think".
 This coercion is of course necessary for the cohesion of society.  As
Pirsig points out, people in tribes labeled as witch doctors are outsiders,
and could perhaps be labeled as autistic, such a label would depend on how
different their personal reality is.  Either the person is shunned, or
accepted for his powers.  Many artists, musicians, and philosophers are
often not recognized as brilliant due to their inability to relate, until
after society catches up with them.  Many such artist are never understood
and shelved.  Comedians such as Robin Williams are good examples of autistic
thinking; he is able to bring out the incongruence of many things we take
for granted, in a humorous way.

There is obviously much to say about what is being termed the autistic mind.
 I believe that an understanding of such will revolutionize human thinking,
and free us from what would appear to be very confining thinking in society.
 At this point it takes a maverick to create a new paradigm, and quite a
while to disseminate this reality to the group as a whole.  The paradigm of
Quality is an example of such a thing.  Of course the power of autism
requires a shift in awareness itself, and is still hidden in the clinical
arena.  Reading books by such people labeled as autistic helps in the
understanding, but one must personalize what they are reading to achieve any
kind of shift in thinking.  In many ways we could be on the verge of an
evolutionary jump of the mind.  Such jumps require the accumulation of
benign mutations that then become consolidated through a synergistic final
mutation.  The current rise in autistic children is pointing to such a jump
in the process of being attempted by nature.  Of course, many "mistakes" are
made to successfully provide a new species (or sub-species) which can
survive.  An interesting fictional novel relating to this is called Darwin's
Children.

So, to summarize, any form of thinking that cannot be conveyed to the
general public could be considered autistic.  But this notion should not be
just shelved as is.  It is understanding what this means in terms of our own
reality where such a notion has much power for transformation.  How does an
autistic child see reality, and how is this different from ours?  I would
propose that it is only different in that such a reality does not conform to
group consciousness.  Of course this is can be disastrous to such an
individual because he cannot survive in society in its current form.  This
societal consciousness is a function of indoctrination and agreement and is
built with rules.  Obviously if one is to invoke evolution, it must be
"better".  But the tree of evolution has many dead ends.  New beginnings
always come from new branches being formed which in the end will be
"better".

Thanks,
Mark


On Mon, Nov 22, 2010 at 8:00 AM, Steven Peterson
<peterson.steve at gmail.com>wrote:

> At least some of what's wrong with us may be captured by the lable
> "amateur philosopher." Apparently, another good term for it is
> "autism":
>
>
> http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/21/beyond-understanding/?src=me&ref=general
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