Learn from the mistakes of others

newscientist reports

A DEVICE that can pick up on people's emotions is being developed to help people with autism relate to those around them. It will alert its autistic user if the person they are talking to starts showing signs of getting bored or annoyed.

they've called it an "emotional social intelligence prosthetic" device ...

One of the problems facing people with autism is an inability to pick up on social cues. Failure to notice that they are boring or confusing their listeners can be particularly damaging, says Rana El Kaliouby of the Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "It's sad because people then avoid having conversations with them."

the article is interesting, and also amusing. thanks reverancepavane :)

[the following rant bears no reflection on reverancepavane, or anyone else i know. this article just pushed some buttons, 'tis all. thought i'd share some of my thoughts and feelings]

but then again, this has reminded me about one thing that really, really irritates me about autism research(ers).

they're so bloody condescending.

( rant inside )

anyway, back to the article, which ends this way:

Timothy Bickmore of Northeastern University in Boston, who studies ways in which computers can be made to engage with people's emotions, says the device would be a great teaching aid. "I would love it if you could have a computer looking at each student in the room to tell me when 20 per cent of them were bored or confused."

in other words, even neurotypicals can't always tell - or is it that they can get so self-absorbed that they too miss "obvious" social cues?

me, i just ask if i'm not sure. bloody people and their computers.

*wink*

newscientist reports

A DEVICE that can pick up on people's emotions is being developed to help people with autism relate to those around them. It will alert its autistic user if the person they are talking to starts showing signs of getting bored or annoyed.

they've called it an "emotional social intelligence prosthetic" device ...

One of the problems facing people with autism is an inability to pick up on social cues. Failure to notice that they are boring or confusing their listeners can be particularly damaging, says Rana El Kaliouby of the Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "It's sad because people then avoid having conversations with them."

the article is interesting, and also amusing. thanks reverancepavane :)

[the following rant bears no reflection on reverancepavane, or anyone else i know. this article just pushed some buttons, 'tis all. thought i'd share some of my thoughts and feelings]

but then again, this has reminded me about one thing that really, really irritates me about autism research(ers).

they're so bloody condescending.

( rant inside )

anyway, back to the article, which ends this way:

Timothy Bickmore of Northeastern University in Boston, who studies ways in which computers can be made to engage with people's emotions, says the device would be a great teaching aid. "I would love it if you could have a computer looking at each student in the room to tell me when 20 per cent of them were bored or confused."

in other words, even neurotypicals can't always tell - or is it that they can get so self-absorbed that they too miss "obvious" social cues?

me, i just ask if i'm not sure. bloody people and their computers.

*wink*

cfs

Rowan Hooper, Chronic fatigue is not all in the mind, NewScientist.com, 21 July 2005

"AT LONG last, we are beginning to get to grips with chronic fatigue syndrome. Differences in gene expression have been found in the immune cells of people with the disease, a discovery that could lead to a blood test for the disorder and perhaps even to drugs for treating it. "

“The study shows some aspects of chronic fatigue syndrome may be understood in molecular terms. It is not a 'made-up' illness”

mmr

Lorna Wing, MMR: Science and fiction by Richard Horton and, MMR and Autism by Michael Fitzpatrick (Article Preview), NewScientist.com Magazine issue 2466, 25 September 2004

epidemic

Graham Lawton, The autism epidemic that never was (Article Preview), NewScientist.com Magazine issue 2512, 13 August 2005

Now, all I need is a subscription to New Scientist Magazine.

I could go spend an afternoon in a library somewhere, I guess.

cfs

Rowan Hooper, Chronic fatigue is not all in the mind, NewScientist.com, 21 July 2005

"AT LONG last, we are beginning to get to grips with chronic fatigue syndrome. Differences in gene expression have been found in the immune cells of people with the disease, a discovery that could lead to a blood test for the disorder and perhaps even to drugs for treating it. "

“The study shows some aspects of chronic fatigue syndrome may be understood in molecular terms. It is not a 'made-up' illness”

mmr

Lorna Wing, MMR: Science and fiction by Richard Horton and, MMR and Autism by Michael Fitzpatrick (Article Preview), NewScientist.com Magazine issue 2466, 25 September 2004

epidemic

Graham Lawton, The autism epidemic that never was (Article Preview), NewScientist.com Magazine issue 2512, 13 August 2005

Now, all I need is a subscription to New Scientist Magazine.

I could go spend an afternoon in a library somewhere, I guess.

via conuly via moggymania from slate:

• Arthur Allen[1], Sticking Up for Thimerosal:Read the studies—it's safe. Posted Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2005, at 4:25 AM PT [http://slate.msn.com/id/2123647/]

see also:

• Sydney Spiesel[2] Your Health This Month: Mercury in vaccines and dental fillings, avian flu, episiotomies, and more. Posted Friday, July 1, 2005, at 12:39 PM PT [http://slate.msn.com/id/2121808/]


• including the sidebar on why thimerosal was put into vaccines in the first place: [http://slate.msn.com/id/2121808/sidebar/2121846/]

this one is also interesting:

• Jason Bradford[3], The Neurobiology of Mass Delusion, Energy Bulletin, 11 jan 05 [http://www.energybulletin.net/newswire.php?id=3948]

---

Arthur Allen <artnews@earthlink.net> is writing a history of vaccination.

Sydney Spiesel <sydney.spiesel@yale.edu> is a pediatrician in Woodbridge, Conn., and a clinical associate professor of pediatrics at Yale University's School of Medicine. He also appears in a question in the game Trivial Pursuit.

Jason Bradford Started a movement to help his town (Willits, CA) face issues of resource depletion and environmental change by creating a locally sustainable economy.

via conuly via moggymania from slate:

• Arthur Allen[1], Sticking Up for Thimerosal:Read the studies—it's safe. Posted Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2005, at 4:25 AM PT [http://slate.msn.com/id/2123647/]

see also:

• Sydney Spiesel[2] Your Health This Month: Mercury in vaccines and dental fillings, avian flu, episiotomies, and more. Posted Friday, July 1, 2005, at 12:39 PM PT [http://slate.msn.com/id/2121808/]


• including the sidebar on why thimerosal was put into vaccines in the first place: [http://slate.msn.com/id/2121808/sidebar/2121846/]

this one is also interesting:

• Jason Bradford[3], The Neurobiology of Mass Delusion, Energy Bulletin, 11 jan 05 [http://www.energybulletin.net/newswire.php?id=3948]

---

Arthur Allen <artnews@earthlink.net> is writing a history of vaccination.

Sydney Spiesel <sydney.spiesel@yale.edu> is a pediatrician in Woodbridge, Conn., and a clinical associate professor of pediatrics at Yale University's School of Medicine. He also appears in a question in the game Trivial Pursuit.

Jason Bradford Started a movement to help his town (Willits, CA) face issues of resource depletion and environmental change by creating a locally sustainable economy.

http://www.autistics.us/library/behavioral.html

( Everything I Needed to Know about Life I Learned from my Behavioral Therapist )

http://www.autistics.us/library/behavioral.html

( Everything I Needed to Know about Life I Learned from my Behavioral Therapist )

lately, i've found myself enjoying being autistic.

well, ok, i'm an aspie, but that's not to say everything is roses and diamonds for me on a daily basis.

nevertheless, there are so many things that most people just miss out on that i get everytime.

the feeling of just being alive. i'm so aware of being alive. of this body i'm in. of the world around me.

sure i get overwhelmed from time to time. but, hey - i wouldn't give this up for anything.

though many so-called 'normal' people could get some appreciation for what they have and stop getting all messed up just coz someone else's problems 'spoil' their so-called day.

oh yeah. just so we're clear: autism doesn't need a cure, it's foundation is genetic, and here are three good reasons why there is no "autism epidemic"! (go read)

lately, i've found myself enjoying being autistic.

well, ok, i'm an aspie, but that's not to say everything is roses and diamonds for me on a daily basis.

nevertheless, there are so many things that most people just miss out on that i get everytime.

the feeling of just being alive. i'm so aware of being alive. of this body i'm in. of the world around me.

sure i get overwhelmed from time to time. but, hey - i wouldn't give this up for anything.

though many so-called 'normal' people could get some appreciation for what they have and stop getting all messed up just coz someone else's problems 'spoil' their so-called day.

oh yeah. just so we're clear: autism doesn't need a cure, it's foundation is genetic, and here are three good reasons why there is no "autism epidemic"! (go read)