> It might be beneficial for transhumanism (and
> transhumanists!) to learn more about this range and to promote an
> understanding of it in popular consciousness, in order to both get
> inspiration for possible changes and help build a tolerance for truly
> different mindsets.
Yes, I definitely think so too. I suspect that a higher proportion of extropians have autism than the normal population. You might
refer to the theory below for possible hints why the autism gene pool exists.
--------------------------
Abstract
Every population has a surface, however diffuse. This fact of topology firmly drives brain evolution. Autism in particular is
primarily the result of adaptation to the inevitable sparseness of population outer regions. This yields not only autism, but an
autism spectrum. It also gives rise to the great variety of autistic forms and genes. These conclusions sharply limit the possible
clarity of autism diagnosis and preclude any simplistic "silver-bullet" response to the rigors of autism. The theory accounts for
the observed correlation of autism and gender, and predicts a correlation with latitude of ancestral homeland. Autism emerges as a
major feature of brain evolution: It is generally not a disease. Autism has been with humans as long as humans have been and has
markedly influenced human history. It evidently has shaped forms of religious practice.
http://attictwo.best.vwh.net/AASCEND/TOPO/topotheory.html
Main Theory Page:
http://attictwo.best.vwh.net/AASCEND/TOPO/
----------------------------
Get a laugh at the expense of Neurotypicals (NTs) here:
http://isnt.autistics.org/index.html
You can visit the home pages of Tony Attwood, a renowed researcher on Asperger's Syndrome
http://www.tonyattwood.com
For more information about autism, you can visit these pages for links galore
http://www.isn.net/~jypsy/
http://www.hunnybee.com/autism/ (seems inoperative at the time of posting)
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Sat May 11 2002 - 17:44:27 MDT