Current events

[Fluffyumpkins]

Yeah, I had Sirlin book and saw him speak in college in my game design classes. He's a smart cookie!

He came to IU?

[Riot]

Well I guess "saw him speak" might be misleading, but we had him in via webcam because he knew my professor Ted Castronova. We talked to him in my Multiplayer Game Design class when we were designing Lasso and all that stuff.

[Fluffyumpkins]

Well I guess "saw him speak" might be misleading, but we had him in via webcam because he knew my professor Ted Castronova. We talked to him in my Multiplayer Game Design class when we were designing Lasso and all that stuff.

That's pretty cool. I remember reading that book back when I worked at RITS. Best shift I ever burnt.

[Riot]

Well I guess "saw him speak" might be misleading, but we had him in via webcam because he knew my professor Ted Castronova. We talked to him in my Multiplayer Game Design class when we were designing Lasso and all that stuff.

That's pretty cool. I remember reading that book back when I worked at RITS. Best shift I ever burnt.

Even better than coming to eat McDonalds off my meal points in my dormroom? I'm heartbwoken : (

[Fluffyumpkins]

You are the reason I am fat. I'm having your McBaby.

[Riot]

Hamburgers don't make people fat, people make people fat.

[ImuyumI]

Hamburgers don't make people fat, people make people fat.

So you're saying that Hamburgers are made of people?

[Riot]

McSoylent Green

[Fluffyumpkins]

Mars you lookin' like a real sexy lady right now. Yeah girl.

[Fluffyumpkins]

Autism: Disorder that needs curing? Human difference that needs to be accepted? What do you guys think? Is autism a bad thing that needs to be eradicated, or something unique that we should respect?

Right now I'm leaning toward disorder/eradicate, but I haven't done a lot of research on the subject.

[Fluffyumpkins]

Quick shoutout to everyone that couldn't give 3 facts about Mars one week ago and now link lots of photos and insist they've always been huge fans of astronomy. You know who you are.

If you think you couldn't be that kind of person, let me throw a few very simple questions your way.

Is Earth bigger or smaller than Mars?
Why did we wait until 2012 to put a rover on Mars?
Including orbits, which value (in km) would be closest to the average distance between the two planets Earth and Mars? 220 million, 220 thousand, 220 billion.

If you got any of these wrong, you are not a fan of astronomy anymore than you are a fan of taxidermy. Yes, one of those questions was a trick, but it should be obvious for anyone that claims to be a fan.

[SoDeepPolaris]

Autism: Disorder that needs curing? Human difference that needs to be accepted? What do you guys think? Is autism a bad thing that needs to be eradicated, or something unique that we should respect?

Right now I'm leaning toward disorder/eradicate, but I haven't done a lot of research on the subject.

It's been overdiagnosed and the APA has reduced its spectrum definition in the DSM V that's coming out next year. Autism IS a condition but it's been thrown on kids who really are probably just a bit socially inept and not to the degree of autism. There's also a lot of misunderstanding of what autism actually is. There's also a lot left to research about it.

It's gotten attention because of the whole vaccine scare which is based one fraudulent study back around 2000. Not giving your kids vaccines that are known for practically wiping out a number of diseases that used to kill people every year in the 10s of thousands because you believe it somehow develops autism is amazingly irresponsible.

I had an argument about this very topic with an older hippy-type lady in one of my policy classes where she was talking about how she thought it was ridiculous that public schools wanted her to vaccinate her kids.

[Riot]

Autism: Disorder that needs curing? Human difference that needs to be accepted? What do you guys think? Is autism a bad thing that needs to be eradicated, or something unique that we should respect?

Right now I'm leaning toward disorder/eradicate, but I haven't done a lot of research on the subject.

Are... are you going to kill me? : (

[Pokebis]

My little brother is pretty autistic and I was diagnosed with the assburgers when I was 9, but I just kind of view the world and think a lot different than other people.
I actually think, at least my case, I have a social advantage now because of how radically and strategically I can act. I don't really have emotions like other people seem to so I'm just impervious to some things allowing me to act rationally in situations most people couldn't.
Plus there are some really autistic people who are also savants in things a lot of people have trouble with like math. I don't think people should be eradicated and, since it's most psychological (I think), it should be something that can't be "cured," but can be "treated." Autism is like a super-power that needs to be properly developed as it can turn into something that saves or ruins a person. Some autists have come up with some crazy successful franchises that normal people probably couldn't come up with. And then some autists... Are Chris-chan...

I do agree it's over-diagnosed, though. I'm not sure if I'm actually an asspie, but it's doctor-diagnosed, not Wikipedia, so yeah.

[Fluffyumpkins]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savant_syndrome

The whole savant thing is pretty rare. Autism, as a whole, seems more like a retardation than a super power. I've worked with some severely autistic children before (Jewish Community Center daycamp), and some of the behavior was pretty scary. They needed a full-time caretaker to control seemingly random and frequently violent impulses. I have no doubt in my mind that autism of that magnitude is hurting people, and any rational person wouldn't wish that on themselves or their offspring. That is clearly different from having a lesser debilitating form of autism.

I'm interested in the DSM-V and how it approaches a diagnosis.

I'd like you hear you elaborate on your emotions. Can you give an example?