Interview with the Creator of BitTorrent 500
brokencomputer writes "There is an interesting interview with Bram Cohen, the creator of BitTorrent, on my site, WrongPlanet.net. Because there is already a plethora of information about BitTorrent, this interview takes a different approach and focuses entirely on Cohen's Asperger's Syndrome. In addition to being interesting to anyone interested in BitTorrent, Cohen's story is extremely inspirational to those of us who do have Asperger's, and will probably be so even to those without Asperger's Syndrome."
All kidding aside... (Score:5, Informative)
And on a further note, I can tell you from experience that early intervention really helps ALOT! My son's progress is such that he is almost ready to join full time with his second grade class. Two years ago he was still struggling with speech.
from wikipedia (Score:1, Informative)
Re:A great book (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Oh, fuck (Score:1, Informative)
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=aspergers+sy
So who is the "retarded kike"?
Coral cache... (Score:5, Informative)
I hate posting anonymous, so No Karma Bonus instead.
Re:A great book (Score:5, Informative)
Wired Article (Score:3, Informative)
Wired did an article about Cohen in January.
Here's a link: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.01/bittorreRe:A great book (Score:4, Informative)
Nonetheless, the book is a really refreshing and novel read that I've recommended to many friends of all ages.
slashdotted (Score:5, Informative)
http://mirrordot.org/stories/94287bd20a1426c0b8bb
Clarification on Aspergers (Score:5, Informative)
Anyway, I'd like to respond to some of the comments here.
First, I want to clarify some of the things people say about Asperger's that irritate me and some of the Aspergers community. One thing that's irritating is when people say that there's an 'epidemic' of autism -- as if we're all some horrible thing that should never come into existance. Some of history's most brilliant minds have supposedly had Asperger's (see 'Diagnosing Jefferson', etc). People with Asperger's can often live perfectly normal lives. There even was some controversy at one point over the word "disorder" on WrongPlanet a while back, but I don't take it that far.
Another point is that autism is a spectrum disorder. Sometimes people with it have it milder or worse than others diagnosed. And also that it's an incredibly diverse bunch of people. It's hard to make generalizations. I like to think that most people with Asperger's have very redeeming qualities -- but the fact of the matter is that some aspies are normal intelligence. Some are brilliant, and some are, what others categorize as being "assholes".
One person here made a comment about people using Asperger's as some kind of excuse for something, like sometimes people claim dyslexia if they can't read well. I don't think that's the case for many people with AS, and I take some offense to that, but the poster brings up an interesting point. The reality is you shouldn't have to have an excuse to be who you are. But it certainly feels better to have one, doesn't it?
It so happens that people like myself and many others who have Asperger's have the particular general set of symptoms required for diagnosis. And even then, many of us a hard time gaining acceptance in the world, and finding people who are tolerant. It's hard enough with a diagnosis. And even if you have to explain it to someone (which I try to avoid doing myself, unless it's particularly relevant), their reaction is they either become more distant because they don't know how to deal with you, or they have precisely that reaction.
I guess the point I'm making here is that, especially in high schools, people are prejudiced and biased towards Aspies and others -- regardless of their official diagnosis (which they don't know) or any of that arbitrary stuff. The old slashdot article "Voices from the Hellmouth [slashdot.org] sums this up very well.
But don't get me wrong. I think that people who have Asperger's (and similar people in general) do have some obligation to try to overcome their problems. It's not good to chalk it up to autism and be a dick to everyone. But, again, a large part of it is how willing society is to accept people who aren't even necessarily rude or anything, but are just plain different. There's a certain amount of work that people with AS need to take, and a certain amount of work that society needs to take.
If anybody wants to talk to me about these issues, I'd be happy to do so and point you to some good resources and information.
Re:On Fake Diseases (Score:5, Informative)
There is another unusual feature of diseases like ODD that should give us pause: they are typically treated without the patient's consent; and indeed the "treatments" are often physically identical to what would in a non-medical context be called punishments. This breach of human rights is casually justified as being "for their own good".
Well, aside from describing almost every psychological disorder unrelated to a freaked out pituitary or something, there is an aspect of ADD/ADHD/ODD that you don't touch on: while many of the behavioral descriptions seem like ordinary teen angst-y kind on behaviors/traits, there is an *extreme* irrationality to them, and maddening constancy.
I was one of the parents who got angry at pre-schools who couldn't "handle" my stepson. "The world is full of Tom Sawyers! We need to find a way for them to express some wild creativity."
But as time went on, things went wrong. He would fly off the handle for no apparent reason (as a four year old). He still wakes up at 5:30 - 6 every morning absolutely bouncing off the walls. He can't grasp instruction (sans medicine) without constant repetition, and even then can't follow through well. He seems (note "seems") to think causing pain to the vulnerable (small animals/insects/etc) is funny in some way. He can show the greatest sympathy, however. He lies about meaningless things. He has very little external awareness. He exhibits loud repetitive patterns. He sneaks food he has permission to eat and hoardes snacks he doesn't. He has absolutely no tolerance for change or disappointment.
He is now almost ten. Many if not most of these behaviors could be seen as pretty normal. However, the above behaviors - all of them - appear multiple times during a single day. It's exhausting, even with him on medication. He doesn't seem to learn from trial and error, or instruction. He seems to grow out of tics and behaviors.
I'm one of the most laid back people you'll ever meet, but even I will tend to get snippy when I have to negotiate almost every aspect of his day after schools from walking in the door to going to bed. There is rarely an "OK dad" that comes easily from my three year-old. Even on items I give him permission for. He'll up the ante. Then - at age 10 - call me an asshole under his breath for not letting him have a third fruit roll up or whatever the hell it is that he is focusing on at that particular time.
I love him to death. He can be the sweetest boy, but also the cruelest. He can be the most easy-going, but also the pickiest. There is usually no middle ground.
I've raised him since he was a year and a half old (also raised his brother who was five and is now almost 13 and living with his bio. dad). Both boys have similar issues. The older one chose to live with his dad when he turned 12, but was consistently cruel to his younger brother when he lived with me and his mother, and had similar inward-focused behavior.
The issues are very complex. I wish this was a world that had a place for everyone. My stepsons would undoubtedly hurt themselves or others, however, in an unmedicated state.
Read beyond the mere symptoms, and look at the lives of the people involved. Usually, they are deeply unhappy themselves, and not due to factors outside themselves, but to an internal inability to interact with the world in a way that others require (not merely "want" e.g. polite, non-violent, control mood swings, respect property, etc).
Re:Teh Slashdot Syndrome (Score:2, Informative)
Re:PLEASE NOTE, (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Conversely-- (Score:2, Informative)
I learnt veryf ast that I couldn't be quiet, rude etc and had to 'just talk'. Now, unlike the grandparents crap above, AS does't ALWAYS make it impossible for you to deal with social situations in every event. In fact, I can be overly apt in social situations - incredibly articulate and polite. However, it runs to extremes and there'll be some situations which will make me buckle. I'll get anxiety attacks, I'll feel like I need to 'run away' or I'll just be incredibly rude and not realise it. In fact, most of my eye-opening that there was something wrong with me and had AS came from the fact that I'm incredibly rude and have no concept of bounderies, in most situations. My friends get used to this, but it REALLY shocks people with the 'weird' things I say and do, yet I never see any problem with this.
Couple this with finding it impossible to tell what a person thinks of me (and therefore jumping to crazy conclusions), absolute obsession over people (which freaks people out heavily), activities and objects, plus some VERY VERY obscure eye contact issues (EXTREME stare or TOTAL avoidance) and it starts to look clearer.
I may not be your clear cut 'he's AS', but EVERYONE says I'm 'quite wierd' without much hesitation, and I match the criteria.
I also can't help most things I've described. I'm so obsessive that if my mind is set on something I HAVE to do it.
So don't trivialise; AS is much more complex than people realise, and it's people like the grandparent who made me cry and gave me panic attacks for weeks when I found out I could have AS.
Re:A great book (Score:3, Informative)
However, I am the father of twin 4-year-old girls who were diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, and I have to say that we are a lot better off WITH the diagnosis than without. Prior to the diagnosis, all we knew was that the twins were "different" in some inexplicable way, and that we found them utterly impossible to cope with. Literally, prior to the diagnosis (about a year ago) they would spend hours and days in uncontrollable tantrums, hitting their mother, etc. In fact, they were kicked out of two pre-schools they were so difficult.
The diagnosis opened up all kinds of new possibilities for us. First of all, with a "label" we were able to clearly articulate to people exactly HOW the situation with the twins was "different." (Usually, we explain Asperger's as being a form of Autism.) Second, the diagnosis helped us to get them into a special ed pre-school with the local public school system. This has enabled us to get them professional speech therapy, occupational therapy, and most of all a chance for my wife to do something other than mind the twins. Finally, the developmental pediatrician who did the diagnosis was able to prescribe a medication that helped dramatically with the tantrums and violence.
The point here is that, before the diagnosis, we had no ideas and no options. We just knew that it was a matter of time before me or my wife "cracked" from the strain. At the time of the diagnosis, it really was a matter of time before one of us left - not because we didn't love each other or weren't committed to each other, but because the strain of living with twin Incredible Hulks was just too great. We were to the point where we were having to consider whether the twins should be institutionalized, because they had come close to hurting our one-year-old on several occasions.
With the medication, things are better.
The point of all this is that the label doesn't CREATE the disorder. The twins suffered from Asperger's Syndrome before we had a name for it. The label gives us, as parents, access to many, many resources that enable us to take better care of our children who have AS.