Indeed, I knew when I was in third grade and being hounded about my penmanship to the point that I never wanted to write another word that content is the most important thing about communication. Form is constantly mutable while the thoughts themselves are constant. It's the same song whether it's sung by Soundgarden or Johnny Cash, Stevie Wonder or The Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Not to mention the fact that I can type at a much closer rate to my train of thought than I can and still maintain legible handwriting. Now the only time I need to write by hand is when I wake up in the middle of the night with an idea, because if I'm the only one who needs to read it then it scrawls itself across the paper encrypted by the hand of glarbl_blarbl.

How much did it cost to get lessons and a license? Was it comparable to the requirements for driving a car legally? Also, doesn't a private plane cost a lot more to buy than a car?

I'm genuinely curious, my dad flew big planes in the Navy before retiring to work for American Airlines and now a leasing company. I've been in the cockpit with him a couple of times, and it looks like a really exhilarating mode of travel if you're in charge of the ride.

I was thinking fat chance with Peak Oil in sight. Then I remembered we're talking about thermite and shit. Peak Oil only applies to those jetliners.

just re-read your post. You didn't say I was attacking you X-P.

On that point, I don't think you were directly attacking me. In fact, I doubt it was an attack at all. I just think it was somewhat thoughtless, and I felt the need to correct it since it is in a public forum. I see a lot of misconceptions about people on the spectrum on the internet, when I'm involved in an online discussion about the subject I feel compelled to make sure the information is accurate.

Thanks for the apology, it is appreciated. I don't have a problem with the word "impaired", in fact it seems apt. On the other hand, I find the word "retarded" to be hateful and pejorative. That's all I'm saying.

Words have specific meanings. When you call an entire class of people a word that has become a slur, you should expect that you're hurting someone's feelings. I don't think I'm asking too much here to keep that in mind. And I also think that we're having a relatively civilized discussion, how do you think I attacked you?

That's funny! I have a distinct memory of being taught empathy, but I just took an online test a few days ago where you're supposed to tell what emotion a person is feeling with only a photograph of the eyes to go on. I think I got like 60% right. I'd post the link, but it's 3AM here and I'm going to bed.

Well, if my theory is correct that those of us on the Autistic Spectrum are the next step in human evolution... Then you won't have to worry about it!

Same here. Only thing is I don't want to move to Chicago!

But it most certainly is not mental retardation. One little data point for you: I have Asperger Syndrome, and an IQ of 148. Also, just because non-verbal communication is not intuitive to people with ASD it does not necessarily follow that we are incapable of learning it. Please remember that you are talking about real people here with real feelings, and a lot of us read slashdot. Spreading your misconceptions to people who don't know any better can create real problems for us.

It's a spectrum! Not everybody who has ASD has exactly the same symptoms. I really wish people would stop making assumptions about everyone on the spectrum based on meeting one person. If you've met one aspie, you've met one aspie. That's all.

For me, abstract thought is almost all I do. I'm an extreme systemizer and a professional musician. Do you think I would be able to identify the key of a song without abstract thought? Transpose to a different key? Sure, sometimes I mistakenly take a joke literally -- but that sure as hell does not mean that I am incapable of abstract thought.

It depends on your definition of disabled. If it means "hard to get and keep a regular job", then it most certainly can be a disability. Many non-technical jobs require employees to be able to interact normally with others (often strangers) -- this can be really difficult for people (like me) who have a hard time reading non-verbal cues and have no patience for intra-office politics. It's a good thing one of my "Aspie special interests" was music, I am a lot more comfortable around musicians and dealing with the attendant technical stuff than I am at normal jobs.

I like having AS. It has been, on balance, a blessing. That being said, I find psychotherapy to be quite beneficial in dealing with the anxiety and depression which is often seen in people on the Autistic Spectrum. Not only does it help with those issues, my therapist is Neurotypical (or NT, which is what people with ASD tend to call "normal" people) so she can help me understand where most people are coming from and slowly teach me to read certain non-verbal cues.

Ray Kurzweil thinks that if you can hang on for another 20 years or so you should be able to live indefinitely.

And then comes the fun part when we talk about the epistemology of monkeys! How do we know what the monkeys know? And what is the nature of their knowledge? How much can we teach them and how will that affect their language (such as it is)? Do they teach their kids or is it hard-wired?

Actually, they did. And didn't find that he was insane (though by now we've all seen the video where he seems to prove his instability, then there's his friend implying that Clemmons thought he was Christ). We've spent so much time and money locking up non-violent drug users that we've left the mentally ill to rot. A lot of the mentally ill self-medicate as well, so they have been hit even harder by Prohibition 2.0.