Autism in Economics? A Second Opinion
A popular claim among critics is that economic science is suffering from autism, a severe developmental disorder characterised by impairments in social relations and communication, combined with rigid and repetitive behaviour. So far, this allegation has not been substantiated. This essay explores the claim of autism in economics based on modern schemes of diagnostics. A key finding is that the structure of the critique against mainstream economics bears a striking resemblance to the structure of the diagnostic criteria for autism. Based on an examination of three groups of key symptoms, I conclude that the required set of criteria for the autism diagnosis are not met. However, there are parallels which may serve as constructive reminders for the future development and application of economic theories and models.
Buridan sent me this quaint little abstract. I could see how some people might find it offensive, but in the context that northern europeans are reported to have a very different attitude towards autism spectrum disorders. If autism isn’t a disease, but a normalcy that our abnormal world can’t handle, then taking up the topic this way, doesn’t have the expected negative connotations it would otherwise have. Will have to read this.
Aspergers Syndrome
Add new tag, autism
Have to go to the site for the picture, but the point is clear: even 500,000 years ago parents and communities took care of children with disabilities. Not shocking, unless you think of social support for people with disabilities now. I bet we’ve gone down hill since then in terms of equity and inclusion. 
Not Exactly Rocket Science : Deformed skull of prehistoric child suggests that early humans cared for disabled children
For all appearances, this looks like the skull of any human child. But there are two very special things about it. The first is that its owner was clearly deformed; its asymmetrical skull is a sign of a medical condition called craniosynostosis that’s associated with mental retardation. The second is that the skull is about half a million years old. It belonged to a child who lived in the Middle Pleistocene period.
The skull was uncovered in Atapuerca, Spain by Ana Gracia, who has named it Cranium 14. It’s a small specimen but it contains enough evidence to suggest that the deformity was present from birth and that the child was about 5-8 years old. The remains of 28 other humans have been recovered from the same site and none of them had any signs of deformity.
These facts strongly suggest that prehistoric humans cared for children with physical and mental deformities that would almost have certainly prevented them from caring for themselves. Without such assistance, it’s unlikely that the child would have survived that long.
Before moving on, a point of clarification: when I say “human” in this piece, I mean the genus Homo, which the child certainly belonged to, rather than the species Homo sapiens, which it certainly did not (its skull is too old).
Garcia found Cranium 14 in many different pieces over two years, but the fragments were preserved so well that she could reconstruct the skull very accurately. On doing so, she found it clearly belonged to an immature child. Its brain volume was within the adult range, but certain connections between the different bones of its skulls hadn’t fully matured. Based on that, Garcia guesses that the child was about 5-8 years old when he or she died.
Special Needs, disability
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How Microsoft put Apple owners on the defensive – Apple 2.0 is very interesting. It agrees with the microsoft ads that Macs suck because they don’t suck. That is… a quality machine is bad, and a POS (piece of silliness) is good… because it is cheap. It also suggests that there is something wise about buying cheap garbage over reasonably priced garbage. Read the whole thing. It suggests that because people are pointing out inaccuracies in the commercial, it was a good commercial. So, we have an actress, pretending to be a non-actress, who doesn’t actually go into an apple store, only pretending to, buying a computer running Vista (a moribund operating system) with out of date hardware and a 3rd rate CPU. And this is better than a real person buying a good operating system on good hardware.
To be honest, I will buy any computer that’s better than an Apple. In a minute. I’ve just never found one. As I say with apple products… “They just suck the least.” And whenever someone says that their puter is better, I run to it, only find out that they’ve forgotten to mention, or more likely aren’t power users enough to notice, that it has a multitude of impairments and impediments that they either live with or are oblivious to. Like saying your car is better, and cheaper… but it doesn’t go on the highway or work when it is wet. Some people take pride in strange things. They prefer to make due with less. I am impressed with someone who still uses DOS3.2.1 on a 386. That’s cool. Woodburning stoves are cool. Commuting by bicycle is cool. Home-made wine is cool. Buying dead tech and pretending it isn’t is just silliness.
THanks for the URL rochelle! Oh, and in
Lauren and her Laptop Rochelle writes: “I generally think that mac is good as a niche; they aren’t going to produce crap computers for the cheap audience, because they don’t cater to the cheap audience.” Great line!
Rochelle Mazar
Add new tag, Evil, silliness