[extropy-chat] Fwd: CNN features amazing user with autism

[Stathis Papaioannou]

On 2/25/07, Jef Allbright <jef at jefallbright.net> wrote:

I found this YouTube video to be both fascinating and enlightening.
> Also interesting how much of this I can relate to myself.  Lizbeth
> says no surprise there, it's an INTJ thing.
>
> Highly recommended.
>
> - Jef
>
>
> > Amanda produced her own video to communicate how she perceives and
> interacts
> > with the people and things around her and posted it on YouTube. You can
> > watch her video at
> > <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnylM1hI2jc>
> > It was this
> > video that led CNN to share her story. Read why she created her video at
> > http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/anderson.cooper.360/blog/
>

It's a fascinating video, whatever the actual details of Amanda's life. It
raises the question, what is the meaning of life? People judge Amanda's life
as abnormal or suboptimal because she seems to value things the rest of us
don't and not value things the rest of us do. But if we gain control over
our own minds so that we are no longer slaves to the subgoals and supergoals
set by evolution, and the biological housekeeping functions are taken care
of by a trivial subroutine, then who is to decide that spending your life
blissfully flicking a stream of water from the tap with your hand because
that's what you have decided to want to do (not necessarily because that is
what you were born or raised to want to do) is less worthy than any other
activity?

Stathis Papaioannou
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