12-14-2007, 10:09 PM
let me guess as soon as CAN finds out we could be the next evolution of humans they'll make us out to be threats to the human race and people will belive them twice as much ....stupendous! >_<
12-14-2007, 10:09 PM
12-15-2007, 12:24 AM
Tigger_the_Wing Wrote:
I had several problems with the article, quite apart from the offensive 'disease' language. And I agree with Batman that the word 'mutation', whilst being scientifically neutral, is used in popular culture as an entirely negative concept and therefore it is alarming to think that 'mutant' could be added to the lexicon of insults thrown our way.
I tend to disagree with the article too - It doesn't sound like a very convincing study, and I've seen a huge enough pile of anecdotal evidence to suggest to me that autism's 100% inherited.
That being said, I don't have a problem with the word mutation at all. For one thing, there's no other word that we can use in it's place - if you want to describe a spontaneous genetic alteration, you have to use the word "mutation". For another, as far as popular culture goes, the first image I get when I hear the word is from X-Men...
I've always been curious about the origins of autism, and the possibility of autism sometimes being caused by mutation is still very real. Not to mention that many other neurotypes are mostly based from mutation (like Downs syndrome, etc), so it's probably a good idea to keep the term from being taboo...
12-15-2007, 08:19 AM
EvilZakkie Wrote:
Tigger_the_Wing Wrote:
I had several problems with the article, quite apart from the offensive 'disease' language. And I agree with Batman that the word 'mutation', whilst being scientifically neutral, is used in popular culture as an entirely negative concept and therefore it is alarming to think that 'mutant' could be added to the lexicon of insults thrown our way.
I tend to disagree with the article too - It doesn't sound like a very convincing study, and I've seen a huge enough pile of anecdotal evidence to suggest to me that autism's 100% inherited.
That being said, I don't have a problem with the word mutation at all. For one thing, there's no other word that we can use in it's place - if you want to describe a spontaneous genetic alteration, you have to use the word "mutation". For another, as far as popular culture goes, the first image I get when I hear the word is from X-Men...
I've always been curious about the origins of autism, and the possibility of autism sometimes being caused by mutation is still very real. Not to mention that many other neurotypes are mostly based from mutation (like Downs syndrome, etc), so it's probably a good idea to keep the term from being taboo...
In the meantime I've learned to find the term "mutation" less offensive, and you're right, there's no other word you can use in its place. I much prefer that term over "defective," for example, so it's the lesser of two evils. And pretty much neutral.
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