Autism is a World

At a racetrack, a young woman is cheering for her chosen horse. She ignores the stares of the people who walk by, fully aware of how the world perceives her. She looks different. She acts different. She is in an entirely different world- an isolated world consumed by the tendencies and plights of autism.

Sue Rubin is an intelligent, ambitious, and humorous 32 year old. She also has autism, a developmental disorder that affects the brain's normal development of social and communication skills. Throughout her entire childhood, until she was thirteen years old, she was considered intellectually deficient, having the mental age of a two year old. She was unable to communicate to her desperate parents, and she engaged in self- injurious behavior when she became frustrated. She was difficult to understand.

At the age of thirteen, another world was revealed to Sue's parents. Sue was introduced to Facilitated Communication, a method of communication that allows the person type out the words he or she is unable to speak. Having found an efficient method to communicate, it was evident that Sue was not mentally retarded. In fact, she is more self-aware of herself than it was ever believed to be possible. She knows how she appears to some people; she's aware that it isn't normal to have an obsession with spoons and running water. She also understands that she will have to rely on other people to care for her for the rest of her life.

In her documentary, Autism is a World, Sue describes her struggle with autism and her fight to overcome all the obstacles that come along with the illness. With the help from her devoted parents, her support staff, and psychiatrist, she graduated high school with honors, and is attending college. It is without argument that her accomplishments are incredibly inspiring; she is inspiring.

However, the documentary also took you into her world. When she is nervous, her autistic tendencies are more pronounced. As she stares at running water, her mind is completely blank. She stated that for some, solitude can be a best friend, but for her, at times, solitude is her worst enemy. When she is alone, it is difficult to stop the autistic part of her mind from taking over. She relies on others to 'wake' her brain up.

Sue revealed another universe to me. What frightens and upsets me is just how many people throughout history, were never heard because of their inability to communicate. Today, 75- 80 % of people that are diagnosed with autism, are also diagnosed with mental retardation. This number seems drastically high. I can only hope that with the use and implementation of assisted communication technology, more people with autism will be heard and their stories told.

The Bold and The Ignorant

“Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.” 

 - John. F. Kennedy

Opinions: Everyone has one. What worries me is just how many people draw conclusions without interpreting all the facts, or worse, without knowledge of the subject matter.  With the internet,  information is at our fingertips, but information is not enough. We must consider the information we are given and analyze what is the truth and where we should stand. The ability to make informed and articulated opinions is severely important in all situations.  

Making decisions based entirely on emotion is dangerous and irresponsible. As citizens, it is our duty to formulate political opinions in order to vote responsibly.  We must refrain from accepting another's opinion without delving into the topics ourselves.  More so, we must prevent our own biases from effecting the decisions we make. What are our biases? Here is a list of common biases humans tend to have:

• We often accept the first piece of information that might work when searching for evidence.
• Inertia- We have an unwillingness to change what we have believed to be true for so long.
• We actively screen out information we deem unimportant.
• We are frequently blinded by 'wishful thinking' and our own optimism can distort reality.
• Recency- We have a tendency to accept newer information and disregard more distant information.
• Peer pressure- We are easily influenced by the majority of a group we are thought to belong to.

How can we prevent our biases from unfairly controlling our opinions and decisions? We must learn to become more self-reflective, more open-minded; we must understand our thoughts and beliefs, our lens. Awareness of your own prejudice, as well as the potential biases of others, will keep you from making a decision that is unjust.  So let's arm ourselves with knowledge and stop this takeover of our minds. Think thoroughly, think fairly, and most importantly, think for yourself. 

The Universe and Our Insignificance

Twenty years ago, Voyager 1, a robotic space probe,  took a photograph of our planet Earth from a record distance, presenting a 'pale blue dot'. Today, I stumbled on a website that displayed the photograph, as well as an excerpt from Carl Sagan's 1994 book, "Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space". The excerpt is as follows: 

Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there--on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.

The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds.

Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.

The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.

It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.

After reading Carl Sagan's words, I wallowed through blurred vision toward the nearest tissue to wipe the tears from my eyes. Here I am, on this planet that orbits a large star that is part of a galaxy that in turn, is part of an ever-expanding universe. I am nothing. We are nothing. Everything we ever thought, every great idea, does not matter. Or does it? 

I have been an atheist long before I came across this picture. For me, the existence of an omniscient higher being who is concerned with everything and everyone on this grain in space, is hard to grasp. I cannot accept the notion that our own actions and thoughts are so important to one being.  Yet so many people have died so that others can please a 'God'.  Nevertheless, I am not writing to depict the idiocies of religion and worship, nor explain how religion blinds us from our own insignificance. I do not have the time, nor the patience to elaborate on such concepts.

I'm writing to remind everyone that we do have value on our planet, our home. In regard to the entire universe, yes, we are unimportant.  We earthlings have virtually no impact on our Milky Way, let alone on other galaxies. Nevertheless, we are here, and have been here for thousands of years. We have accomplished impressive feats in such a short span of time. We continue to live, to reflect, to change. 

The effect we have on our planet is immeasurable.  This impact is not due to some supreme being, but by our power to think, to desire, and to feel. I'm here because I want  every person to always strive for progression; when advancement is impossible, venture for change.  Celebrate each other's differences, as it is evident that we are not all that different. We do matter and every single living thing has significance. Because no matter what science ascertains, we have made an impact, and will continue to do so until our days are over on this tiny particle we call 'Earth'. 

From One Internet Pioneer to Another

Websites and Blogs for Semi-Productive Procrastination:

A Cure of Boredom: 

Stumble Upon : A place for serendipitous discoveries.

Failblog : This website and the entire Cheezeburger network provides

               smiles by the blog post!

Globe Genie :  Close your eyes and ask your genie to take you

                       anywhere in the world. With just a click of a  button,

                       explore.

Explosm Comics : These comics never fail to get a laugh out of me.

The Oatmeal : Again, comics that satisfy my laugh box.

The Onion: America's 'Finest' News Source!

JoyStiq: For the geek in all of us.

Sodahead: Express your opinions here.

A Day Without Learning Is a Wasted Day:

boing boing & Neatorama:  A potpourri of entertaining and 

                                         stimulating information.

Dark Roasted Blend : When knowledge is your caffeine.

National Geographic & Discovery:   Explore the marvels of planet 

                                                    Earth.

Scientific American: The innovative world of science!

Quizlet: Have a test coming up? Study already made flash cards or

             create your own!

Wikipedia: Use the random article feature and learn something. 

                (Please be aware that Wikipedia is not a reliable source 

                 of information. Always check the validity of all articles.)

What's Going on in the World?:

BBC

CNN

DIGG

Politico

Huffington Post

Fark

Reddit

This list is assuredly highly condensed. The internet is full of intriguing, informational, amusing, and insightful web pages to come across! So go on, digital adventurers, explore!

Before My Last Breath

What I must do before death comes knocking on my door-

• I must see the aurora borealis in person. The aurora borealis (also known as the northern lights in northern latitudes and southern lights in southern latitudes) is a magnificent show of lights in the sky.  The phenomenon occurs when solar winds bombard the Earth with ions (charged particles), and the particles travel along the Earth's magnetic field, toward the poles.  I plan on visiting Iceland in the near future to see this natural aesthetic light dance. I guess I better dress warm!

• I wish to visit every state in the United States of America. What's life like outside of New York City? Who lives in this country? Is Idaho as boring as everyone says?

• Ah, survival of the fittest at its best! To go on an African safari should be on everyone's wish list.  I can picture it now- the warm wind blowing through my hair,  the bumpy Jeep ride,  the annoying tour guide telling us to keep all hands and possessions inside the car at all times.  The Savannah may be one of the best ecosystems in the world to witness the beautiful qualities of the wild. 

• I love Japanese culture: the arts, the traditional clothing, the cuisine! I must go to the magnificent metropolis of Tokyo, Japan.   

Dusk in Tokyo, Japan by KintaiZach (a) 

• To be known as Dr. Jessica De Feo is my dream. Yes, I hope to receive a doctorate degree (concentration not yet decided).  

• Only when the aforementioned desires are completed, I want to procreate.  

_______________________________________________________________________________

a. Photo courtesy of http://kintaizach.deviantart.com/

Too Early to Hear Birds Singing...

What I've learned while browsing the internet at 4:00 am:

Rimed Snowflake

1. Adam Rainer was the only man in recorded history to be both a dwarf and a giant. 
2. You cannot make clockwise circles with your right leg while writing the number 6 in the air with your right hand.
3. Rimed snow : Snowflakes that are coated in tiny frozen water droplets called rime. This occurs when a snowflake passes through a super-cooled cloud.  
4. In 1989, one of the first anti-nuclear movements in the former Soviet Union was formed in Kazakhstan, and it was called "Nevada Semipalatinsk".
5. A Coney Island hot dog is topped with all-meat chili, diced yellow onions, and yellow mustard.
6. I cannot tell the difference between a hyper-realist painting and a photograph.  
7. There are numerous buttons in our environment  that act as 'placebos.' For instance, in most elevators,  the button to close the doors only works with a key. 



A Hyper Realistic Painting by Linnea Strid

8. Vodka can be used to remove lipstick stains from clothing. Simply rub the stain with vodka, throw it in the wash, and voila! 
9. St. Patrick was not Irish.
10. In China, the pigtail was seen as a symbol of feudalism, and the style was banned in 1911. 

Training the Puppy: Ostensibly Facile

You're at your local animal adoption center, already having decided that the time is right to adopt a dog into your family. Upon walking in, one particular young dog catches your eye. The puppy, while held in your arms is complacent, and charming. You fall in love with the puppy instantaneously, and begin the adoption process at once. You soon discover, after bringing him home, that you didn't adopt a dog; You've adopted a beast!

When I brought my two month old dog (Frederick) home, I was unprepared, and unaware of the amount of work and time I would have to put in to train the puppy. In addition, my adorably cute puppy was not so friendly. He was hostile. I followed various obedience training techniques to no avail (Crying out in pain when he bites, walking away when he starts playing too viscously, etc.). Nothing was helping. After a while, I began to resent the dog, regretting ever bringing the animal home. However, for reasons unbeknownst to even myself, I continued with the training procedures. There were times when I considered simply letting go of the leash while walking him. Yet several weeks, and countless scratches and bite marks later, Frederick began to come around. I am astonished by how much he has changed in a little over a month. Although I am sure part this improvement is simply due to maturity, I'm confident that I have helped Frederick build a better understanding of what is acceptable behavior. Each day, Frederick's behavior is slightly better than the day before.

I am now able to enjoy his company, laugh at his mannerisms, and look forward to coming home to see him. Training a puppy is a true test of patience. However, don't give in to your emotions. The dog does learn and the hard work pays off. Get a puppy training book, and be consistent and fervent while training. I've also found useful advice on the internet. Now it is time to move onto housebreaking. Wish me luck!