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ape genius
2008-Mar-19, Wednesday 10:21 amA few weeks ago, I saw on television a NOVA episode called "Ape Genius". (You can watch it here for free.) The show is meant to examine what exactly separates human and ape ability, given that we have such similar genetics but such different accomplishments. Although at least one critic disliked the show, I found it fascinating. I have an interest in sentience across different species anyway, but it wasn't until the end of the episode that I realized something rather startling. Every single dimension explored in the episode matched an "issue" in autistic development as well.
The show examines the abilities of apes to copy one another, and autistics are known to have unusual mirror neuron abilities. Another segment examines impulse control, and that's been studied in autistic children as well. Segment five explored the ability of "mind reading", knowing the state of someone else's knowledge, and mind blindness is a popular theory for explaining some deficits in autistic performance. The last segment explores shared goals, and joint attention is another weakness that is studied in autism research.
The whole NOVA episode explores ways that other apes are different but ever-so-similar to humanity, and in each of these ways do autistic folk also differ from the norm. I'm more convinced than ever that autism represents a different (specifically, an older) form of human intellect.
The show examines the abilities of apes to copy one another, and autistics are known to have unusual mirror neuron abilities. Another segment examines impulse control, and that's been studied in autistic children as well. Segment five explored the ability of "mind reading", knowing the state of someone else's knowledge, and mind blindness is a popular theory for explaining some deficits in autistic performance. The last segment explores shared goals, and joint attention is another weakness that is studied in autism research.
The whole NOVA episode explores ways that other apes are different but ever-so-similar to humanity, and in each of these ways do autistic folk also differ from the norm. I'm more convinced than ever that autism represents a different (specifically, an older) form of human intellect.