amarbledesk.com
a not infamous place
| archive for February, 2005 |
Temple Grandin's "Animals in Translation"
25 Feb 2005 22:16 EST
I haven’t read the book yet, but rob at roborant has. It sounds interesting, and Temple Grandin has a unique insight. I’ve added the book to my Amazon.com wish list (thanks for the pointer, rob).
I do have some comments on stuff provoked by rob’s review:
Rob: “Ms Grandin’s claim is that autistic human brains have a lot in common with animal brains.”
To me this seems obvious enough. All human brains have a lot in common with animal brains, because all human brains are animal brains. This is not just a simplification or a statement for rhetorical effect. We humans would do a lot better to remember that we are, indeed, animals and the differences between us and other animals are differences of degree, not kind. The better questions are:
- In what specific ways are human and animal brains different?
- In what specific ways are human and animal minds different?
- Are humans more different from animals than they are from other humans?*
- What can we learn from studying these specific differences?
- Do the answers to the above inform our ethics?
*E.g.: Humans are more intelligent than dogs. This seems obvious, but: consider that a newborn human is less intelligent than a normal adult dog, but is likely to have greater potential for growth in intelligence. And a brain-damaged human is still a human even though his or her intelligence may be markedly less than many animals. Studying human-animal brain differences can lead us to a better understanding of how children develop as well as how to treat brain damange.
I’d also be very wary of using terms like “the autistic brain”. This term presupposed that there is one type of autistic brain. I don’t believe that to be true. Folks with autism are as varied as anyone else. There are commonalities to be sure…but many many different variations, and I suspect there are multiple genetic, physical, and developmental conditions which can cause the spectrum of conditions we label “autism”. It’s like the term “cancer” — a useful enough term, but in reality cancer isn’t one disease, doesn’t stem from one cause, and doesn’t have one treatment.
I believe Autism isn’t one disease, doesn’t stem from one cause, and doesn’t have one treatment.
As a matter of fact, I believe in some cases, “Autism” isn’t a disease and doesn’t need to be treated.
Possible parallel: Sickle-cell anemia is consired to be a disease…but it evolved as a successful mechanism for providing resistance to malaria. It causes problems when (1) a person is homozygous for Sickle cell or (2) when the environment no longer contains malaria. It is a disease only in the right context. In other contexts, it is a defense mechanism. Some forms of autism may be similar, I believe. Other forms are much more profound and need early and intensive intervention to help the sufferer.
Tags:Autism
Petals Around the Rose
25 Feb 2005 20:04 EST
Found this interesting mathematical puzzle while reading other stuff online:
Petals Around the Rose. Warning: it can be very addictive.
Evidently some people — math professors included — take months or years to figure this puzzle out. Me? Truthfully, I tried it for about 10 minutes yesterday, then the answer came to me after some thought later that evening. I tried my solution out today, and I was right. I’d like to say it came to me “in a flash of insight”, but really the solution didn’t. It simply came to me after I considered the evidence that had been shown me, then visualized the puzzle in my head, and narrowed the solution set down based on the puzzle as visualized. Once the solution set was sufficiently narrow, iterating through the possibe solutions led easily to the realization of which solution was correct. Going back the web site to re-try the puzzle was just a verification step.
If you do figure it out, you can join the Fraternity of the Petals Around the Rose. Bill Gates is a member.
…Bill Gates hung on grimly.
Funny thing about Bill, he began to get answers right, but not consistently. He admitted that he was remembering throws he’d seen before, along with the answers, but had no plausible theory to account for answers. Remembering?
“Oh, sure,” said the rememberer. “Like this throw…The answer is six… it’s just like a roll we saw earlier…, except that the six this time was a two last time. I don’t know why the answer is the same, but it is.” The rotten kid must have had two dozen rolls, with answers, committed to memory by the time this discussion came up….
“I think I’d better use a piece of paper,” said Bill, who was by this time the only active player who had still failed to divine the secret. “Aha,” said he after about an hour and a half of this foolishness. “The answer is four on this roll.”…”Yes.”…”And the answer to this is ten.”
He was right again, and he rattled off the next dozen answers without a quiver, declaring that he wasn’t just remembering history now but knew what was going on. Like the others he didn’t feel cheated by the game, but was satisfied that his effort paid off.
Some people who solved the puzzle quickly have expressed indignation about how quickly they solved it, and how this supposedly reflects badly on their intelligence. This is in response to one professor had commented that “The smarter you are, the longer it will take you to solve it” which personally I think is not only true, but is a useful clue to boot!
To them I say: The beauty of the puzzle needs to be found in the puzzle itself, and not in how intelligent other people will think you are if you do or don’t solve it!
Mario Mario, Super Plumber
25 Feb 2005 16:40 EST
Various Mario Brothers stuff:
- http://www.yikes.com/~pengo/8bit/ : Four-story Super Mario Bros. mural created (pixellated) with Post-It (R) Notes
- http://www.ebaumsworld.com/mariosplat.html : Classic Super Mario animation with a twist.
- http://www.ebaumsworld.com/marioguitar.html : Some guy playing the Mario Bros. theme song on the guitar…cool enough in and of itself, but the real cool part is that he even duplicates the sound effects.
- http://www.ebaumsworld.com/mariopiano.html : Some other guy playing the Mario Bros. theme song on the piano. The whole thing. It’s a longer song than you thought. Really, quite virtuoso.
- http://www.ebaumsworld.com/smb3beat-r.html : (long) Super Mario Bros. 3 beaten in 11 minutes. Only for the die-hard fans.
- http://www.smbhq.com/main.htm : Super Mario Bros. headquarters. Way too much geeky stuff here.
Orson Scott Card writes Iron Man comic book
24 Feb 2005 20:06 EST
Well, this could be interesting…everyone’s favorite Mormon conservative Sci-Fi author is writing the new Iron Man Ultimate comic book for Marvel.
Randi on "John" of "God"
24 Feb 2005 19:53 EST
James Randi‘s latest commentary is devoted to the debunking of “John of God”, the Brazilian charlatan recently featured on ABC’s Primetime Live. João Teixeira (his real name) is a fakir/faker who pretends to do psychic surgery, faith healing, and the like, to the delight and astonishment of credulous fools who coincidentally often give him money. As Randi says: “ill people from all over the world flock to this place seeking cures” … but … “There is zero evidence to show that John of God has ever accomplished anything but revulsion by sticking forceps up a victim’s nose! Zero! ” Read the whole commentary; it is long and thorough. Notably, ABC gave short shrift to Randi’s attempt to provide a skeptical debunking on the air.
I watched a bit of the episode, and quickly moved on. The tricks that “John” of “God” was performing were just a combination of some fairly well-known carny routines, faith healer mumbo jumbo, and seemingly impossible stunts which are actually quite easy (forceps can actually go 4 inches up a person’s nose without causing injury … did you know that?).
I don’t really mind that gullible people are wasting their own time, lives, and money on “John” of “God”. But when news programs show the charlatans in a reasonable light, it distracts from real medical advances which could have been reported on instead. Additionally, I have a big problem with people involving their minor children in this pseudoscientific claptrap. It’s one thing for an adult to risk their own health. It’s another thing to risk their child’s.
Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (and other good ASD resources)
24 Feb 2005 19:45 EST
CHAT = Checklist for Autism in Toddlers
MCHAT = Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers
They’re intended to be used at 18 months of age, and are being increasingly recommended for screening of all toddlers. Good idea.
Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (CHAT) by Simon Baron-Cohen, Ph.D., Tony Charman, Ph.D., et al.
Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) by Diana Robins, M.A., Deborah Fein, Ph.D., et al.
M-CHAT Abstract and Scoring Instruction
M-CHAT Online (Note: M-CHAT Online is administered following the PEDS when the child being screened is between 18 and 59 months)
Also, this page lists current studies related to ASD which are recruiting participants.
Tags:Autism
Risperdal shown effective in treating ASD
24 Feb 2005 19:23 EST
This is excellent. This clearly shows a treatment that is beneficial to children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders and is grounded in science. It also shows that low-dose atypical antipsychotics like Risperdal appear to be free of much-feared extrapyramidal side effects.
Sarah Shea, Atilla Turgay, Alan Carroll, Miklos Schulz, Herbert Orlik, Isabel Smith, and Fiona Dunbar
“Risperidone in the Treatment of Disruptive Behavioral Symptoms in Children With Autistic and Other Pervasive Developmental Disorders”
Pediatrics 2004; 114: e634-e641.
Abstract: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/114/5/e634
Objective. To investigate the efficacy and safety of risperidone for the treatment of disruptive behavioral symptoms in children with autism and other pervasive developmental disorders (PDD).
Methods. In this 8-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, risperidone/placebo solution (0.01–0.06 mg/kg/day) was administered to 79 children who were aged 5 to 12 years and had PDD. Behavioral symptoms were assessed using the Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC), Nisonger Child Behavior Rating Form, and Clinical Global Impression-Change. Safety assessments included vital signs, electrocardiogram, extrapyramidal symptoms, adverse events, and laboratory tests.
Results. Subjects who were taking risperidone (mean dosage: 0.04 mg/kg/day; 1.17 mg/day) experienced a significantly greater mean decrease on the irritability subscale of the ABC (primary endpoint) compared with those who were taking placebo. By study endpoint, risperidone-treated subjects exhibited a 64% improvement over baseline in the irritability score almost double that of placebo-treated subjects (31%). Risperidone-treated subjects also exhibited significantly greater decreases on the other 4 subscales of the ABC; on the conduct problem, insecure/anxious, hyperactive, and overly sensitive subscales of the Nisonger Child Behavior Rating Form (parent version); and on the Visual Analog Scale of the most troublesome symptom. More risperidone-treated subjects (87%) showed global improvement in their condition compared with the placebo group (40%). Somnolence, the most frequently reported adverse event, was noted in 72.5% versus 7.7% of subjects (risperidone vs placebo) and seemed manageable with dose/dose-schedule modification. Risperidone-treated subjects experienced statistically significantly greater increases in weight (2.7 vs 1.0 kg), pulse rate, and systolic blood pressure. Extrapyramidal symptoms scores were comparable between groups.
Conclusions. Risperidone was well tolerated and efficacious in treating behavioral symptoms associated with PDD in children.
PDD is associated with disruptive behavioral symptoms that include deficits in social interaction and communication skills and stereotyped and difficult behaviors such as hyperactivity, aggression, inattention, impulsivity, screaming, and self-injury.
Risperidone compared with placebo for eight weeks is associated with improvements in irritability, parent-rated problems, and global symptoms in PDD. Significant adverse effects include somnolence and weight gain.
[Emphasis added].
Tags:Autism
Connection graphing software?
24 Feb 2005 19:11 EST
I’m looking for some software (or combination of software) which can produce connection graphs or directed connection graphs (digraphs) based on an XML file that in turn has been produced from an Excel spreadsheet. I understand that the input to graphing software is usually in the form of a sparse matrix; therefore I also need to figure out how to turn my spreadsheet into a sparse matrix 
.
Ideally this will run on Windows and provide an output suitable for viewing in a browser without special plug-ins. The output does not need to be dynamic; it’s acceptable for me to have to run some process and capture the output as a JPEG which I can then display in a browser.
Some candidates:
http://www.graphviz.org/About.php
http://directory.google.com/Top/Science/Math/Combinatorics/Software/Graph_Drawing
Luke and the Terrible Tooth
03 Feb 2005 18:08 EST
Luke has a terrible painful tooth
Luke has a painful tooth
It’s hurting his gums and that’s the truth
He wishes he had something to soothe
His terrible tooth
Mars War Pact
02 Feb 2005 21:46 EST
Was the Space Race a cause or symptom of the Cold War? Did the US’s winning the Space Race hasten the Cold War’s end or prolong the war? Did it cause or did it release the tensions between the Superpowers?
And can it happen again?
The story, which I drafted some years ago and provisionally dubbed the “Mars War Pact”, has China and the US competing simultaneously in a new Space Race and in a new Cold War. The former is not farfetched but fact. The latter…well, we can only wait and see, in reality.
Tech Central Station has some interesting reality-based thoughts on this subject from the Instapundit, Glenn Reynolds (who has some brief discussions and links on his own site).
But in fantasy, it goes like this…
The chief strategy makers of the US and China have come independently to the realization and acceptance that the human race cannot survive long if constrained to our home planet. This is seen as both a critical problem — especially for China’s billions — and a great opportunity. But the players also come to the realization that inertia and unenlightened self-interest are ingrained in most of the world. They will never sustain the magnitude of expenditures in effort, energy, and brainpower necessary to make the leap from Planet Earth a reality.
But the players also realize that there is an appetite for such expenditures when the goal is not future generations’ migration, but rather War. Humans understand War. Humans will expend nearly unlimited effort, energy, and brainpower to support War, as history has amply proven.
Of course, it defeats the purpose to have everyone kill each other in order to survive. [Ed.: Suspend your disbelief here ... I know people commonly do act in ways that defeat their own purposes. But our players here are the enlightened strategists, not the schmucks]. But the solution seems within grasp … use the appetite for War to feed the research and engineering necessary to launch a migration to space. Classic bait-and-switch, writ large.
The plan is as follows: China and the US use their tools of diplomacy, espionage, propaganda, and military threat (not action) to enter into a mutually agreed upon Cold War II. A secret War Pact. The first trick is to balance the detente so it does not escalate to real War, while keeping the pawns (billions!) unaware of the pact. The second trick is for both powers to channel energy into a parallel Space Race. The goal this time is to reach Mars with sufficient numbers and technology to terraform it as an additional home for humanity. Kennedy’s “Moon by the end of the decade” evolves into “Mars or bust”.
The ostensible goal is supremacy in Cold War II. The real goal is humanity’s long term survival through he colonization of Mars and the establishment of a new frontier.
Well, that was the outline for my story conceit anyway. Now it appears reality may be beating me to the punch once again…
about mark beadles
I write the things you read here. Polymath renaissance redneck. I build software, stories, and young men. More...on the desk
around the web
in the vault
-
