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Michael considered fate at 18:55   |   Permalink   |   Post a Comment

Autism? Why not check by taking this test. The real reason I'm posting this? The psychologist who came up with the test is Simon Baron-Cohen. Weird.

Update: I scored an 11. Over on px's page all the commenters came in between 13 and 32. 32 is apparently the cut-off for "high likelyhood of autism".. no guarantees, but a decent indicator. What I want to know is what sort of syndrome or learning disability do I have if I'm on the opposite end of that list???

Update #2: Apparently a Temple Grandin, author of Thinking in Pictures, has suggested that the brain abnormalities of a one Williams syndrome are the opposite of those of autism.

It is characterized by a distinctive, "elfish" facial appearance, along with a low nasal bridge; an unusually cheerful demeanor and ease with strangers, coupled with unpredictably occurring negative outbursts; mental retardation coupled with an unusual facility with language; a love for music; and cardiovascular problems, such as supravalvular aortic stenosis and transient hypercalcaemia..

.. There also appears to be a higher prevalence of left-handedness and left-eye dominance in those with Williams, and cases of absolute pitch appear to be significantly higher amongst those with the condition. Another symptom of Williams syndrome is lack of depth perception and an inability to visualize how different parts assemble into larger objects.

While I'd love to think I have absolute pitch I most certainly do not. I am also not left handed, elfish in appearance, or - as many can attest - "unusually cheerful".

So what am I? I'm sure people who know me wouldn't mark me as normal. Maybe I just suffer from the bland Generic Abnormality Syndrome. Yes, I made that up.