Rocks - Part1

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Moving Rocks. An Autistic Perspective.

Imagine a giant pile of rocks. Also imagine a world where moving rocks is important. The rocks need to go from one pile to another. It’s IMPORTANT work. Along comes Burt. It turns out Burt has a thing for moving rocks. He picks up a rock carries it to the new pile and immediately goes and gets another rock. Pick up a rock. Move a rock. Pick up a rock. Move a rock. In a rush of frenetic activity, Burt moves rocks at an amazing pace. Burt is a champion. Burt is the awe of the community. Burt gets a beautiful wife.

Burt is pretty smart too. So he builds a machine that moves rocks even faster. The world is good - lots of machines moving lots of rocks. The piles move like never before in history. Burt keeps everyone employed, everyone is doing their part.

Move the rocks. Move the rocks. Move the rocks. Move the rocks. Faster and faster. Rocks. Rocks. Move. Move. Move. Rocks. Move. Rocks. Move. Rocks.

The progress is sublime. A religion is formed. Chanting and celebration ensues. The high priest expounds on the path to fulfillment. The Rock Movement is born.

One day, Burt hires a new kid. He’s an odd fellow, but moving rocks is important and everyone needs to do their part. The new kid, Bart, is nervous, but enthusiastic.

He goes to the pile of rocks and picks one up.

And he stops.

He looks at the rock.



He looks at the rock some more.



He turns it over and over. He sniffs it. He tastes it. He becomes so entranced with the rock that he forgets where he is.


Burt happens by and sees Bart standing there, lost in his revelry. He smacks him in the back of the head and says “HEY! We MOVE rocks here. Get to work. Put that rock over on the other pile!”

Bart shakes his head, is confused for a bit, then slowly starts moving. Finally he snaps out of it and puts the rock on the other pile.


Bart picks up another rock from the first pile. He looks at it. He thinks,” HEY! This rock isn’t the SAME as that rock I just had”. He RUNS over to the other pile, tossing rocks about in a frenzy until he finds the first rock. He turns over each rock in his hands. He sniffs them. He tastes them. He becomes one with the rocks.



(more to come - any proof reading would be appreciated)

I see the analogy you are heading towards, however, I must comment...I do not see how Burt's ability to move rocks translates to getting a wife. It is not, if A, then Z, you left out the rest of the alphabet.

And while Burt's rock moving machine may very well increase the number of jobs wherever the machine is built, in Burt's community, I believe it would detract from the number of jobs, as it is taking the jobs of the rock movers.

It's a really big pile of rocks.

I'm not sure where it's headed and I don't want to over think it. Since the main idea is about the difference in perception, I'm not too concerned about inconsistencies in some of the peripheral stuff.

I'm thinking the high priest is going to try to fix Bart because he is such an impediment to the efficient movement of rocks.

Then a schism in the church when a radical bishop decides that looking at individual rocks might have some value and thinks Bart should be allowed to follow his interests.

Then a civil war

OK. Maybe a civil war is too much

The rocks are interesting. Bart becomes the founder of the study of geology which leads to mining and lucrative mineral collecting industries, which develop third world countries and industrialize the world.

Or something like that. Basically, different doesn't mean broken and you don't know the outcome.

If autism is "cured", will we lose those unique perceptions in return for not having to support the low functioning? It is an interesting dichotomy. What is clear to me is that autism results in very unique states of mind, many of which are disabling, some devastatingly so. But some of those minds are fascinatingly rare.

I wasn't surprised that Burt got a beautiful wife. Since he lives in a world where moving rocks is considered important in life, he is considered a champion, and the Community is in awe of him; this seems analogous to a star football player, movie star, or successful business man in our world.

As far as jobs go, it sounds like a Capitalistic economy. Bart will probably be fired quickly, but it is just as well because his overwhelming curiousity will be better suited in another line of work. He may go to school, get bored and quit. He may find a special interest that he works on in his home that leads to the development of a new technology that revolutionizes the transfer of information in his world. Meanwhile Bart may also get rich, become the new champion and awe of the community, and likely find a wife, if he can tear himself away from his special interest long enough.

The new information technology may allow Burt to buy new machines that are much more efficient in moving rocks and to outsource rock moving jobs to lands far away where people are willing to do the job for a fraction of the cost. Burt and Bart maximize their potential of success in the economic structure they live in and become rich beyond their imagination.

There are far fewer jobs because of Burt and Bart's efforts. Many people blame Burt for the outsourcing of jobs, forgetting that if it wasn't for Bart, Burt would not have been able to buy more efficient machines, and information technology to outsource jobs. Most people blame the elected officials for the lack of jobs, but the only idea they can come up with is to give Burt more money that allows him to buy even more efficient technologies that in the end lead to even fewer jobs.

It is hard to dislike Bart because many of the other byproducts of Bart's technological innovations have made life so much more interesting for the masses. And while Burt spends his money on lavish personal pursuits, Bart is more interested in special interests than money and donates much of his money to worthy causes (special interests).

Meanwhile Burt and Bart live happily ever after and most everyone else tries to figure out why life seems to be getting better and worse at the same time.