5 horrible diseases that changed the world(for the better)

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ShadesOfMe
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15 Jun 2010, 5:21 am

alex
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15 Jun 2010, 6:15 am

i think it was kind of offensive although it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be seeing as it was an article from cracked.com.

Quote:
Ever since it got the celebrity cause endorsement by Jenny McCarthy, everyone has diagnosed their progeny with the disease. But self-diagnosing parents aside, autism is a real disease with some serious consequences. Autistic people generally fail to develop normal social skills, and can become obsessed with minor details or systems that non-autistic folks consider insignificant. While the diagnosis covers a wide spectrum of disabilities, autism robs sufferers and loved ones of social skills like empathy and engagement.


Occasionally, they will find themselves trapped in a bad movie with Bruce Willis.

It turns out that an inability to fully relate to other people or care what they're saying about you also is really, really helpful to a revolutionary thinker. So it should come as no surprise that many famous scientists have been retroactively diagnosed as autistic, including all stars Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein. The unnatural ability to stay obsessively locked on a task and not get distracted by this "life" stuff let them, to quote one expert, "produce in one lifetime the work of three or four other people."



Modern technology continues to benefit from the fruit of the autism tree. Thorkill Sonne (who evidently earned his name by slaying the god of thunder) founded Specialisterne, an IT consulting firm that hires and trains autistics to do software engineering problem solving for companies like Cisco and Microsoft, after learning that his son was autistic. Customers have found the autistics hired by the firm were five to 10 times more precise than the average person.


We won't comment on the implications of these facts.

#4.


Read more: http://www.cracked.com/article_18577_5- ... z0qv40dhbH



Danielismyname
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15 Jun 2010, 6:20 am

I love this:

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It turns out that an inability to fully relate to other people or care what they're saying about you also is really, really helpful to a revolutionary thinker.


O, and I could have told you that OCD was number 1. :P



CockneyRebel
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15 Jun 2010, 7:02 am

I'm not diseased, I'm disordered.


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Mysty
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15 Jun 2010, 9:34 am

I don't like that loose use of "disease".


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Peko
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15 Jun 2010, 9:49 am

Awesome I :heart: the crazy revolution :D


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musicislife
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15 Jun 2010, 10:14 am

I like some of the arguments for the 5, but I really hate the use of the word "diseases," and the fact that the title of the article is "5 horrible diseases that changed the world for better." None of those are horrible, at least, not from my point of view.


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GriffinGuitar12
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16 Jun 2010, 1:03 pm

ShadesOfMe wrote:
http://www.cracked.com/article_18577_5-horrible-diseases-that-changed-world-for-better.html

check out the first for Autism.


Since I know you IRL, I'm guessing you put this up basically for sarcastic/ironic purposes :P It really burns my butter when people count Asperger's and autism not only in the same category, but they also confuse them for one another (even MAD Magazine was guilty of this in their "Big Bang Theory" parody, though I still love them - plus they were at least informed enough to use the word "borderline" before the word "autistic" to describe the character Sheldon - or "Shellshock" as MAD referred to him in their parody :P ) Nonetheless I understand (I think) the purpose of you posting this. Funny stuff!



DandelionFireworks
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16 Jun 2010, 1:31 pm

Horrible diseases?

Aside from that, I really like this article. :D It's all about how different doesn't mean worse. It's wonderful, aside from inaccurately describing autism.


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LiendaBalla
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16 Jun 2010, 1:35 pm

No actual virus discussion? dern..



MONKEY
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16 Jun 2010, 5:01 pm

Quote:
Occasionally, they will find themselves trapped in a bad movie with Bruce Willis.

:lmao:

I liked this article, and am not offended by the horrible diseases title, because I know it's sarcastic and satirical.


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Lecks
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16 Jun 2010, 5:07 pm

MONKEY wrote:
Quote:
Occasionally, they will find themselves trapped in a bad movie with Bruce Willis.

:lmao:

I liked this article, and am not offended by the horrible diseases title, because I know it's sarcastic and satirical.

Agreed, Cracked.com is a humor site after all.



Horus
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16 Jun 2010, 5:52 pm

DandelionFireworks wrote:
Horrible diseases?

Aside from that, I really like this article. :D It's all about how different doesn't mean worse. It's wonderful, aside from inaccurately describing autism.




I wouldn't disagree with this so long as you admit there are exceptions to this rule.


I see nothing good at all about my "differences". I can't imagine any rationally self-interested person would.


Only the most masochistic individual who has ever walked the earth would.



DandelionFireworks
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16 Jun 2010, 6:52 pm

I admit that there are exceptions, although I have never met them. But theoretically, I would have to concede the point as being true a priori.


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Horus
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16 Jun 2010, 7:11 pm

DandelionFireworks wrote:
I admit that there are exceptions, although I have never met them. But theoretically, I would have to concede the point as being true a priori.




If internet encounters qualify as meetings to you....then you've met one in me.


I was once a person with dreams, hopes, ambitions, etc....just like everyone else.


Perhaps one with even more dreams, hopes, etc....than many other people.


But the brain I was given robbed me of all these things. Since most, if not all, of these dreams, etc....depend upon a good memory and many other cognitive qualities I don't seem to possess, it's easy enough to see how my brain and nothing else could have robbed me of them.

Now perhaps we're supposed to make lemonade if life gives us lemons.

But this becomes problematic if one utterly hates lemonade.



Mysty
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16 Jun 2010, 7:48 pm

I didn't realize it's a humor site until it was mentioned in this thread. Though I see the site does indicate so. Given that, "horrible diseases" is appropriate. An over the top exaggerated label.


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