[cyocum]

I am not an expert in any way, shape or form but I wonder how this squares with this other journal article in Nature: Molecular Psychiatry which came out in 2024? "11C-UCB-J PET imaging is consistent with lower synaptic density in autistic adults" https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-024-02776-2

Edited to add title of the article

[spoonfeeder006]

OP's article is about children, yours is about adults.

OP's article's conclusion states "Furthermore, our study highlights the importance of studying neurodevelopmental disorders closer to their onset, rather than in adulthood when a lifetime of compensatory mechanisms may have already taken place"

As I understand, autistic people often get negative reinforcement from authoritarian mindsets of society (follow the general norm and the power structures instead of thinking for yourself) and that can be kinda traumatizing for autistic people

So what we need is to value that every person's perspective is equally valid, and their ideas are plausible, and no one is inherently superior, whether NT or ASD etc...

> Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value > > -Baha'i Teaching

[skissane]

> OP's article is about children, yours is about adults.

Studies on biological causes of ASD are notorious for failing to replicate and reaching contradictory conclusions. It is just as likely that you’d reach the opposite conclusion with children too

Because “ASD” isn’t really a thing, it is a whole bunch of different things with different causes and different symptoms semi-arbitrarily squished together under the one label, simply because those symptoms have some overlap. And every research sample is a random mixture of these different underlying conditions, and two different samples are unlikely to have the same mix, which is why studies of the same thing with different samples (even defined on the same criteria) frequently produce opposite conclusions. “Heterogeneity” is the technical term for this

[Der_Einzige]

One of the lessons that I would hope that the world learns from the rise of the radical right world-wide is that platitudes about universalism, egalitarianism, empathy, and basically everything that the Baha'i faith teaches makes people hate you and want to kill you. This has been true historically (see treatment of Baha`i faith by like everyone) and is true today. These platitudes that you and the Baha`i faith (and jains) espoused seem to trigger a revulsion to "weakness" and "submissiveness" among others around them. Early Christians had to deal with the same extreme hatred.

Autistic people suffer the same fate. Dr. Hans Asperger could only say the "smart" autistic people from certain death by showing that they are useful to the war machine and could produce rockets so Nazis could continue gassing people longer.

Even today, "Autist" as a slur or insult is used even more than "Retard" 10 or 20 years ago, and the connotations around "Autist" are very similar to "Incel". Most people genuinely feel a level of horror that leads to "I wish you didn't exist" when they are around a chris-chan tier autistic person.

The world isn't ready to accept universalism, or love, or happieness, or peace or any of that hippy shit. The world wants a boot from a strongman on its face - forever!

[lupusreal]

Chris Chan is an abusive person and has been for a very long time (before the "internet found him", he was making rape threats against girls in his highschool.) He freaks people out for good reason. It's not fair to autistic people to use Chris Chan as some sort of archetype for autism.

[Der_Einzige]

Why not? Being a horrible person equaling people liking you is exactly my point! He famously now has a finnish girlfriend (Flutter) who is much more attractive than him. This has lead to hilarious 4chan threads where the incels of 4chan lament at how CHRIS CHAN is getting laid and they aren't.

Chris Chan and flutter are having children! Chris Chan will have a legacy, and this is mere months after having possibly risked it with his own mother! https://www.sportskeeda.com/pop-culture/news-who-flutter-acc...

He's more evidence that trying to be "ethically good" leads to bad life outcomes and the moment that he embraced his "dark" side, his life outcomes literally got way better. He's evidence that god hates the weak.

[snailmailstare]

Your initial arguments are interesting, but I don't think any interpretation of the old or new testaments would allow for conflating a society and what it rewards with the will of their "God". Sodom and Gomorrah would be the most obvious example of a situation where dark personalities must have done well only to end up grouped in a fast track damnation.

[skissane]

> a chris-chan tier autistic person

I think a lot of Chris-Chan’s issues aren’t due to autistic traits in themselves, they are due to being surrounded by a subculture of stalkers obsessed with doing all in their power to make those issues worse

[spoonfeeder006]

I would say "Happy dappy dumbp dipshits" is not what I get from the Baha'i ideals

Some people are born leaders, thats their inherent personality tendencies. Often they are psychopathic, which is a congential thing, and hence not their fault in any ways. Rather, just like anyone else, they are also mines rich in gems of inestimable value

So how can you get someone like Stalin or whatnot, who can mesmerize the populace, make brave, bold and rational decisions in the face intense crisis, but at the same time help them somehow understand and internalize foundational principles of justice and equity so that their strengths can be manifest without tormenting people and thereby extinguishing so much human potential?

[mlyle]

Wouldn't be the first time that a syndrome ends up having basically two opposite etiologies.

Abnormal synaptic density-- high or low) producing autism-like social deficits wouldn't be too much of a surprise.

Alternatively, starting with high connectivity resulting in a greater rate of synaptic pruning and overcorrection wouldn't be a surprise, either.

All are interesting things to think about and watch evolve.

[dartos]

Different underlying causes for the same condition is possible.

Given how little we know about the internals of brain function, it’s not surprising to see conflicting indicators of the same condition.

I’m just a layman, tho, so what do I know.

[lumost]

There are also two axis of deficit in autostic individuals. Social and cognitive. Its not uncommon for individuals to present without cognitive deficit, however social deficits can still be severe e.g. A 5 year old who cannot participate in class due to meltdowns and inability to follow social norms such as sharing/turn taking/listening.

I haven't read these studies, but it seems natural that there would need to be control for the type and severity of autism.