my partner has begun reading this to me. she often stops and says, "isn't that autism" or something like that.
we also stop and shake our heads at the sexism here and there.
of course, in the 80s, autism didn't exist in its present definition, which was defined in the DSM in 2013. but also of course, who are now diagnosed Autistic people were just as common then, without diagnosis.
#actuallyAutistic
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Discussion
the Martian human in the #book Stranger In A Strange Land by #Heinlein represents the culture of an advanced civilization starkly contrasted with the (literally) ridiculous maze of lies of Earth #culture.
Smith, the Martian human, appears to Earthlings simplistic and dysfunctional and the plot of the book progressively contrasts enlightened Martian culture with primitive and chaotic Earth. we are over halfway through now, and I do find it neuroaffirming, and I wonder what other #actuallyAutistic
@travisfw
The ultimate expression of the religious Insanity shown in "Stranger" can be found in Theodore Sturgeon's "Godbody".
… people may think about the book, whether or not you were diagnosed early or late, are young or old, or if you are #actuallyAllistic or have Autistic friends, family, or lovers.
I find myself gaining hope that Autistic people may coalesce a culture, identifying and belonging by our positive traits, and leaving behind the pathology of the DSM for a distinct definition of what it means to be ourselves through the lens of #positivePsychology
i asked Perplexity to research, "
how might autism be defined through the lens of positive psychology, leaving pathology and disorder to the DSM, and affirming the cultural identity and characteristic strengths of Autistic people around the world?
#actuallyAutistic
@travisfw
So how did Perplexity do?
I was curious (and impatient lol), so I copied your question into one of the llms at duck.ai (GPT-OSS 120B). It came up with a fairly nice answer; not perfect, but a pretty good starting point I can tweek and can use when talking to others. I can try posting the results, but it includes a chart which may be tricky. 
@murdoc truth is I ran out of time. some of the answer I liked, and some not, so I was going to edit a few excerpts into 500 characters or less that I could endorse. Would you do so too? I would certainly appreciate the company. :)
@travisfw
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couple of things - Stranger is from the fifties or something, not the eighties
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Yes, all the weirdos related, but maybe everybody did? I think it turned out a one-off thing, that outsider book, and Heinlein's main reputation is normalness and patriotism - as good as Stranger was, I was reading a later series in the eighties or something and closed the book in the middle and threw it away in frustration, never been back.
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But, I mean, many authors never produce a Stranger. I suppose the industry decided what he would write or something. Great book, by all accounts anyway, enjoy.
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