(ELOG 4 for CS3790: Cognitive Science)
Last Tuesday we had a class discussing Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorders. But… I wasn’t there. In light of this, I decided to read up on Autism and watch the video shown in class.
(The video is: The Mind of a Visual Thinker [youtube])
Temple Grandin is a fascinating person. Her talk (see video above) on visual thinking was a great look into the thought process of someone one the Autistic Spectrum. Apparently she doesn’t think in words like many people, but instead thinks completely in visual pictures. When she hears the word steeple, she doesn’t just call to mind attributes of steeples, or even a generic steeple, but actual pictures of steeples she has seen at some point.
To Grandin, the major feature tying together the various parts of the Autistic Spectrum, is that all have a different way of thinking about things from those that are not in the Autistic Spectrum. She mentions three specific ways of thinking that many in the Autistic Spectrum find themselves in. One is thinking in pictures, which is the way Grandin herself thinks. Others may think in patterns or even in sounds, but the common theme is that these people think in one way more exclusively, rather than being able to easily switch and relate the different ways of thinking.
The physiological causes of Autism have not been found, but the current theory of how the behavioral differences develop follows this model:
The idea being that the genetic and possible environmental factors lead to a difference in the way the brain develops, which affects how the person is able to think, and finally results in an observable difference in behavior. Work is currently being done to develop a model that explains exactly how this process occurs in a way that fits current evidence. (A Cognitive Model of Autism [cc.gatech.edu])
In understanding Autism Spectrum Disorders, we do important work not only in helping those with Autism survive in a world of what Grandin refers to as neurotypicals. but also in understanding how the mind in general works.
This Friday was Georgia Tech’s Annual Six Flags day. The school rents out the park and sells tickets at a discount to students. It’s a pretty sweet deal, $13 for a ticket that’d normally cost $30-$40. Plus, the lines are typically shorter than those you’d find on a normal day.
I love roller-coasters, and Six Flags has some good ones. Unfortunately, this year there were a lot of other students thinking the same thing. The lines for the Batman and Superman rides, two of the better coasters in the park, were hideously long. Like rumors of people waiting two and a half hours long. We opted not to risk waiting in those two lines for hours on end.
It probably didn’t help that the park was short a couple of rides they had previous years, but the unfortunate truth of the matter was that the park was a bit overcrowded this year as opposed to the last. There were long lines even for the rides that last year had practically no lines (mainly because people think they suck) – like the Ninja.
It wasn’t all bad though – we got in line for the Goliath relatively early, only waiting about an hour for what is arguably one of the park’s best rides. We also experienced pretty short lines for the Cyclone and the Scream Machine, two old wooden monstrosities that cause major headaches from the extreme rickety vibrations. Awesome, but also nauseating. The new metal rides are so much smoother, but they don’t give off that whole could-break-apart-and-kill-you-at-any-moment vibe.
We made our last ride of the night the Georgia Scorcher. This ride was probably my favorite, but the designer of the ride is undoubtedly the most spiteful person to walk the face of the planet. The seats are designed to hold you in by lifting you up by the groin and holding down your shoulders, so either the designer hates men or has a very kinky fetish. I’m talking major discomfort if you strap in wrong.
All in all, I’ll probably go again, but this next time I hope Six Flags has a few more rides running or Tech decides to sell a few less tickets.
Oh, and apparently everyone decides to go to Steak and Shake after Six Flags, so don’t think you’re the only one brilliant enough to come up with that idea, or you’ll be stuck waiting an hour to get your shakes.
