Subject from MeFi thread #58058 Appearing on CNN

February 21, 2007 5:45 PM

Follow up to this thread: New Metafilter member silentmiaow will appear tonight (2/21/07) on 360 with Anderson Cooper.
posted by macadamiaranch to MetaFilter-related at 5:45 PM (29 comments total)

Are we sure this time?
posted by delmoi at 5:54 PM on February 21, 2007

well... if you follow that last link I think "we're" sure this time.
posted by edgeways at 6:05 PM on February 21, 2007

Incidentally, in her very short time here silentmiaow has written more and better then most of us, myself included.
posted by edgeways at 6:06 PM on February 21, 2007

Suitably subtitled, I hope.
posted by Dave Faris at 6:28 PM on February 21, 2007

She's feeling a bit stressed by the attention, though.
posted by mmahaffie at 6:40 PM on February 21, 2007

Wow, I missed the original thread in amongst all the youtube posts. I've got my reading cut out for me -- Autism, in all it varying degrees, as it correlates to genius, absolutely fascinates me.

Oh, and I'm actually watching commercial television of my own volition or the first time in months.
posted by Devils Rancher at 7:11 PM on February 21, 2007

Thanks for the heads up -- I would have missed the show otherwise, and that thread & silentmiaow's contribution to it were some of the best MeFi I've read in a while.
posted by brain cloud at 8:08 PM on February 21, 2007

Autism, in all it varying degrees, as it correlates to genius, absolutely fascinates me.

Does autism actually correlate to genius? Autistic geniuses may be more memorable then 'normal' geniuses, but do they actually have higher IQs on average?
posted by delmoi at 8:15 PM on February 21, 2007

Does autism actually correlate to genius?

I doubt that it does absolutely, but there (I speak as a casually interested lay person) seems to be a sort of specialization that goes with certain types of genius that's not unlike autism. You know the adage about the bumbling professor? There's truth to that, and I see it all the time. Academics who are wizards at math, but can't navigate a menu, or drive a car, etc. These are just things I ponder, and would like to learn more about.
posted by Devils Rancher at 8:25 PM on February 21, 2007

awesome video on david tammet, autistic savant
posted by phaedon at 8:48 PM on February 21, 2007

Wow, I missed the original thread in amongst all the youtube posts.

uh.. the original thread was a youtube post.
posted by sergeant sandwich at 8:51 PM on February 21, 2007

*rimshot*

The original thread also had a MeTalk post noting it and was side-barred. The side-bar, in particular, is a good place to look for threads that are worthy of note.
posted by OmieWise at 4:39 AM on February 22, 2007

uh.. the original thread was a youtube post.

Aren't they all? (Kids, lawn, etc.)
posted by Devils Rancher at 5:27 AM on February 22, 2007

P.S. define "amongst."
posted by Devils Rancher at 5:28 AM on February 22, 2007

Sadly, silentmiaow is already drawing fire, as civil-rights advocates often do.

Droopy, another autistic vlogger (my favourite of hers: Droopy and John Go To Steak & Shake), who claims that someone she met online has stolen her life. She doesn't claim it's Amanda directly.

This rather paranoid-sounding blogger also claims that she is a fraud put up by neurodiversity advocate Kathleen Seidel, but commenters passionately defend her.

An earlier website of Amanda's.
posted by By The Grace of God at 5:49 AM on February 22, 2007 [2 favorites]

She doesn't claim it's Amanda directly.

From seeing that video who else could it be? Fascinating developments, BTGoG.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 8:13 AM on February 22, 2007

Martin Luther King wasn't black!!!
George Takei isn't gay!!!!
Susan B. Anthony was not a woman!!!

it's all a conspiracy by the Zion teddy bear mafia!

and it's made of PEOPLE!
posted by edgeways at 8:56 AM on February 22, 2007

You can read the original thread for refutations of that sort of stuff. I don't find the it fascinating, I find it alarming, especially considering autistics.org was just hacked yesterday in a way that clearly targeted my parts of the website, and someone has been posting to my blog wishing me dead.
posted by silentmiaow at 8:58 AM on February 22, 2007

silentmiaow, I should make it clear that I believe you and have admired your political work since I saw Getting The Truth Out a few years back. Thank you for the work you're doing. You are one of the Web's best advocates for the social model of disability.

It's awful that people are attacking you instead of responding to the points that you're making. I'm in the UK so will miss tonight's show but I wish you all the best and hope someone posts a clip on YouTube!
posted by By The Grace of God at 9:21 AM on February 22, 2007

Amanda's CNN interview available here.
posted by ericb at 11:33 AM on February 22, 2007

I saw silentmiaow on CNN at the doctor's office today.
posted by frecklefaerie at 12:09 PM on February 22, 2007

This intertubes thing and Matt's little creation might just catch on. I don't know if it's a good thing but some of the most interesting and exciting things I've experienced over the that last few years have occurred right here on MetaFilter. Thanks Matt, it's been well worth the 5 spot.
posted by Carbolic at 3:56 PM on February 22, 2007

I've finally had a free few minutes to watch the two parts of this story. I've been subscribed to Amanda's blog since her video was first posted here and I enjoy reading her take on things with interest. This interview was most interesting.

Amanda, thanks for making the effort. Your insights have been helpful to a friend who has a daughter with fragile-X syndrome. It's not quite the same thing as autism, but related.

You deserve some time away from the spotlight. Refresh. Regroup. Ignore the naysayers.

And, on a personal level: thanks.
posted by mmahaffie at 5:30 PM on February 22, 2007

welcome, silentmiaow--it must be so weird to all of a sudden be on tv and semi-famous and stuff--i hope you'll consider Metafilter a safe(-ish) space.

Is your communication stuff portable? will you travel and speak all over? or a book? (i saw in your blog that so many parents need an advocate and advice--and we all know our health systems aren't good enough)
posted by amberglow at 8:23 PM on February 22, 2007

(oh, i saw in your blog you do travel all over--never mind) : >
posted by amberglow at 8:42 PM on February 22, 2007

Why are people attacking her?
posted by delmoi at 10:12 PM on February 22, 2007

just to simplify the links:
- videos: part 1 - part 2
- her statement hosted on the AC360 blog (plus comments)
- she also fielded selected questions e-mailed to CNN in response to the interview.

the comments on her own blog have been an outpouring of thanks.

elsewhere she has earned a nomination as a superhero.

i'd still love to find a way to contribute to enabling her to make a longer-form documentary, something she once mentioned she would enjoy - any suggestions?
posted by progosk at 4:23 PM on February 23, 2007

progosk, maybe a foundation could bankroll it? (who funded that "austism is a world" thing?)
posted by amberglow at 5:22 PM on February 23, 2007

ah, that was actually a cnn thing...
posted by progosk at 12:47 AM on February 24, 2007