Category Archives: Science

The Theory of Everything

Culture, Life, Music, Reviews, Science

Listening to one of my favorite soundtracks, written by one of my favorite “new music” composers about one of my favorite scientists, and feeling a bit mournful.

Johann Johannsson died February 10. I had discovered him earlier than the ToE soundtrack, but when Q2 started playing excerpts from the soundtrack, I realized that there was more to his music than I thought. I quickly scooped up nearly all of his albums. While ToE is probably his “prettiest” album, IBM 1401, A User’s Manual is probably my favorite. We were lucky to get a full lifetime of genius out of Stephen Hawking, but Johann was only 48 when he died.

I have heard that when we lose scientists, it is not as devastating to the science community because often there are others doing the same work, and discoveries are then made by others. (At least, this may be true these days.) However, when we lose an artist, we lose all the art they may have made because no-one else makes precisely that art.

Stephen Hawkings may well be one of those scientists that individually made a difference in the field; at least, I know he did in the lives of millions of children who grew up to be scientists or at least scientifically literate. We were lucky to have him for over 70 years.

But Johann…all the music we will never have.

Why are Aspies invisible?

Culture, Life, Science, Society

“But do you really see something if you don’t have a word for it?” An interesting article that also links to the Radiolab program that discusses color and how humans may not have seen blue until after we’ve developed the ability to see so many other colors. When I read that sentence, I had a sudden epiphany.

One of the constant and most consistent statements (feelings) among persons with Asperger’s Syndrome (now known as Autistic Spectrum Disorder) is that we are invisible. I have felt this way my entire life, and this has been witnessed by my husband over and over, where people just bypass me completely as if I am invisible. It’s terribly frustrating, and completely devastating to one’s self-esteem. And why are we invisible? Could it really be that NT (neuro-typicals, or, persons not on the autistic spectrum) have this sense of us, but without a word or other means to describe us, simply ignore us?