Monday, September 15, 2008

Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?

This is blog is 3 years old today. For the last two years I have done something special and lighthearted on this anniversary and this year will be no different. And what do I intend to do? Well…. I plan to shamelessly steal a theme Skeptico used a few years back for his Blog’s Birthday.

And so…. let's ask some folks enagaged in autism internent debate....


Why did the chicken cross the road?

Maria: You say that the evidence does not suggest that the chicken crossed the road. However, the researchers did not in fact assess this question with the permutations of anti-icing surfaces, humidity control, cloud coverage, breed of chicken, maturity of said chicken, relative wind velocity, relative traffic that day, the traffic consisted of a hybrid vehicle, the quality testing of said vehicle, and whether the chicken was in fact bearing any coconuts…… taken into account.

Mark Blaxill: If you think your ridiculous critique of the theory of chickens crossing roads is valid. You should submit it to an academic journal. We shall now thoroughly discuss my supplemental and supporting research of this issue here on my blog.

A certain set of researchers: We were quoted as citing an article that shows chickens do in fact cross Freeways. Unfortunately, somebody….. showed that our supporting article merely had a chicken crossing a deer path in the woods. However, we feel that deer paths and superhighways are quite similar and see no need for further clarification on this issue.

Michelle Dawson: Has anyone bothered to ask what the ethics are of chickens crossing roads?

Alyric: Did the chicken choose of its own free will to cross the road?

McEwen: Chicken crossing a road… chicken crossing a road…. Now dears, that reminds me of an amusing anecdote that happened last week on the way to the grocery store….

Kathleen Seidel: [Kathleen locks her vision upon the road, and the road suddenly becomes mobile and passes beneath the chicken, leaving it startled but completely unharmed.]

Autism Diva: The chicken was running away, because it didn’t want to be chelated. Smart chicken.

Do’C: If you have evidence of chickens crossing roads, you may present it, otherwise….. have a nice day.

LB/RB Team: We are going to go ahead and suggest that it was to get to the other side.

Interverbal: You ask “Why did the chicken cross the road?”


“Chickens cross”

Is an assumption on your part. You are assuming what you should be proving, and therefore employing the fallacy of begging the question.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Proud of the Hub: 3 Years Later

Tomorrow this blog will be 3 years old. I suppose that this would be a good opportunity for reflection. I have seen lots of writing, lots of effort, lots of really good discussions, and a few highly interesting disagreements. It has been very educational for me and I would hope that one or two others have taken some sort of benefit from this blog as well. It is both frustrating and sad that I no longer have the time to blog as actively as I once did. However, I am happy that so many new blogs have joined the Hub and are actively participating.

I am happy too, that the core values of the Hub remain intact. When the Hub was first formed a few years back it was somewhat smaller than it is today. When this blog was invited to join the brand new (at the time) Hub, it was only with some trepidation that I accepted. This type of venture often fails and I worried that philosophical disagreements between the original members would result in the implosion of the Hub. One of the fundamental truths about the Autism Hub is that its constituent members align to some degree with the philosophy of Neurodiversity. And that those who attune with Neurodiversity are... well …….. diverse!

However, despite the expected disagreements, the expected implosion never occurred. Cleary there is something different about the Hub…. Something that lends cohesion. I think this relates to the core values of the Hub, both what is stated and what has become unwritten Hub policy. The respect we ask for autistics, the encouragement of self- advocates, the finding the good, the humorous, and even the beautiful as it concerns autism in our own lives, or in the lives of our families, or in our profession. And we accomplish all this in spite of, but not in disregard to…. Our differences.

Interverbal
Proud member of the Hub since 2006.