Also home to Miami University

More than one person told me that I was a Nazi. I am not making that up. And thanks, by the way, for the assertion that I'm "two years away from a late adult diagnosis" bc a)ouch yeah I am in my 40s and 2) don't worry I already got it in my 20s. I also have an autistic sib, dad, and kid. Genetics!

Being told over and over in a way that betrays a complete lack of critical thinking that research into any topic is inherently evil is a non-starter for me, frankly. And when I have tried, over and over, to clarify my intention, I just get blocked and told I'm evil.

Nuance is hard but come on.

Fully agree! I don't know why I have to keep repeating myself but: I regret using this particular case as a jumping off point to a larger discussion about genetics, autism, and research.

And to be honest, I resent being told that wondering about this makes me evil and a Nazi. So.

And where have I disagreed with that statement? I have said many times that I regret using this particualr example as a jumping off point to a broader set of questions about the potential genetic causes of autism! and yet people still call me a literal Nazi.

I see how it CAN be used that way, sure. I just don't think that this potential evil use requires that we stop all research into a topic or disorder.

Is your argument that we should simply not study where autism comes from because bad people may use the findings in bad ways?

I guess I also just don't see how studying the potential genetic causes of autism necessarily leads to shock collars.

I obviously agree with you there, even if I am not sure on where that is coming from. They're doing this in Massachusetts?

Have the day you deserve!

We first mapped the human genome in its entirety in 2003.

It is actually incredibly different from the vaccine example. Vaccines are one thing. “Genetics” is a thousand things.

I’m not advocating for “endless retries” I’m just saying we’ve only been able to understand genetics at all for maybe twenty years. We also know from observation that autism is heritable. I ask again: should we literally not wonder at all about where autism comes from?

Definitely agree there and I def regret using him and this as a jumping off point for a broader set of questions. I just can’t get on board with the fundamentally anti-science view that some types of research are inherently evil.

Ok let’s accept the premise that there’s no genetic root. Fine. So it’s environmental. Evil people could use this fact to blame poor people or women or racial minorities, no? Why aren’t we up in arms about that? Should we just not study it at all?

I agree. I am advocating for scientific research and discovery. I feel like others are advocating the opposite. Why not try to understand the complex causes of something like autism?

Not willfully. I just don’t understand the idea that literally any research into the potential genetic causes of autism is inherently evil. That kind of blanket statement just can’t be correct.

Autism is genetic, though. It runs in families. We don't know what the mechanism is, but we know it is genetic. Why not study the mechanism?

Perhaps to debunk the very myth you are upset about: that ND people are inhrently evil. Or, that Hitler had Jewish ansestry. Why is studying autism inherently eugenicist?

They transparently are not.