Guest guest Posted October 4, 2004 Report Share Posted October 4, 2004 Spielberg has Asperger's Syndrome? I find that very hard to believe. I mean a person can't direct the type of movies that he has directed without an excellent theory of mind, not to mention a person cannot make it into Hollywood unless he/she has excellent social skills, something that a person with Asperger's Syndrome conspicuously lack. is Machine -- _____________________________________________________________ Web-based SMS services available at http://www.operamail.com. From your mailbox to local or overseas cell phones. Powered by Outblaze Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 4, 2004 Report Share Posted October 4, 2004 > Spielberg has Asperger's Syndrome? I find that very hard to believe. I mean a person can't direct the type of movies that he has directed without an excellent theory of mind, not to mention a person cannot make it into Hollywood unless he/she has excellent social skills, something that a person with Asperger's Syndrome conspicuously lack. > > is Machine I disagree on both counts. I have met Spielberg several times. He is the kind of person who makes it because he is very sheltered and has lots of people running interference for him. Even with that, he can get so zoned out that he loses contact as he did at lunch with me, and Robin in 1996, stimming on a pile of vitamin pills sitting in front of him while the rest of us talked. As for his " theory of mind " , remember that lots of people have input into a movie production. What he lacks, others contribute, just as writers like Ron Bass, possibly another aspie, have others fill in the missing parts of a script that he can't provide. He is aspie enough for me, more so that some who have published their lifestories. Jerry Newport Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 4, 2004 Report Share Posted October 4, 2004 > Spielberg has Asperger's Syndrome? I find that very hard to > believe. I mean a person can't direct the type of movies that he has > directed without an excellent theory of mind, not to mention a person > cannot make it into Hollywood unless he/she has excellent social skills, > something that a person with Asperger's Syndrome conspicuously lack. First, being able to intuitively do something versus logically plan and analyze it are very different things. For example, I logically know exactly how my car works. Fixing it real-time is quite a different story. With a movie, thinking about emotions and interactions, which is something an autistic spends a lot of time doing that others don't, may be helpful. In fact, trying to make screen interactions look like " real " interactions would be a very bad thing in a director. Not having that built-in bias could be a very good trait in fact. (for instance, watch your next TV show and count the number of times you see people both leaning in to each other so they fit in the screen - even though their natural reactions would be to do the opposite). As for theory of mind, I do not find it lacking in autistics. The studies on theory of mind tend to test something else entirely. No offense intended, but I do get annoyed when other autistics write about write " no autistic could ... " when the professional diagnostic criteria don't specify even one thing that every autistic lacks. Social impairment can be manifest in MANY different ways, not just " unable to direct movies. " I get annoyed when autistics do this because as often as not they pick something I *CAN* do or another autistic I know can do. For instance, I've heard, from other autistics: - Autistics can't do math - Autistics can't do creative writing - Autistics can't drive - Autistics can't be managers/supervisors - Autistics can't be a teacher - Autistics can't follow spatial directions - Autistics can't do athletics - Autistics can't find a partner - Autistics can't enjoy parties Yet I know autistics personally that can do each of these! Now we want to add " can't direct movies. " I don't know autistics who direct movies, but I only know one person in the film industry (he is *very* neuroatypical, but a very good director and screenwriter - he's going into animation, the next megabucks animated picture may have his name in it) That all said, I don't know if Spielberg is autistic or not. Someone else might. But I don't tend to diagnose or undiagnose people, especially not ones I haven't met. -- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 4, 2004 Report Share Posted October 4, 2004 OK, , cough up some dough and we want you to produce the PSA I wrote and did the story board for. (it's on the aut advo board somewhere) Sorry, Jerry, I didn't cast you in it. :-) Camille > > > Apparently, Spielberg is officially an aspie. I am > not surprised. He wanted to direct " Rain Man " and told and me in 1996 > that he felt a lot in common with us. > > > Here a couple of links on this, courtesy from one of my Phoenix support > group members: > > >http://www.wordiq.com/definition/_Spielberg > > > >http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/PersonDetail/personid-9567/_Spielber\ g/ > > > Jerry Newport > Secretary Pima County ASA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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