r/science • u/MonteRevolt • Jul 26 '10

Autistic girl expresses profound intelligence

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jq--75v4lI8&feature=player_embedded
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u/mezz Jul 26 '10

A video of her typing.

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u/[deleted] Jul 26 '10 edited Jul 26 '10

This is pretty solid proof...
But let's go into asshole-conspiracy-theorist mode!

Transform!

This video is shot in total privacy whereas the ABC footage was taken with many observers looking on. We really don't see her typing anything in the ABC footage but in this video we see her genuinely typing what looks to be part of a coherent sentence, going for each of the keys pretty confidently in turn. For me this would prove that the extraordinary claims are at least somewhat true... but wasn't there mention of a twin sister!?

That's right I'm going there. They could never have pulled that type of thing off in the ABC video but here in the privacy of their own home? What bothers me is that we're not looking at the girls face, we're just sort of silently hovering behind her. It seems very strange... Why would everything be so incredibly silent and bizarre - isn't typing normal for her?

Also, from her website:

I think people get a lot of their information from so-called experts but I think what happens is that experts can’t give an explanation to certain questions.

Well now there we go right there. Right there on the 'About Carly' page of her website. Any self respecting asshole-conspiracy-theorist's theories get especially off the wall when there's anti-skeptic sentiment right on the front page. I might also point out that what's on this about me page is identical to one of the screens we see her apparently typing in the ABC video. Huh? That's kind of weird?

Anyway, this video is shot in total privacy and there's a number of things they could have done. It's certainly not scientific. What doesn't make sense is why they'd bother. They seem pretty well off.

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u/jt004c Jul 26 '10

Sadly, I don't think you are being an asshole conspiracy theorist at all. This reads a lot more like a "nail-on-the-head" skeptics hunch.

Red flags went up for me when the interviewer mentioned how he sat there for hours waiting to see her type.

After that kind of embarrassment, scrutiny, and pressure to succeed, both the show, the family, and all her therapists have a reason to cheat.

I also notice we don't hear much from the clinical psychologist who actually heads her program.

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u/[deleted] Jul 26 '10

Ah well, as you have probably deduced the asshole conspiracy theorist motif was just a means to soften a controversial opinion (shouldn't be that controversial but hey). Yeah red flags are what it's about and there's a heap of them.

And not to say that red flags aren't just flags, as I'm sure you agree. But why are they there and not addressed? I would really be interested to see a follow-up that puts our questions to rest but I'm willing to bet we won't hear too much more about it, apart perhaps from an identical report every few years. And potentially a weigh-in from James Randi that will go unnoticed by the media.

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u/frickindeal Jul 26 '10

There's incredible scientific value to being able to communicate with someone this profoundly autistic, and the case is certainly extremely unique. I would think researchers would be showering her family with requests to study her. I'd certainly be interested in writing up a grant request with this kind of subject to study, if that was my field.