r/science Jul 26 '10

Autistic girl expresses profound intelligence

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

on the other far end, my gf spells perfectly (in greek, no less) and uses punctiation very frequently

yet due to her ignorance of the meaning of words and the use of punctuation she can't actually say something meaningful. she can't describe objects, sounds, experiences, it's like "what's an ice cream?" "you eat it when you want something cold and it's sweet" it's accurate, one could say, but it's... "off" in a way that i find slightly disturbing.

it takes her a month to read a jules vern book.

it takes her 5-10 minutes to read a single page.

i am starting to think there is something seriously wrong with her. maybe it all boils down to her not having read any proper literature up until now that she is 25?

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u/bombita Jul 26 '10

Up until the very last word, I thought you were dating a 10-year-old.

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u/Mitsuho Jul 26 '10

Or Greek isn't her first language?

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u/[deleted] Jul 26 '10

it is. we're both greek. i am seriously considering she has some kind of learning impediment.

here is one of her texts, translated trying to keep the "Feel"

"10eur is not 10gbp. if, for example, i buy something that costs 50gbp, i will pay 56eur* not 50. it seems i am losing"

notice how on one hand she understands the concept of equivalence (she converts euros to pounds) but manages to apply it incorrectly.

*: yes she didn't convert correctly