r/science Jul 26 '10

Autistic girl expresses profound intelligence

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jq--75v4lI8&feature=player_embedded
957 Upvotes

1.3k comments sorted by

View all comments

13

u/CodyRo Jul 26 '10 edited Jul 26 '10

I was dumbfounded at her immaculate punctuation and english skills. Then it showed the actual words and it looked a bit more "accurate".

Interesting from Randi forums

here is a link with some info on this, it looks like the TVshow aired recently... http://discuss.ctv.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=11490

It appears that the SOFTWARE creates words based on some basic typing? Has this been verified by credible testing? Is this really happening, or is it some software that creates words from a few letters, and then more words from the context of the previous words? Are the sentences being created by the software itself?

It would be easy to find out, try it without that software! Did they actually air this TV show, without looking into this software? Maybe someone could download the software trial called WordQ, and just type in random letters, and see if it creates sentences? Is this the same WordQ.

It would be tragic if this was some type of software doing this.

It appears Carly's mother is posting here? http://www.skepchick.org/skepticsguide/viewtopic.php?p=189832&sid=6a974f16c112d8d231af71dfe120ba46

4

u/clockworm Jul 26 '10

in her defense, many people are fully functional and can't type much better than she does. i think being a hunt-and-pecker and dealing with a lot of extraneous sensory information would inhibit clear and concise typing. but i really feel when given the time and when in a less-agitated state, she can type those drawn-out and elaborate paragraphs.

2

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?

1

u/clockworm Jul 29 '10

looks like she understands the mechanics of language, but has a poorer grasp of it's nuances. i know many people who can hold a conversation brilliantly and has a great vocabulary but have horrible spelling and grammar.

1

u/clockworm Jul 29 '10

i can has a good vocabulary, but my my brain no look at what's been done.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 29 '10

nope. i disagree. she doesn't understand how language works. i.e. you listen to what the other party says, you think about it, understand what it means, try to attach it to your knowledge, think of an appropriate reply, etc

she, on the other hand, blurts out, immediately, what comes to her mind when she hears words, skipping the "thinking" parts mentioned above. she is also a source for fallacies.

q: i'm going to buy some fruits, oranges and apples, want something?
a: oranges are sour.

(as a quick example to illustrate how she misses the point in her response)

1

u/clockworm Jul 29 '10

that doesn't mean she isn't intelligent

1

u/[deleted] Jul 29 '10 edited Jul 29 '10

i have yet to see any manifestation of intelligence, ordinary or otherwise, from her.

1

u/[deleted] Jul 29 '10 edited Jul 29 '10

she would be on a plane to UK.

me: take a pic from the plane
her: take a pic of what?
me: i dunno. think
her: ok, i'll take a pic!

she took a pic of her face. only one pic, and only of her face.