Minds Without Borders

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"Canada is a country that could have had American technology, British government, and French Cuisine. Instead we have French Government, British technology, and American food."

what's wrong with british tech?

We kept it all here rather than sending it to Canada.

The Concorde crossed the Atlantic in about half the time of previous airliners, so I would have assumed that the pilot's seat would be adequate. However, they spent about a million dollars on a new seat for going faster. Such padding is now known as "The Concorde Syndrome."
Another Brit decided that the control rods in British nuclear subs needed a special kind of U-joint, and commissioned a million-dollar machine to make a few dozen of them. That made it possible for Alec Issigonis to use them on his new FWD car. His Mini, originally built because his boss hated seeing bubble cars, revolutionized car design, and then British motors slowly killed themselves off. The old BMC "A" engine shoved into it had been compromised from birth to beat a British tax on cylinder bore, and continued as a cripple for decades more. When Jaguar finally returned to LeMans, about the only thing working really well was their hospitality tent.
I think that their basic problem is the class system - smarts don't count without the right name, so they wind up with fools in charge too often. Frank Whittle is an excellent example of a guy who was always smarter than his boss, having to fight to do his job.

^^^ah so. i can see an example of ahead-of-its-time british tech in the late lamented Aston Martin Lagonda.

Yeah, that one was back to the original plan of buying a car and a contract for a live-in technician for it. I thought it was hilarious that the original DB Aston Martins were always having gearbox trouble, because that's mostly what David made for other machines and he was trying to make his own for racing.
Post-war England was hobbled not just by debt, but by still running the factory machines worn out in the war. Germany, OTOH, got all new machinery.

Being a older Asperger's
Person , have strove to understand catagorizing of people .
And am quite disgusted by the things , i have learned , society via sterotyping has made incredible efforts to segregate peoples ,ie. Speaking from a usa persons point of veiw . Culturally and other ways.
People of color are seemingly pressured to be hostile towards white people . This extends even into the medical profession.
Whenever a situations can allow and not get caught . Aswell as many whites do the same but not seen in medical settings,as much in caucasians and police do this to everyone and anyone . Regardless.(with a minority seem to wish to do their job correctly.)
White men particulariiy . Of lower IQ seem to prey on everyone .Anything different or not agreeing with their point of veiw, or can gain financial advantage. White women, women in general can display this but in a more subtle (catty) way. Choosing to undermine the person .
Excluding aspie population.Unless heavily indoctrinated to do so.
Generally succumbing to peer pressure . BUT THIS , maybe also the case with police officials .? Lower level politicians tend to segregate under most circumstances . Primarily if it suites their careers. Seen , supposed homeless people . Panhandling wearing brand new tennis shoes clean cut , just lots of weathered skin . Seeking to make a buck , asking for work.
Very same people using any info or observations to return later and loot place where they had been employed temporarily , And surrounding homes.
Especially the disabled or sick or women or infirm . Seen this over and over. Encouraging each other to behave in such a way .Even proud of these actions .Seen an entire group of them practicing , same facial expression of ,( What , who me ? ) Not to say there ARE homeless disadvantaged people on the street. That most likely are honest. Due to the disparity in tbeir numbers , not willing to chance the situation.
It has caused me more feelings of being disaffected in society than most things . Can imagine this does this to many people . (Am sorry if this offends anyone ),but after over 48 yrs direct involvement with these groups and being a closeted aspie , late diagnosis . And observing this over and over . This includes some families even within the familjy.
And not understanding it .Must admit to chronically being perplexed
Everytime it appears. And am surprised everytime . We are all human, and as doctor friend of mine explained , we are all identical under the skin.
Organs , tissues . Bones . Evolvement of a species , idealistically involves the entire species . Sometimes being alone feels very sane.

Regretful observation of aspie life . Insert sadface here.

These words gave me goosebumps from finally reading them from somewhere other than my own mind. Thank you, for sharing!

The bit about not categorizing people absolutely floored me. I didn't even realize that was an autistic trait, but I suppose, looking at my own life, that it makes perfect sense.

I'm a white woman, but was in a long-term serious relationship with a black man, not because he was black (so many people assume our relationship meant I have a "color preference" or some sort of weird fetish), but because he was the first person I ever met who could match me intellectually. (I apologize if that sounds like bragging; I swear I don't mean it that way.) I was forever the nerdy GT kid with my nose buried in a thick book about neurology or astronomy or the history of Russia or whatever, and I hated that I had to speak carefully to my age peers to avoid using words or phrases that would risk eliciting the dreaded "Uhhh...what does that mean?" response. When I met J, I discovered that he knew all the words I knew, and was interested in many of the same subjects, which was amazing and exciting. It didn't hurt that he was super athletic, handsome, and always nicely dressed. We frequently had long, involved conversations about everything from the modern-day political landscape and the pros and cons of China's one-child policy to the history of religious atrocities and the strategies used by Genghis Khan's cavalry in conquering most of Asia. It turned out we even had a lot of the same quirks in common, like being night owls, having an odd preference for the number 8, and reading the dictionary for fun. Much later, we would learn that we were both on the higher-functioning end of the autism spectrum, which explained a lot. We were inseparable for many years until other factors pushed us apart (and by that time, we had four kids, two of whom are also on the spectrum). But anyway, it took me a couple of years to finally realize that the difference in our skin colors really meant something to people, to the point that it was the defining factor of our relationship (from their perspective). Meanwhile, I didn't give it any more thought than most people would give to a difference in eye color, or to a minor variation in height. For me, quantity of melanin is just one more physical variable, but for a lot of people, it seems to mean so much more.

On top of that, I have friends and family members from almost every imaginable background: Black, Hispanic, Asian, Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Wiccan, Pagan, atheist, rich, poor, middle-class, old, young, middle-aged, foreign-born, disabled, classically beautiful, painfully plain, skinny, fat... Basically, if you have high integrity, a good (i.e. f**ked-up) sense of humor, are reasonably intelligent, and aren't a total as*hole, then WE'RE FRIENDS. I don't care about what you look like. I'd never figured out why so many other people do. I thought maybe I was just weird.

So in conclusion, your post just cleared up something I've been puzzling over off and on for nearly 18 years. Thanks for that!

When I was young, the US was desegregating, and I got to volunteer a bit protesting Apartheid in South Africa. I thought we were winning permanent change, but now the battles have just moved to new fronts. I think that people are born with different amounts of xenophobia, and that they change very little. The variety of humanity that is more obvious to an Aspie, and our own experiences of discrimination just help us be as open as our basic setting allows.

During the time of our main evolution, a tribe needed a mix of xenophobes and friendly folk. A cautious attitude to strangers was needed because they might be ostracized criminals, disease carriers, enemy spies, or other undesirables. The Neanderthals, who had bigger bodies and brains than our line, never developed trade. Our "liberals" would give strangers a chance to show that they were honest traders, or perhaps ambassadors organizing a combined raid on the Neanderthals. This also helped our gene pool stay fresh and active. When we learned about new tools or crops, the knowledge spread.
However, if a tribe ever lost a hard core of suspicious minds, sooner or later they would be charmed into loosing everything, as happened to the Hurons of Ontario, Canada. So, fighting racial prejudice is a maintenance issue, not a war that can be won.

very interesting and useful article.

Thanks!

that is novel, wish i'd thought of it first, but i do see a linkage between that form-filling strategy, and my sandwich-eating strategy of eating the circumferential crust first so as to save the yummy middle for last.



i long have had routine but also long have lacked order. i wonder what is up with that? my frontal lobes so far have been less than willing to give me more than the most casual order about just about anything under the sun. or mebbe it is just in fact a subtle order that even i don't comprehend? sad about having to engage in the self-defense/prudence of putting people in boxes instead of just being able to love them free-range.



IOW non-conformity is the order of the day, week, year, life. if survival instinct means meanness, i'd rather matriculate to heaven and get it over with.

I know I get roasted for pulling single points out of long posts but the article can be summarised by the concluding paragraph, but many of us don't have the patience to read.

Our future can’t be kept locked up behind archaic traditions, cultural norms, or even widely-accepted beliefs and opinions. With limits, our vision cannot be world-embracing. Without limits, our vision is one of freedom. Minds without borders will help create a world without borders.

I'm not sure if you still exist on this forum but I think you'll find true futurists actually think this way. Read Isaac Asimov, Arthur C Clarke (infact most science fiction writers) and many of those who write about the future and space.

Many of us are earthbound "misfits" in that we don't conform to the current paradigms you outlined but find ourselves stuck here on earth like marooned aliens.

I think articles like this provide opportunities to connect autistic people but without knowing build bridges with NTs who are also lost in today's social paradigm.

IOW we're on the wrong planet-

I know...just hoping the OP understands....