Empathy is actually quite hard, in the sense that it requires a lot of
information processing. I find it personally difficult, because a lot
of that information (non-verbal signals) just goes shooting right past
me.
You can't reason with non-verbal signals. You can't make statements of
fact, or correct erroneous statements. Worse, you may get into trouble
for emitting non-verbal signals that don't correspond to any actual
intentions on your part.
Altogether a lousy protocol.
People complain about how email doesn't carry the subtle features of
face-to-face human interaction, such that tone, etc., is lost. For me
that's somewhat of a bonus. It makes adroit non-verbal communicators
work harder at reducing ambiguity.
Dominic
On Mon, 7 Mar 2005 07:59:37 -0500, Ann White <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> oops - "too PC" should have been too politically incorrect!
>
> Ann White wrote:
>
> > Not sure how many are interested in this theory but here's a very recent
> > article:
> >
> > http://chronicle.com/free/v50/i26/26a01201.htm
> >
> > Fairly comprehensive airing of sides for his theory, though not alot of
> > depth. Baron-Cohen says it's testerone levels. His naysayers ask: why
> > then do any females exhibit autism?
> >
> > I think we're talking apples & oranges when it comes to empathy &
> > systems. Apples = cultural patterning. Oranges = genetic predisposition.
> > Baron-Cohen says he's been convinced of the maleness of autism since the
> > 1990s but it was too PC to advance in the US. Now that the (cultural)
> > climate is receptive (ie the extreme end of the intelligence pendulum
> > has dipped to new lows), he is coming out with his ideas.
> >
> > There are (of course, what else) tests on the web for autism and empathy.
> >
> > Ann
> >
>
> --
> "The sweetest of all sounds is praise."
> -Xenophon
>
> ***
> The Red Hibiscus http://theredhibiscus.blogspirit.com/
>
--
// Alas, this comparison function can't be total:
// bottom is beyond comparison. - Oleg Kiselyov
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