Baron Cohen talk - London

[barefoot wend]

If anyone's interested SBC is giving a talk in London with Kamran Nazeer and Marti Leimbach on 23rd April. It's organised by the Royal Institution at the ICA, Pall Mall (?) at 7pm.

 

Barefoot

[Mumble]

Anyone going to this on Monday?

 

I am - and have very mixed feelings about it - I'm taking my tutor along to try and get her to understand me (at the moment she seems to think I've been diagnosed with a predisposition to spontaneous human combustion rather than AS ) - I just hope it isn't too stereotypical and does more harm than good . . .

 

Mumble.

 

p.s. strange question, but anyone know what you're supposed to wear to lectures like this??? It's at the institute of contempory arts on the Mall (the Queen's driveway!!!). I don't feel comfortable (sensory issues) in anything other than the jeans and cotton shirts I usually wear - do you think this will be ok?

[Kathryn]

Hi Mumble

 

I've been to the ICA - I saw a play there and I'm pretty sure I wore jeans - I always do when I go to London. I'm sure your jeans will be fine for this. People tend to dress casually nowadays to go to similar events, the theatre, etc.

 

Besides - despite being the Queens driveway it's not at the posh end - it's the Trafalgar Square end, so you can leave your tiara at home..

 

Enjoy the lecture - I'd like to go if I can make the time. I enjoyed Kamran Nazeer's book "Send in the Idiots": and would especially like to hear him speak.

 

K x

[baddad]

anyone know what you're supposed to wear to lectures like this??? It's at the institute of contempory arts on the Mall (the Queen's driveway

 

Taking a look at your avvy I think 'come as you are' will be fine...

(penguin suit - geddit?)

[Mumble]

Kathryn - thanks for the sensible advice.

 

Baddad -

No, there really aren't any words are there

 

I'm really looking forward to hearing Kamran Nazeer as well - I thought his book was particularly good (though I did get confused - not difficult I know! - on the 'cure' element which I don't think I really understood even at the end).

[barefoot wend]

Mumble

 

I'm going with my sister - and I'm definitely wearing jeans.

 

I'll wear a pink hat so, if you feel up to saying hello, come over.

 

Barefoot

 

P.S. You should be safe as I don't think anyone else would be stupid enough to wear a PINK hat!

[Kathryn]

I'll wear a pink hat so, if you feel up to saying hello, come over.

 

Barefoot

 

P.S. You should be safe as I don't think anyone else would be stupid enough to wear a PINK hat!

 

Wanna bet?

 

What time is it and can one just turn up?

 

K x

[Mumble]

Hi Kathryn,

 

It's called 'Autism Nation', it starts at 7pm.

 

I bought my ticket online through the ICA about a month ago, because I got a student concession that way. However, they don't send out tickets, I still have to pick it up when I get there (one of the reasons I'm going with my tutor - she can do the talking necessary here).

 

I don't know how popular it will be - I haven't seen it advertised anywhere - I only found out through this forum. I guess you could contact the ICA and find out if they do 'on the door' tickets.

 

Mumble.

 

 

I have an image of me looking for a pink hat being a bit like a live version of a 'where's wally' book . . . Perhaps a load of us from the forum should come along in pink hats (particularly Baddad following his really helpful penguin suit suggestion) and really confuse the professionals!!!!!!

[Guest Lya of the Nox]

i have a pink hat

[MichelleW]

I have a pink cowboy hat and I would have liked to go, but I've just looked on the ICA website and it seems to have sold out - not suprising considering it is only �10 to get in.

[Kathryn]

Thanks Mumble and MichelleW,

 

I don't think I could have come at that time anyway on a Monday but I wish I'd thought about it sooner. Let us know how it goes,

 

K x

[barefoot wend]

Perhaps I'll start a trend?

[Noetic]

I'd love to see Kamran Nazeer (or whatever his real name is) and hear him speak, less keen on SBC as his theories are a bit too focused on higher cognitive stuff and over my head most of the time.

[Mumble]

It was great - Well, actually I didn't take to Dr Whats-his-name too much, and would happily have found out where TheNeil stashes his house bricks in order to give one to one of the other speakers who I think might have wanted to use it on him!!!

 

Main complaint? It was an autism lecture - there were quite a few of us there with ASDs - was there really a need to have the music sooo loud, the lights sooo bright and the microphones soooo echoey???? A bit of common sense of behalf of the organisers would have made a big, big difference.

 

Wine was good though!!! - might give you some more details on the lecture when there's a little less of it in my system - really isn't good for penguins. Oh, and on the penguin thing - Baddad, you were utterly wrong, no need for a penguin suit - I'm listening to Kathryn from here on in

 

Barefoot - I think I saw you (and your pink hat!), but I was trying to cope with listening, new environment and sensory overload - introducing myself to someone who might not be who I thought they were was too much - sorry. Was it you who asked the first question - have I got the right person?? If that was you, I was sitting in front of you at the aisle end of the front row, in a blue and white stripy shirt.

 

Mumble.

[barefoot wend]

Mumble

 

I thnk there were probably at least two people on the stage who would have been fighting over The Neil's brick!

 

It was a good evening. Kamran Nazeer was very good - very measured. Interesting that he didn't think he'd get a diagnosis today and also that he had found other people who had been at special school with him but who had declined to take part - did he imply it was because they didn't want the label now that they'd moved on? Shame, and, seemingly, in contrast to the guy in the front row who obviously embraced his autism and really enjoyed being able to be himself (I thought he was fascinating and would like to have found out more). Loved Kamran's shoes by the way.

 

SBC was also very measured and weighed up all his answers fairly carefully. I felt he did seem very keen at the end though to come back to those people who had suggested that to be human was 'to be social'. I liked that he said that to be human (as distinct from other animals who are social) was to be an engineer, to look for patterns, etc.

 

I suppose what annoyed me most about the Doctor was his inability to entertain any notions that were not 100% backed by science - that anecdotal evidence had no part to play at all - thus he could dismiss any dietary interventions, fish oil supplements, any link with MMR (however miniscule), etc. I applauded his passion but was put off by his blinkeredness.

 

Marti was good - got a few digs in at the doc and made some valid and incisive points at times but she also irritated me a bit though I can't quite put my finger on why.

 

The chairwoman was very good at keeping things moving along and 'on topic'. I liked when she said to SBC that she'd like to see the 'extreme female' and I did still feel that I wanted to take SBC to task on his issue that there was a large preponderance of males diagnosed and, in particular, why that is the case and is it actually true that there are more male autistics or just more diagnosed?

 

I'm afraid it was me who asked the first question - I hate those awkward, time-wasting moments where nobody wants to begin. However, had I known they were going to hand me a microphone, I wouldn't have been so keen - put me in a right kerfuffle and I got pretty mixed up at that point and sounded like a complete plonker. But, hey, at least it got the ball rolling.

 

I agree with you Mumble that they couldn't have chosen a worse venue - I notice we both sat near the front. The girl midway back in the audience explained the sensory issues pretty succinctly - and what was that really annoying phone/radio interference noise that was going off all the time? Couldn't concentrate at all with that racket. Totally understand why you didn't come up to say hello.

 

My sister took me to a very over the top, gaudy, operatic, surreal bar in Covent Garden for a drink after - that was a real assault on the senses. Was quite pleased to get back to the normality of home but definitely enjoyed the evening.

 

Ramble over.

 

Barefoot

[Noetic]

It was great - Well, actually I didn't take to Dr Whats-his-name too much, and would happily have found out where TheNeil stashes his house bricks in order to give one to one of the other speakers who I think might have wanted to use it on him!!!

LOL may I ask who that speaker was?

[Mumble]

LOL may I ask who that speaker was?

 

Marti and the Doc - and hey, I'm impressed, I actually 'picked up' on something!!! I'm not going to go into this bit any more - I could see that bringing up any discussion of treatments and therapy could be very emotive.

 

I loved Kamran's shoes too - kind of a cross between a pixie boot and a sargant Major shiny shoe with some extra buckley strappy bits for good measure - I was sitting right in front of them with them right in my eye-line - was distracted by them all evening!!! (oh, well them and the noise/microphone interference - they really needed to have radio mics in that situation) I thought he was very good, but I was concerned, particularly as a student myself, about what he said about people not wanting a label now because of the problems they perceive it might give them and others' reactions. The guy you mention was lovely - I struggled to cope (well actually I didn't cope at all) with the bar afterwards, particularly the music - I went outside with him and it was wonderful to be with someone who totally understood me, and whom I didn't have to explain my reactions to.

 

I though SBC was excellent - as barefoot says, very measured and thoughtful and didn't enter into arguments or try to 'point score'. His bit about being human not being about 'being social' was very interesting - am I convinced? - I really, really want to be, but I'm not so sure - maybe it's more of an 'ideal' rather than a 'the way it is'. I agree that it would have been good to hear a bit more on the male/female distinction and on his extreme male brain theory - I think the difficulty in these is that they are actually misunderstood, possibly because of the labels and male/female stereotypes - as far as I am aware, he is not saying that autistics (male or female) are more 'male', but that they think more in ways that have traditionally been ascribed to 'male roles', historically speaking, which are likely to be more systematic. I was very interested in his discussion of a continuum and 'autistic traits' and where/if you make a line between 'autistic tendencies' and autism - I think they were right that it is when the traits cause problems in daily functioning that a diagnosis becomes necessary, rather than a set number - but it did concern me a lot thinking in terms of places on the line - he diagnosed me earlier this year, and I scored the full 50 he was talking about - i.e., on his 'line', I am at the extreme, 'full' autistic end - the implications of this worry me - but I think it's also an indication of how much hiding and acting I did to get through mainstream schooling.

 

Barefoot - if you were kafuffeling and mixed up, I didn't notice (or maybe I was focussing on the shoes!!!! )

 

I thought it was a very good evening too - if you hear of any others, please let me know - maybe more people from here can come along in pink hats.

 

Mumble

[Kathryn]

Thanks for the update - it sounded like a very stimulating evening. I wish I had been able to go.

 

K x

[Guest Lya of the Nox]

i wish i had gone too now