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48773886$1@news.povray.org...
> As an aside...
>
> My therapist seems to think that I'm nervous of public speaking because
> I'm autistic. I was under the impression that *all* people are nervous of
> public speaking. (Or at least, the vast majority of people anyway.) I
> didn't think this was "abnormal" in any way...?
I'd say that people who are *** naturally *** so self-confident that they
can speak in public without fear are the abnormal ones. Like Gail and others
said, it needs time and training before one can overcome it and even then...
An anecdote about legendary stage actress Sarah Bernhardt: a young actress
once confided to her that she never had stage fright before going on stage.
Sarah Bernhardt promptly answered: "Don't worry, it comes with talent."
I can't see what it has to do with autism anyway. More seriously, what form
of autism do you suffer from? Frankly, it doesn't sound that you have issues
than other people don't experience sometimes in their life, particularly in
the geek/nerd population. I'm left with the strange feeling that if you're
autistic, then I'm autistic too and so are many people I know...
G.
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>> My therapist seems to think that I'm nervous of public speaking
>> because I'm autistic. I was under the impression that *all* people are
>> nervous of public speaking. (Or at least, the vast majority of people
>> anyway.) I didn't think this was "abnormal" in any way...?
>
> It's not.
I thought as much...
> I used to be nervous of public speaking, to the extent that
> I'd bail on assembly bible readings at school and even considered
> skipping some uni classes. I'm still scared of it now, even after giving
> papers at research conference and being a best man three times. It's the
> build-up I can't stand, it just terrifies me. However, once I'm up there
> I usually have great fun and wonder what all the fuss was about... weird.
...well OK, there are degrees of fear. Being absolutely terrified to the
point of phobia probably *is* abnormal, but simply being nervous about
it is really normal IMHO.
--
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*
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Gilles Tran wrote:
> An anecdote about legendary stage actress Sarah Bernhardt: a young actress
> once confided to her that she never had stage fright before going on stage.
> Sarah Bernhardt promptly answered: "Don't worry, it comes with talent."
PWN3D!
> I can't see what it has to do with autism anyway. More seriously, what form
> of autism do you suffer from? Frankly, it doesn't sound that you have issues
> than other people don't experience sometimes in their life, particularly in
> the geek/nerd population. I'm left with the strange feeling that if you're
> autistic, then I'm autistic too and so are many people I know...
Some have argued that a "geek" is a person who suffers from autism...
(We all know the stereotypical nerd boy - the drooling kid with funny
glasses and a silly voice who spends hours obsessing over equations or
computers or something, and who lives in a delusional dream world and is
imfamously useless with girls. All of which is pretty much a textbook
description of somebody with some form of autistic dissorder.)
Of course, that's just a stereotype. Most *real* computer/maths
enthusiasts aren't like that at all. But people with certain kinds of
brain malfunction tend to gravitate towards computers, maths and/or
stamp collecting...
In other words, being interested in computers doesn't make you have a
brain disorder - having a brain disorder can make you interested in
computers. ;-)
--
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*
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Invisible <voi### [at] dev null> wrote:
> As an aside...
>
> My therapist seems to think that I'm nervous of public speaking because
> I'm autistic. I was under the impression that *all* people are nervous
> of public speaking. (Or at least, the vast majority of people anyway.) I
> didn't think this was "abnormal" in any way...?
>
> --
> http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
> http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*
1. What's so desirable about the statistical property of being "normal"?
Technically, having red hair is "abnormal". I don't see a problem with it.
2. I, by no means, would try to pass myself off as someone who can speak with
any technical authority on this subject, BUT it seems to me that "autistic" is
the flavor of the month among pop-psyche circles and that the label is being
thrown around by a whole bunch of quasi-professionals who lack the requisite
background in neuroscience to be doing so. Human beings quite naturally come in
a wide variety of dispositions with regard to social interaction. These days,
it seems that ANYONE who doesn't fall into the "productively gregarious
corporate team player" category is in for a pejorative "diagnosis". Until if
and when it comes from a fully qualified neurologist who has run the necessary
*physiological* tests ("behavioral surveys" are pure hokum), I would take the
"autistic" label with a micro grain of salt.
3. I'm one of the oddballs who has always enjoyed having an audience - the
bigger, the better. During my college years, I had an easy ride at my job at
the local Science Center because most of my co-workers dreaded having to stand
up in front of several hundred people to give presentations. So, they were
happy to have me do nearly all of them while they were busy doing what I would
have considered hard work. Since the subject has come up MANY times in my
life, I've developed a fairly standardized bit of advice. It has helped some
people enormously and others not at all. In the event that it might help
*somebody*, I'll included it here. In your mind, divide the audience into two
distinct groups. Group One are the decent folk whose opinion might be worth
actually caring about. They'll empathize with your situation and be more than
willing to cut you a break for any imperfections in your presentation - just as
you would gladly do for them. Group Two are the jerks who have nothing better
to do that stand around passing judgment on others. Talk to Group One as you
would to any group of friends and ignore Group Two as they so richly deserve to
be ignored.
Best Regards,
Mike C.
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Mike the Elder wrote:
> I would take the "autistic" label with a micro grain of salt.
I think when they identify "Lamont's Region" you'll know whether you're
autistic or not. Otherwise, the speaker is blowing smoke most times.
--
Darren New / San Diego, CA, USA (PST)
Helpful housekeeping hints:
Check your feather pillows for holes
before putting them in the washing machine.
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Mike the Elder wrote:
> 1. What's so desirable about the statistical property of being "normal"?
It massively increases the probability of people liking you. (Which is,
after all, the most important thing in life.)
> In your mind, divide the audience into two
> distinct groups. Group One are the decent folk whose opinion might be worth
> actually caring about. They'll empathize with your situation and be more than
> willing to cut you a break for any imperfections in your presentation - just as
> you would gladly do for them. Group Two are the jerks who have nothing better
> to do that stand around passing judgment on others. Talk to Group One as you
> would to any group of friends and ignore Group Two as they so richly deserve to
> be ignored.
Heh. That there is good advice. ;-)
But as we all know, fear is not necessarily a rational responce - ask
anybody who's afraid of spiders.
--
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*
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On Thu, 10 Jul 2008 23:21:20 +0200, Gail Shaw wrote:
> "Jim Henderson" <nos### [at] nospamcom> wrote in message
> news:48767938$1@news.povray.org...
>>
>> That's something that I started doing back in about 1998 - speaking at
>> conferences. I've got a good friend from Ireland who also was an
>> instructor - he describes himself as an "extroverted introvert" when
>> he's teaching. It's actually a very common trait amongst technical
>> instructors, it seems. Surprisingly more common than one might expect.
>
> Sounds about right. Describes some of the speakers I've seen at
> conferences very well.
The friend I mention here has a fairly bad stutter and a very thick Irish
accent as well - watching him teach, he goes through an almost *total*
transformation; his accent softens considerably and his stutter
*vanishes*. It's quite amazing to watch.
Jim
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On Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:40:06 +0100, Invisible wrote:
> As an aside...
>
> My therapist seems to think that I'm nervous of public speaking because
> I'm autistic. I was under the impression that *all* people are nervous
> of public speaking. (Or at least, the vast majority of people anyway.) I
> didn't think this was "abnormal" in any way...?
I think most people are nervous about public speaking to some degree.
Whenever I get up in front of a class (or one of the toughest crowds - an
audience of other instructors, which I do at least once a year for a
whole day - along with several other presenters that I select), I'm
always nervous and I *always* think I've done a poor job. It's
reassuring to have these people - many of whom are lifelong instructors -
come up and tell me what a good job I did.
The first time I did one of *those* talks, I was asked to lead the day's
sessions 5 minutes before it started. The conversation with my VP at the
time was something like:
VP: "So, who's leading the proceedings today?"
Me: "Well, [boss] was planning on doing this, but he's moved on to a
different job a week ago."
VP: "I guess it's your show then."
Me: "Uh, OK...."
I basically had to completely ad-lib the opening bit. I was *sure* I was
making a total ass out of myself. But everyone thought I did a great
job, even though I wasn't prepared - they didn't know I wasn't prepared
and thought it went off very smoothly.
Jim
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On Fri, 11 Jul 2008 16:35:18 +0100, Invisible wrote:
> It massively increases the probability of people liking you. (Which is,
> after all, the most important thing in life.)
I would disagree. The most important thing to me in life is to be
respected. People who like you but disrespect you are not friends;
they're people who generally see you as a means to an end.
I also rank highly along with respect is that people see me as being
ethical, fair, and honest. I wouldn't give up those principles just to
have "people" like me. People come and go. Ethics, honesty, fairness -
these things stick with you your entire life.
Jim
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>> It massively increases the probability of people liking you. (Which is,
>> after all, the most important thing in life.)
>
> I would disagree. The most important thing to me in life is to be
> respected. People who like you but disrespect you are not friends;
> they're people who generally see you as a means to an end.
>
> I also rank highly along with respect is that people see me as being
> ethical, fair, and honest. I wouldn't give up those principles just to
> have "people" like me. People come and go. Ethics, honesty, fairness -
> these things stick with you your entire life.
I would say that I want to be liked by the right people.
Those are the kind of people who wouldn't like me if I *wasn't* fair,
ethical and honest.
Different axioms, same conclusion.
--
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*
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