"And two of the mothers of his children have come to his defense. . . [Shivon Zilis] recounted a memory of when he gamed for 17 hours on Christmas Day in 2023.”
hahahahahaha! Well that's a stand-up defense. Oh the difficulties of trying to not look terrible when you kind of are.
To me, the most disturbing thing about the Andreessen interview was his utter dismissal (twice) of educational disability protections and services.
He framed educational accommodations as a service being abused by aspirational strivers seeking ADHD diagnoses so they could basically get Adderall and kill it on their exams. Oh, and “every person with kids knows this is true.”
This is danger nonsense. My autistic son depends on federal disability protections, and if large-scale, blunt “reforms” are made to these systems, individuals like him are at risk of real harm. I get the sense that Andreessen has never met a disabled person, much less loved one more than life itself.
I mean, it is also true. Accommodations are essential for kids with actual disabilities. And also, parents seek a diagnosis to get their kids accommodations when their kids are just a bit on the left side of the bell curve. It would be good if we could filter the latter from the former, but it can be difficult. I have literally seen moms on Facebook discuss how to find a psychiatrist who will give you an autism diagnosis.
So, to give context to those moms seeking diagnoses…often people are looking (and asking for help) because they can’t find someone qualified to provide a diagnosis or because everyone who is qualified has a months-long waitlist. It took a *year* to get my son’s neuropsychological evaluation. Precious developmental time!
I understand that that FB anecdote has resonance for you because you saw it yourself, but are you part of any autism communities? Do you know any autistic people? The idea that people are seeking autism diagnoses because there is some *advantage* to being autistic is just, well, incredible. As in: not credible. My son has what are considered low-support needs, and there is NO advantage to this, I assure you. He’s not skating through school because he’s in a small classroom with specialized support. This doesn’t mean he has a fast-track to Harvard. It just means that he might have a chance to attend college and find a job that will support him. But he’s in the minority among autistic kids. Most will not attend college, and 80% of autistic adults are unemployed.
I get it that there is a vocal minority of self-diagnosed autists on TikTok and a minority of Facebook moms who seem to be milking autism as an identity that leverages cultural recognition, if not actual power.
But this is not the experience of most autistic people and their families. And to extrapolate federal policy recommendations from perceptions based on FB interactions is reckless.
EDIT: I’m not saying you’re reckless. Andreessen is. Also, I highly approve of mountaintop asceticism. We are well met.
No, this was a 2E group. The mom came in and said that she got an eval and was told her kid did not meet the criteria for autism. She was then tutored on how to find a doc who would give her what she wanted.
I know there is no advantage to being autistic. But there is an advantage to having a diagnosis as autistic (or claiming you do), especially if you're not. I don't think overall federal policy should be based on these people, but something needs to be done to dial back the trend.
I personally have kids who are on that grey fuzzy line. I did at one point get my oldest an ADHD diagnosis, solely so that his teachers would go easier on him. (I did not pursue an autism diagnosis but probably could have gotten that too.) It was a very subjective evaluation and I happened to do it after a very frustrating morning. It felt like I could have swayed it either way.
In the end, taking him off gluten resolves the worst of the behaviors so we never pursued it further. But I'm not a total stranger to this area.
I find this pearl clutching over AI in films quite weird. We’ve recently been discussing in the TV production world how it will help bring costs down (waves hand vaguely) by making CGI cheaper. I speak as someone who knows (cf Nightsleeper). They do know the Death Star isn’t real?
Ha, true. But the same thing happens with CGI, doesn’t it? It was a big feature of the publicity for Dunkirk that all the effects were in camera. I think it’s similar to how the industry loves it when an actor gains/loses weight.
Yes but I think everyone loved CGI when it was first available and applied it indiscriminately (a lot of terrible 90s CGI out there!). It's only now that it's cheap and very good that not using it has become a measure of quality.
Yes, there are some usages (e.g. CGI, finessing the Hungarian dialogue in The Brutalist*) where it just seems... practical? I love practical effects and have very much disliked AI recreations of dead actors, but I don't understand a blanket objection to AI in film. I'm interested in the counterarguments, whatever they may be.
* Perhaps I don't feel either of these examples is 'cheating'. I feel more critical of the AI usage in Emilia Pérez, but that might be because I already dislike autotuning and maybe I'd feel differently if I saw the film.
Re the manosphere, I would love to read a deep dive of r/the_donald one day. IRRC it was the first time 4chan trolling culture reached the mainstream (if you can call reddit that). And I feel like its tone was initially 'lol Trump' and only later it took him seriously and took a turn into political grandstanding.
I'm sorry FL in the winter disappointed. I have been told that it's actually quite overhyped, and the place to go for winter sunshine in the southwest or Mexico. Better luck next time!
The first photo is the best. Captain America would never wear clogs!
"And two of the mothers of his children have come to his defense. . . [Shivon Zilis] recounted a memory of when he gamed for 17 hours on Christmas Day in 2023.”
hahahahahaha! Well that's a stand-up defense. Oh the difficulties of trying to not look terrible when you kind of are.
To me, the most disturbing thing about the Andreessen interview was his utter dismissal (twice) of educational disability protections and services.
He framed educational accommodations as a service being abused by aspirational strivers seeking ADHD diagnoses so they could basically get Adderall and kill it on their exams. Oh, and “every person with kids knows this is true.”
This is danger nonsense. My autistic son depends on federal disability protections, and if large-scale, blunt “reforms” are made to these systems, individuals like him are at risk of real harm. I get the sense that Andreessen has never met a disabled person, much less loved one more than life itself.
I mean, it is also true. Accommodations are essential for kids with actual disabilities. And also, parents seek a diagnosis to get their kids accommodations when their kids are just a bit on the left side of the bell curve. It would be good if we could filter the latter from the former, but it can be difficult. I have literally seen moms on Facebook discuss how to find a psychiatrist who will give you an autism diagnosis.
So, to give context to those moms seeking diagnoses…often people are looking (and asking for help) because they can’t find someone qualified to provide a diagnosis or because everyone who is qualified has a months-long waitlist. It took a *year* to get my son’s neuropsychological evaluation. Precious developmental time!
I understand that that FB anecdote has resonance for you because you saw it yourself, but are you part of any autism communities? Do you know any autistic people? The idea that people are seeking autism diagnoses because there is some *advantage* to being autistic is just, well, incredible. As in: not credible. My son has what are considered low-support needs, and there is NO advantage to this, I assure you. He’s not skating through school because he’s in a small classroom with specialized support. This doesn’t mean he has a fast-track to Harvard. It just means that he might have a chance to attend college and find a job that will support him. But he’s in the minority among autistic kids. Most will not attend college, and 80% of autistic adults are unemployed.
I get it that there is a vocal minority of self-diagnosed autists on TikTok and a minority of Facebook moms who seem to be milking autism as an identity that leverages cultural recognition, if not actual power.
But this is not the experience of most autistic people and their families. And to extrapolate federal policy recommendations from perceptions based on FB interactions is reckless.
EDIT: I’m not saying you’re reckless. Andreessen is. Also, I highly approve of mountaintop asceticism. We are well met.
No, this was a 2E group. The mom came in and said that she got an eval and was told her kid did not meet the criteria for autism. She was then tutored on how to find a doc who would give her what she wanted.
I know there is no advantage to being autistic. But there is an advantage to having a diagnosis as autistic (or claiming you do), especially if you're not. I don't think overall federal policy should be based on these people, but something needs to be done to dial back the trend.
I personally have kids who are on that grey fuzzy line. I did at one point get my oldest an ADHD diagnosis, solely so that his teachers would go easier on him. (I did not pursue an autism diagnosis but probably could have gotten that too.) It was a very subjective evaluation and I happened to do it after a very frustrating morning. It felt like I could have swayed it either way.
In the end, taking him off gluten resolves the worst of the behaviors so we never pursued it further. But I'm not a total stranger to this area.
I find this pearl clutching over AI in films quite weird. We’ve recently been discussing in the TV production world how it will help bring costs down (waves hand vaguely) by making CGI cheaper. I speak as someone who knows (cf Nightsleeper). They do know the Death Star isn’t real?
Ha, true. But the same thing happens with CGI, doesn’t it? It was a big feature of the publicity for Dunkirk that all the effects were in camera. I think it’s similar to how the industry loves it when an actor gains/loses weight.
Yes but I think everyone loved CGI when it was first available and applied it indiscriminately (a lot of terrible 90s CGI out there!). It's only now that it's cheap and very good that not using it has become a measure of quality.
Yes, there are some usages (e.g. CGI, finessing the Hungarian dialogue in The Brutalist*) where it just seems... practical? I love practical effects and have very much disliked AI recreations of dead actors, but I don't understand a blanket objection to AI in film. I'm interested in the counterarguments, whatever they may be.
* Perhaps I don't feel either of these examples is 'cheating'. I feel more critical of the AI usage in Emilia Pérez, but that might be because I already dislike autotuning and maybe I'd feel differently if I saw the film.
Re the manosphere, I would love to read a deep dive of r/the_donald one day. IRRC it was the first time 4chan trolling culture reached the mainstream (if you can call reddit that). And I feel like its tone was initially 'lol Trump' and only later it took him seriously and took a turn into political grandstanding.
Sorry, I meant your Florida photos.
I know you’ve been quite interested in the whole anti-obesity drugs discourse, so you might enjoy this Substack post, US-focused, but much applies to the UK, too. Loved the photos https://open.substack.com/pub/saraeckel/p/why-were-fat?r=2dha&utm_medium=ios
I'm sorry FL in the winter disappointed. I have been told that it's actually quite overhyped, and the place to go for winter sunshine in the southwest or Mexico. Better luck next time!
https://open.substack.com/pub/princealiababoua/p/venn-and-the-art-of-dodging-nonsense?r=2s1zik&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
I had to search for UwU smol bean but am really none the wiser https://fanlore.org/wiki/Uwu_smol_bean. P.S. Great pics!
Another great Friday circular. Looking forward to The Network and the podcast recording later. Talk about timely!
I learn something new from every essay. Smol bean uWu… I will be on the lookout now! Thank you!
Surely Stars and Stripes cowboy boots would be more American?
Probably but I assume she didn't see any.