This was the original name for my post several days ago, when I discussed Socrates’ aphorism, “An unexamined life is a life not worth living, for a human being”. [1] I was thinking of the process of examining my own life, which seems to be a never-ending process. So, would Socrates be proud, or relegate […]
According to Plato, Socrates said, “An unexamined life is not worth living for a human being.” [1] Therefore, according to Socrates I have led a most worthy life thus far. It seems that I have been examining my life non-stop for as long as I can remember. Childhood When I was a child, as I […]
I had an idea yesterday, while watching a movie on TV. In the background, was a stylized portrait that was somewhat Picasso-like. I had just been reading about Francis Bacon (see yesterday’s blog) so I was sensitive to the power of art. I have been drawing for quite a while, but hardly ever do I […]
Vulva stones? The essay entitled, “How the Vulva Stone Became a Brachiopod” in Stephen Jay Gould’s book The Lying Stones of Marrakech [1] intrigued me. No, not for prurient reasons. My interest was stimulated by the references to the British philosopher, Francis Bacon (1561 – 1626). As a philosopher who lived at end of the […]
Definition Here is my working definition of confidence: comfort and ease doing what one does. Stories abound of comedians getting their start through the enormous pleasure derived from laughter they evoke from their family at living room performances. Confidence in one’s self grows from situations like these. False confidence Why do some people, of limited […]
I would like to keep the focus of my blog on autism. In my mission statement, I say that I want to talk about autism in relation to family dynamics, neuroscience, the history of treatment of mental disorders and medical ethics. However, I think the best contribution I can make is to relate my own […]
I’m talking about artistic process, here. Maybe this is a mis-characterization of my ‘brother project’, but I don’t really think so. In art, like science, the artist/scientist is trying to understand something. I am trying to understand my autistic brother. Actions speak louder than words, but words [1] are necessary My mother always told me that […]
Autism, The Invisible Cord A Sibling’s Diary, by Barbara Cain Published by the American Psychological Association http://www.apa.org/pubs/magination I came across the author of this book while browsing through Twitter profiles. I compulsively look for tweeters with ‘autism’ in their profile description and hit the jackpot when I came upon Barbara Cain’s. Not only did she […]
I’ve written many posts here about memory (Memory Revisited, Seeds of Memory, Storage Implies Retrieval, Memory). I’ve written even more about my brother Michael, who is autistic, low functioning and nonverbal. I believe that I am writing from an honest place, but I think the passage of time has influenced me. For example, I used […]
I mentioned in several posts [1], [2], [3] that I took classes at the International Center of Photography to further my goal of a photography project about my older brother. Mike is not verbal, autistic and very low functioning. I also had the good fortune of being included in a class sponsored by a friend […]
