Williams Syndrome (WS) was discussed a while back on LW in the context of human enhancement.
I was fascinated to learn about WS. It’s like the opposite of autism (or at least autistic savantism): good at social engagement, and bad at analytical thought.
I don’t know if this, like autism, has varying degrees, but if it does, I’ve known at least one person far out on the scale.
I don’t see how Williams Syndrome could be a spectrum, since it’s caused by the deletion of specific genes; they’re either there or they’re not. I do recall one writer (perhaps Simon Baron-Cohen?) speculating that there may be a disorder spectrum opposite autism which has received little recognition because society is much more accommodating of people who’re socially fluent but analytically inept than the reverse.
Williams Syndrome (WS) was discussed a while back on LW in the context of human enhancement.
I was fascinated to learn about WS. It’s like the opposite of autism (or at least autistic savantism): good at social engagement, and bad at analytical thought.
I don’t know if this, like autism, has varying degrees, but if it does, I’ve known at least one person far out on the scale.
I don’t see how Williams Syndrome could be a spectrum, since it’s caused by the deletion of specific genes; they’re either there or they’re not. I do recall one writer (perhaps Simon Baron-Cohen?) speculating that there may be a disorder spectrum opposite autism which has received little recognition because society is much more accommodating of people who’re socially fluent but analytically inept than the reverse.