>The "theory of mind" is quite simply, the ability to think about
one's own mind and the mind of another. It is called a "theory"
because, at best, when we think about what may be going on in the mind
of another person it is an educated guess. Some people [including
Simon Baron-Cohen, cousin of Ali G] have referred to this ability as
"mind reading". Probably this is an accurate description.
>[Neurotypical] Children as young as age three or four can already
"read minds". That is, they are able to know that others have
different thoughts than they do, they know that others may not know
everything they do, and they can guess what another may think or do
about something they do, say, or even think. They are not perfect at
this, hence you may get a child who makes up fantastic stories in
order to cover up what they actually did (e.g., "The dog ate my
homework.").
>How this applies to autism is that researchers have found the theory
of mind to be an area of deficiency for most people with autism and
Asperger's Syndrome. <
[from http://groups.msn.com/TheAutismHomePage/theoryofmind.msnw ]
>[The theory of an absence of a] Theory of mind [among those with
autism] refers to the notion that many autistic individuals do not
understand that other people have their own plans, thoughts, and
points of view. Furthermore, it appears that they have difficulty
understanding other people's beliefs, attitudes, and emotions.
>Many of the tasks used to test this theory have been given to
non-autistic children as well as children with mental retardation, and
the [lack of a] theory of mind phenomenon appears to be unique to
those with autism. In addition, [the presence or absence of] theory of
mind appears to be independent of intelligence even though people with
Asperger's syndrome exhibit this problem to a lesser degree.
>Interestingly, people with autism have difficulty comprehending when
others don't know something. It is quite common, especially for those
with savant abilities [for example, those seen in the Dustin Hoffman
character in the fictional film "Rainman"], to become upset when
asking a question of a person to which the person does not know the
answer.
>By not understanding that other people think differently than
themselves, many autistic individuals may have problems relating
socially and communicating to other people. That is, they may not be
able to anticipate what others will say or do in various situations.
In addition, they may have difficulty understanding that their peers
or classmates even have thoughts and emotions, and may thus appear to
be self-centered, eccentric, or uncaring.
>Although this is an egocentric view of the world, there is nothing in
the [lack of a] theory of mind to imply that autistic individuals feel
superior to others. <
[from "Theory of Mind" by Stephen M. Edelson, Ph.D., Center for the Study of Autism, Salem, Oregon http://www.autism.org/mind.html]
I am not saying that WS has autism or Asperger's Syndrome, since e-mail tends to produce autistic tendencies in us all. And there is nothing wrong with being autistic. After all, such luminaries as Albert Einstein and Bill Gates may have (had) it. I have a tad of autism (mild Asperger's syndrome) myself. -- Jim Devine / "Economics is extremely useful as a form of employment for economists." -- John Kenneth Galbraith.