I think that autism is like a wild card in the homo sapiens genome. It is out of line with what humans expect in the ‘typical’ or ‘normal’ deck. It appears in place of other traits and allows the brain development to go in a slightly different direction. That means something is lost and something is gained.
What is lost is some trait that humans usually consider normal, even desirable. It may have something to do with sociability, and the person with the wild card often doesn’t seem to fit into what has been seen as an acceptable social norm. What is lost may be something that has over time come to seem to bind humans together and make them seem to exhibit similar behavior.
Because it is so acceptable and fits the common definition of ‘normal’, a person with the normal trait has an evolutionary advantage. They are more likely to pass on their genes to another generation. People prefer to stay normal. So a very static, non creative but stable situation develops when normal people select to mate with normals. Not much changes. The human situation based on normals neither gets better or worse.
Autism throws a wild card into the mix. In the human deck, the human genome, there is a chance for a wild card to emerge. Some humans experience brain development that does not follow the dominant, normal pattern. Some features may be reduced or left out. But new features develop instead, and it is all part of what occurs in the human genome.
Those new features can be frightfully undesirable, perhaps including cognitive impairment. The new features can also be amazingly wonderful and the individual might have an expanded understanding of reality, something ‘normals’ might never imagine.
Many individuals who have been dealt this human genome wild card have shown up in history. Most of them have been a little quirky in that they did not fit in the normal mold. Many have been considered nerdy. And many of them have, because of their untethered grasp of reality so common to normal humans, shown their fellow normal humans how inventive the human mind can be.
These have included the intellectual greats who show up in human history. These have included the artists and inventors who were able to share their unique and new grasp on reality. Because of them, humanity has largely prospered and benefited.
Some of the great receivers of the wild card have not benefited humanity. Rather than bring inspiration and a better life, some have had the genius to bring destruction and harm to their fellow humans.
The normals have many times had to decide whether to include these inspired visionaries into the mix of humanity’s future. It is happening today and applies both to those who are beneficial or those who are harmful.
That ability that humans have to decide whether to welcome the wild card is specific to homo sapiens. Humans can knowingly and deliberately step out of the laws of evolution and consciously decide the future of the species .
Wild cards are opportunities provided by the human genome. Fortunately, humans have chosen wisely so far, considering the general success of the species. Even in this period of peril and fear of the future, it is possible for some of those wild cards to inspire and guide humans to a thriving future. It is possible if those wild cards are valued and followed.
A thriving future is not likely to be exclusively in the hands of ‘normals’. We need humans with special vision and insight, and they are likely to be wild cards on the autism spectrum.