intercognitive

Open Letter to Mark Zuckerberg

Neurodivergent dad, CEO of Meta Corporation

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by Ryk GroetchenNeurodivergent dad of neurodivergent childrenFacilitator of musical experiences for families with young children Dear Mr. Zuckerberg, I have been a user of your platform since soon after it was released to the public in the mid-2000s. I’m older than you: you were born the year I should have graduated from high school. As…

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the literal life

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I’ve read things literally my whole life. Hold up. Let me rephrase that. Actually, let me point out how that is a perfect opening statement for this piece I’m trying to write about life as a literalist. Everything is wrong with this sentence, if I pick it apart. Not literally everything, though the case could…

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Normalize casual intimacy.

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I’m a bi-gender person—masc and femme together in parallel unison. Like a Tootsie Roll, a Twinkie, a Ho-Ho, or a KitKat, I have a more brittle, masc outer layer; and a creamy, femme inner core. The femme part of me has been surprised when I have proposed activities to femme friends that I think of…

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The Mammoth Hunter

How Making Sense of My Child's Cannabis Use Helped Me Understand The Beauty of Human Adaptation

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Does Domestication of the Human Species Really Represent Our Shared Future on the Planet? My almost-adult child is a gifted and challenged person, navigating the transition to adulthood in post-industrial American society. They’re a systems thinker, who aces every test, and who also can’t sit still or conform to the demands of a quiet workplace…

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you have to ask yourself

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Saying that autistic people who question the current paradigm of neurodivergence are seeking proof of a superpower does real harm. Diagnostic criteria are a snapshot. To refer to the snapshot as reality, without considering the hand that crafted the lens it was taken with, and for whose benefit, or what it distorts, cannot be seen…

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complementary adaptation: toward a kinder view of neurodiversity and disability

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Two people in a boat. One can row, but cannot navigate. The other can navigate, but cannot row. If we view each as a whole, each has both an asset and a liability—each is both abled and disabled. If we view the relationship as a whole, we can describe things differently. If participation and cooperation…

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to a young person questioning themselves

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I’m 60Mf (that’s how I’ve been indicating a male-presenting femme-relating person). I’ve always known that I’m different on the inside, and I’m so glad that it is becoming normalized to express ourselves about the nuances of our experiences relative to gender. I’ve also recently been diagnosed AuDHD, and that has really helped me understand a…

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Parts Is Parts: When Common Sense Misses the Mark

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A Mechanic’s Case for Equity in Education I was recently trying to explain equity in education to someone who experiences language around equity as “mumbo jumbo,” (in their words). My mind makes analogies, and tries to find common ground. As we (me and my debate partner) are both Californians, my mind latched onto car culture—Americans…

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