Thread

1. mlboss · 1789596855 · focus · HN ↗

   > Autism is genetic. You’re born autistic and you’re autistic for life. Most autistic people are autistic because of genes they got from their parents. This is why autism often runs in families. Much less commonly, other factors can play a role, but usually in combination with genes from parents. There isn’t a single ‘autism gene’. Thousands of genes combine to make a person autistic. Scientists have identified many of these genes, but they think there are still many more to find. And there is no genetic test for autism. We don't fully understand how genes combine to make a person autistic. It is complex and no simple test can give an accurate answer. Genetic testing cannot predict whether a child will be autistic or not, and it can’t be used to diagnose someone as autistic.

   Autism is genetic but we cannot do genetic testing and prove that you have autism. Seems like a very circular reasoning.

   1. anonymars · 1789597953 · focus · HN ↗

      If your C code causes a segfault, is it fair to reason that there's a memory management error in the code? Does that make it practical to find where, so that you can just add a check for it?

      1. HeavyStorm · 1789602658 · focus · HN ↗

         There are two fallacies in your analogy.

         Segfaults are precise symptoms - they occur only when there's a memory issue. Autism isn't precise, is a collection of characteristics that manifest differently in each person.

         Genetic is, for the purpose of this conversation, a precise diagnosis - means you carry parent genes that will cause the issue. Memory management isn't: what caused it? Code error? OS error? Processor? Is it a bad code path or a unexpected exrtenal state?

         Finally, an analogy of your analogy: you measure someone temperature and it's 40C. You diagnose a fever.

         Segfaults are fever, just a symptom.

         1. hyperhello · 1789615589 · focus · HN ↗

            Are we still talking about testing for autism?

            1. anonymars · 1789650825 · focus · HN ↗

               I should have known better than to try an analogy here
         2. anonymars · 1789646368 · focus · HN ↗

            The analogy is "just because most X are caused by Y, doesn't mean you can easily test for X by looking at Y"

            I don't think your first point (how specific/precise are the symptoms of X) changes things, and I think your second point reinforces the analogy rather than weakens it. Most segfaults are coding errors and not OS or hardware errors ("look for horses, not zebras" / "SELECT isn't broken"). Even good medical tests have false positives and false negatives

            > Most autistic people are autistic because of genes they got from their parents. This is why autism often runs in families. Much less commonly, other factors can play a role, but usually in combination with genes from parents.

Unofficial Hacker News client; not affiliated with Y Combinator.