Being autistic definitely shielded me from that. It made me different, but it didn't make me worse because those people who have to live with that,. they can't be logical people because there's so much emotion around them. So I am logical. And you know, logic works in a lot of life. You want to be a programmer, boy, there's nothing better than logic. Yeah. But when I saw those feelings after the TMS, I saw her sadness and misery. And I thought, I must have done this to her. We're married. I must be the cause of her misery. That's just horrible"
The story of John Elder Robison is one of Maya’s favorite episodes and it’s also a top choice in our listener favorites series. John is a gifted sound engineer whose rare ability to understand machines propelled him to work with the likes of Kiss and Diana Ross. But the one thing he always felt was lacking was his ability to understand people emotionally. In an effort to see if he could change that, he volunteered to participate in an experimental brain study.
If you enjoyed this episode, Maya suggests you check out this one next: “Life After Escaping Captivity”
We’ll be back with new episodes in the fall. In the meantime, you can connect with Maya on instagram @DrMayaShanker.
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