Scott explores the puzzling relationship between congenital blindness, schizophrenia, and autism, discussing potential explanations and the need for further research.
Longer summary
Scott Alexander discusses the intriguing psychiatric trivia that congenitally blind people never develop schizophrenia, but are 50 times more likely to be diagnosed with autism. He explores this in the context of the diametrical model of autism vs. schizophrenia, which suggests these conditions are opposites in many ways. Scott speculates on possible explanations, including the idea that blindness might shift certain neural hyperparameters towards the autism end of a spectrum. He acknowledges the complexity of the issue and the need for further research, mentioning studies on sensory deprivation and its effects on both conditions.
Shorter summary