Flip-Flop
Photo: Cathy Palermore: Rescues & Crusades
You don't have to be a precocious Stanford PhD or a disheveled subterranean gamer to be a wired hero. Like the Force, heroes are everywhere — and you love 'em as much as we do. You flipped over our piece on the Cougar Ace, the foundering cargo ship rescued by a valiant crew of high-seas cowboys. You even demanded it be made into a movie. "It's Armageddon, The Perfect Storm, and The Guardian all rolled into one," one of you wrote. (Fear not — writer Joshua Davis scored a film deal!) But not all your heroes are swashbuckling manly men: Our story on Amanda Baggs' crusade against the assumption that autistic people are stupid had our inbox flooded with mail, much of it from parents with superbright autie kids who just can't handle IQ tests. Baggs is your hero, too, no maritime derring-do required.
Crabs Are for Wimps
Great article about Titan Salvage's rescue of the Cougar Ace. They make the Discovery Channel crab fishermen seem wimpy.
John Mark Weber
Huntsville, Alabama
Steal This Magazine
I went to buy a copy of the March Wired and didn't read the cover when I took it from the shelf. But when the cashier saw it, he was convinced the magazine was free. And so I left with my "free" copy. Oops!
Sara Rodrigues
Toronto, Ontario
Nothing, Nada, Zilch
A free copy of Wired, what a concept! Too bad I already bought it. Thanks for nothing.
Antonio Martinez
Dallas, Texas
Pharma Subsidies
Thank you for "Free! Why $0.00 Is the Future of Business" (issue 16.03). Why not apply this model to health care and let the pharmaceutical industry underwrite primary-doctor visits? Redirect some of the megadollars currently going to promote drugs into allowing everyone access to basic medical care at no direct cost. The much debated universal health coverage becomes a reality without massive government subsidies or involvement. The nation gets a healthier citizen base, while pharmaceutical companies sell more prescription drugs.
Terry Cook
Brookfield, Wisconsin
You'll Pay, Pal
Is something really free only because you don't pay in dollars ("Free! Why $0.00 Is the Future of Business")? What about being bombarded with advertising? What about having your personal data given away to dubious parties? What about costly "upgrade options" hidden behind every second button of allegedly free offerings? It looks like the only news is that people today can choose the currency they want to pay in. If you don't want to pay in cash, you can always sell yourself to data miners.
Excerpted from comment posted on Wired.com by Lord_Jim
F-R-E-E Advice
Somebody needs to send "Free! Why $0.00 Is the Future of Business" to Hasbro and Mattel and let them see what idiots they are for wanting to get rid of the Facebook Scrabble app Scrabulous. If anything, they should buy Scrabulous and be thankful for the new opportunities it offers.
*Excerpted from comment posted on Wired.com by *pla353
The Tinkerer's Tale
When you grow up in a city, getting the opportunity to accomplish DIY projects can be difficult (Clive Thompson, Start, issue 16.03). That's why groups like Dean Kamen's nonprofit First and events like its robotics competition are so important to us city kids. I have been part of team 694 from Manhattan for three-plus years, and I know how to use a jigsaw and a drill press. Some of my contemporaries have trouble working their cell phones. Am I part of the "counterrevolution"? Maybe, maybe not. But it sure is nice getting your hands dirty.
Yi Li
New York, New York
Cowboy Junkie
Wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed your feature about the Cougar Ace and the sea cowboys who rescued her ("S.O.S.," issue 16.03). I used to think I had an interesting job. Now I know that these guys have the interesting jobs and I'm just a schmuck.
Justin Beere
Los Angeles, California
Street Smart
I have a 13-year-old son with autism ("Yeah, I'm Autistic. You Got a Problem With That?" issue 16.03). Thank you for your story. For years, we've battled with professionals over intelligence testing. My son is very bright but doesn't perform well on many IQ tests. On the other hand, our family doesn't need a GPS device, because he's a human global positioning system who knows every road by number as well as name.
Stuart Carter
Melville, New York
It's a Feature, Not a Bug
Autism is the next step in the evolution of the human mind ("Yeah, I'm Autistic. You Got a Problem with That?"). Think of what it gives people: Often, they have great talent in a narrow field. They think faster and seem to have extra senses. In the future, I expect job advertisements will ask for people with specific autistic-like skills (someone who can think in 3-D or who can count many things quickly). Historians will write about how at first people thought this gift was something to be cured and fixed.
Sharon Murphy
Fort Meade, Maryland
Eureka!
I was delighted to be Easter egg hunting so early in March (issue 16.03). The page numbers for the "Free!" article were appropriately highlighted in a yellow sunburst; the story on Nixon's secret plan hid its numbers; and the numbers for the Cougar Ace tale were sadly tilted on their sides, sinking. But my favorites were the numbers for the autism piece, located where you wouldn't expect, trapped inside the images of autistic people whose thoughts are so often trapped inside a noncommunicative body. Clever eggs — so much fun to find!
Mickey Reynolds
Sanford, Florida
The Wookiee Gambit
Re: "Best Sidekicks" (Start, issue 16.03): Under Chewbacca's weaknesses, you forgot abysmal chess skills.
Excerpted from comment posted on Wired.com by nerdzilla
Show Some Respect
At the bottom of your March "Jargon Watch" (Start, issue 16.03), you ran a picture of the Marine Corps War Memorial, dedicated to all Marines who have given their lives in the defense of the United States since 1775. You replaced the American flag with a carpet. I'm a Marine Corps combat veteran and never complain about anything, but I find this to be very disrespectful.
Stalin Puertas
Howard Beach, New York
UNDO Michelle Dawson revealed her autism diagnosis to her employer in 1999, not 1998 ("Yeah, I'm Autistic. You Got a Problem with That?" issue 16.03). The spam architecture artist in "Painted by Numbers" (issue 16.03) is Alex Dragulescu, not Dragelescu.
RANTS Letters should include writer's name, address, and daytime phone number and be sent to rants@wired.com. Submissions may be edited and may be published or used in any medium. They become the property of Wired and will not be returned.
