It kinda is. At least for some of us. It’s more like super-intelligence about an incredibly narrow topic that probably doesn’t matter. Some of us win the lottery and our special interests align with something in the world that capitalism values highly. Like one of my special interests is computer science, math, and logic. So I’m good at programming. Some people with autism have a special interest in one obscure comic strip from the 1930s, which makes it hard to get a job that they can succeed in.
Yeah, for me I think it’s less about “being more intelligent” as a general and more “I learned way more about (X) because I was hyperfixated”. I think that’s where people get mixed up. It’s not a generalized boost to intelligence so much as spending way more time studying something than a normal person would because brain tickle feel good. People only see the result of that
Its fine to ask, but the answer is “no”. Autism is a blueprint for how the brain gets wired. Its not something a person ‘has’, it’s a defining attribute of consciousness itself - its what a person ‘is’.
If you had a pill that could rewire someone’s brain, it would kill that person and use their meat as spare parts to build a different person.
Frankly I don’t think it’s a meaningful question. I don’t think my personality would survive untangling all of my AuDHD traits from the rest of me. I don’t think it would even be possible to point at specific traits and say for sure whether they are resultant from the ND. It’s all me.
Thanks, I appreciate you sharing your experience with me. When you talk about winning the lottery, metaphorically speaking, are there some traits or behaviours you attribute to the ND?
To be open about my motivation for my curiosity, a lot of my professional life I’m supporting ND people. My own NDs are definitely not of a magnitude to be worthy of diagnosis and people are so diverse so I appreciate the opportunity to get someone’s perspective directly.
For me I benefit greatly from being able to deeply immerse myself in a topic and retain information to an absurd degree if I am interested in that topic. I can recall incredibly minute “fun facts” about a variety of my interests that I may not have been exposed to for some time. And I can integrate the breadth of my knowledge into my problem solving processes.
I’m not the same person but I can definitely attribute some negative symptoms of autism in my life.
The biggest negative symptom and limiting factor for me personally is the overstimulation. I can be perfectly comfortable in an extremely chaotic environment and then suddenly with no warning start perceiving every single tiny detail around me.
Touch. Sound. Smell. Temperature. Air currents. THE BUZZING OF ELECTRICITY FLOWING THROUGH WIRES.
It’s triggered several panic attacks throughout my life. 0/10 would only recommend for use as torture.
If autism gave you super-intelligence with quirky social deficiencies everyone would want it.
But that’s not how it works.
It kinda is. At least for some of us. It’s more like super-intelligence about an incredibly narrow topic that probably doesn’t matter. Some of us win the lottery and our special interests align with something in the world that capitalism values highly. Like one of my special interests is computer science, math, and logic. So I’m good at programming. Some people with autism have a special interest in one obscure comic strip from the 1930s, which makes it hard to get a job that they can succeed in.
To be fair, Nancy is kind of a whole mood.
Yeah, for me I think it’s less about “being more intelligent” as a general and more “I learned way more about (X) because I was hyperfixated”. I think that’s where people get mixed up. It’s not a generalized boost to intelligence so much as spending way more time studying something than a normal person would because brain tickle feel good. People only see the result of that
Do you think you’d be smart enough to do those jobs well if I could give you a magic pill that took away the autism?
Is it even a meaningful question to ask if you can unpick the autistic traits from the rest of you ?
Its fine to ask, but the answer is “no”. Autism is a blueprint for how the brain gets wired. Its not something a person ‘has’, it’s a defining attribute of consciousness itself - its what a person ‘is’.
If you had a pill that could rewire someone’s brain, it would kill that person and use their meat as spare parts to build a different person.
I really like this way of phrasing it. Idk why. It has body horror vibes that I think are fun, but also just feels very accurate.
Frankly I don’t think it’s a meaningful question. I don’t think my personality would survive untangling all of my AuDHD traits from the rest of me. I don’t think it would even be possible to point at specific traits and say for sure whether they are resultant from the ND. It’s all me.
Thanks, I appreciate you sharing your experience with me. When you talk about winning the lottery, metaphorically speaking, are there some traits or behaviours you attribute to the ND?
To be open about my motivation for my curiosity, a lot of my professional life I’m supporting ND people. My own NDs are definitely not of a magnitude to be worthy of diagnosis and people are so diverse so I appreciate the opportunity to get someone’s perspective directly.
For me I benefit greatly from being able to deeply immerse myself in a topic and retain information to an absurd degree if I am interested in that topic. I can recall incredibly minute “fun facts” about a variety of my interests that I may not have been exposed to for some time. And I can integrate the breadth of my knowledge into my problem solving processes.
I’m not the same person but I can definitely attribute some negative symptoms of autism in my life.
The biggest negative symptom and limiting factor for me personally is the overstimulation. I can be perfectly comfortable in an extremely chaotic environment and then suddenly with no warning start perceiving every single tiny detail around me.
Touch. Sound. Smell. Temperature. Air currents. THE BUZZING OF ELECTRICITY FLOWING THROUGH WIRES.
It’s triggered several panic attacks throughout my life. 0/10 would only recommend for use as torture.