• RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    If autism gave you super-intelligence with quirky social deficiencies everyone would want it.

    But that’s not how it works.

    • bionicjoey@lemmy.ca
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      5 months ago

      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.

      • dependencyinjection@discuss.tchncs.de
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        5 months ago

        Is it super-intelligence or just the natural desire to just consume stuff about a topic?

        I don’t have Autism, but I do have ADHD and I am just gifted with an innate curiosity to learn new things which can seem like I’m intelligent, but honestly I have no control over it. I could spend a week learning about how the brain works and it will be all consuming, then all of a sudden I have zero interest in it.

        This means I have a rudimentary understanding of so many topics, but rarely will I master any one of them.

      • Stern@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        Some people with autism have a special interest in one obscure comic strip from the 1930

        To be fair, Nancy is kind of a whole mood.

      • RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        Like you said, some “win the lottery”. I think most people would prefer not to have to deal with the difficulties. You can be autistic and good at something or not autistic and good at the same thing.

        • bionicjoey@lemmy.ca
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          5 months ago

          You can be autistic and good at something or not autistic and good at the same thing.

          Let’s not erase the unique characteristics of autism. People with autism can often achieve a higher level of mastery or understanding than most people in a specific topic, or can do so with much less effort. I’m not saying there aren’t challenges, but there are definitely also benefits for some of us.

          • RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world
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            5 months ago

            I’m not erasing anything.

            I stated quite clearly that you can be good at a thing without the difficulties that autism can present for some people. That does not detract from any benefit autism might bestow.

            I’m not sure why you’re trying to paint ASD as some kind of desirable condition.

            You’re basically saying that “I won the lottery, so everyone else should be fine playing it too”.

            • bionicjoey@lemmy.ca
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              5 months ago

              I’m not sure why you’re trying to paint ASD as some kind of desirable condition.

              Because it’s not a curse, it’s just a cluster of personality traits. I certainly wouldn’t take a pill that would “cure” my autism if one was available to me. Sure some traits can make it harder to integrate into society, but some of them can also confer benefits which I’m asserting are not achievable without also being neurodivergent.

              It sounds to me like what you’re arguing is that ND confers challenges but doesn’t confer any benefits that cannot also be achieved without being neurodivergent. I would disagree. Perhaps I am misunderstanding you. If so, I apologize.

              • RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world
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                5 months ago

                I don’t really think you’re reading what I’m saying. You have an incredibly narrow view of ASD that seems to revolve entirely around your more fortunate outcome. I mean, good for you, I’m glad it’s worked out for you and where you fall on the spectrum has conveyed more benefit than any negatives.

                I will counter-argue that your position on ND implies it offers more benefits than challenges. I strongly disagree with this and refer back to the “lottery” comment. You won. There are plenty of losers. Don’t suggest it’s a game worth playing unless you can prove that everyone with ASD is a winner. I sincerely doubt you can.

                • bionicjoey@lemmy.ca
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                  5 months ago

                  I never claimed otherwise. I never claimed the benefits outweigh the challenges. It is absolutely a case-by-case thing.

                  But also, I don’t really understand what you’re trying to say, as nobody really has a choice whether or not they “play the game”

          • MotoAsh@lemmy.world
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            5 months ago

            They are not erasing anything. YOU are assuming autistic people automatically get gifts. Stop it. Stop that shit right now.

            Your attitude is EXACTLY what is wrong with the show, and the EXACT thing the main post is making fun of. Stop it. Even if SOME still have wonderful abilities, you are distinctly and exactly doing the wrong thing to say, “butbutbut some of us are smarter than average!”.

            Yea. You know who ELSE also has a chance to be smarter than average? LITERALLY EVERYBODY!!

            • bionicjoey@lemmy.ca
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              5 months ago

              I didn’t say automatically. I said it’s true for some of us. I fully acknowledge that some people with autism get absolutely shafted in terms of the cluster of personality traits and ND symptoms they develop. I’m just saying that the benefits of autism, such as they are, cannot be achieved by an NT brain. Whether or not that is “worth the cost” isn’t for me to say. It depends greatly on rolls of the biological dice.

              • Sotuanduso@lemm.ee
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                5 months ago

                I’m just saying that the benefits of autism, such as they are, cannot be achieved by an NT brain.

                Yeah they can. I don’t know how the likeliness compares, but it’s well within the realm of possibility.

              • MotoAsh@lemmy.world
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                5 months ago

                Yes, any by trying to reply in the negative to everyone supporting the mai post, YOU are still directly attempting to contradict the sentiment while not admitting to it.

                Stop it. Stop trying to reinforce stereotypes to protect your own feelings. It’s pitiful. Yes, responding in a, “but it’s kinda tru tho” way IS defending the stereotype.

                • bionicjoey@lemmy.ca
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                  5 months ago

                  You seem really angry about a pretty innocuous conversation on the internet. All I was saying is that there’s a bit more nuance here than was being suggested. I’m not saying either side of the argument is entirely wrong. Just sharing my personal experience.

                  • MotoAsh@lemmy.world
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                    5 months ago

                    No, I’m getting angry at you literally and completely failing to understand the entire point made by the post.

      • CosmicTurtle0@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        5 months ago

        If there’s one thing I’ve learned about YouTube is that the most niche topics can gather an audience. I’ve never been interested in the workings of heat pumps, mechanical switches, or car horns. But I look forward to a new drop every week.

      • essell@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        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 ?

        • bionicjoey@lemmy.ca
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          5 months ago

          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.

          • essell@lemmy.world
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            5 months ago

            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.

            • ThatWeirdGuy1001@lemmy.world
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              5 months ago

              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.

        • Delta_V@lemmy.world
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          5 months ago

          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.

    • SailorMoss@sh.itjust.works
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      5 months ago

      Ehh… thats why we don’t often mention the Autism HUD. Once the neurotypicals find out about it everybody going to start wanting it. Fortunately everyone who uses Lemmy is an Autistic Femboy Linux user.

    • RealFknNito@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      Identic memory doesn’t require autism and can very well make you seem hyper intelligent when you’re just remembering shit.

      Intelligence, to me, is defined as on the fly problem solving and improving. You can’t always remember a solution to a rapidly changing problem.

      • MonkderDritte@feddit.de
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        5 months ago

        Intelligence, to me, is defined as on the fly problem solving and improving.

        Nah, that’s genius.
        This is why we struggle so much with a definition of intelligence; it’s a complex, multifactorial thing and everyone understands something different in it.