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> If you thought of a real steeple you had actually seen then you probably tend towards autism. If you thought of an abstract non-existing steeple then you don'

by tome 11y ago

> If you thought of a real steeple you had actually seen then you probably tend towards autism. If you thought of an abstract non-existing steeple then you don't tend towards it. What's the rationale for that?

mchahn 11y ago
I have no idea. One would think the opposite, that programmers think in abstract concepts. I heard an interview with her on public radio (it was called in since she couldn't appear in person) and she seemed very intelligent and believable.
- PhasmaFelis 11y ago
  Hmm. "Abstract thought" encompasses a few very different things. This Quora answer explains it better than I could manage, so I'll paste it here: https://www.quora.com/If-Aspies-often-have-difficulty-with-abstract-thinking-then-why-do-so-many-mathematicians-have-autistic-traits https://www.quora.com/If-Aspies-often-have-difficulty-with-a... "Abstract thinking" is a huge category and a lot of Aspies and people in the autism ballpark have trouble with some parts and are good at other parts. In particular, I think many of us are good at abstract thought that is formal. Not formal in the sense of wearing a tie or whatnot, but formal in the sense of being based on precisely described relationships. Take math. Math is a creative activity, just as much as painting or any other art. But math is a formal creative act. Like a painting, a mathematical proof can be beautiful, elegant, inspiring. Unlike a painting, a mathematical proof can be wrong. Or take computer programming. Again, writing a program is creative and a program can be beautiful. But a program is written in a very formal language: Any computer language has strict rules. On the other hand, many of us are bad at abstract thinking that is informal or, perhaps, a good word is mushy. How do we read a person's facial expression, body language etc? The same thing means different things at different times; there rules, but there are (usually) exceptions; and the rules aren't written.
PhasmaFelis 11y ago
Autistics tend to be very literal, concrete thinkers who like precision and aren't great at generalizing between different situations. I'm not sure if that answers your question, but as an autistic person the steeple thing makes sense to me.
- derefr 11y ago
  Does this mean that there are no autistic people in fields of study that require heavy use of analogy and isomorphism, like topology?
  - PhasmaFelis 11y ago
    Interesting question. I don't know enough about topology to say for sure, but I would think it's the kind of abstract thinking that autistics are good at, rather than the kind we're bad at. (See my reply to mchahn for details on that.) We tend to perceive individual properties rather then gestalts, which makes us good at picking out details but bad at synthesizing those details; my brain readily puts, say, a donut and a pipe into the category of "things with one hole through them," so it's an easy step for me to understand them as being topologically identical.

by tome 11y ago

mchahn 11y ago

I have no idea. One would think the opposite, that programmers think in abstract concepts. I heard an interview with her on public radio (it was called in since she couldn't appear in person) and she seemed very intelligent and believable.

PhasmaFelis 11y ago
Hmm. "Abstract thought" encompasses a few very different things. This Quora answer explains it better than I could manage, so I'll paste it here: https://www.quora.com/If-Aspies-often-have-difficulty-with-abstract-thinking-then-why-do-so-many-mathematicians-have-autistic-traits https://www.quora.com/If-Aspies-often-have-difficulty-with-a... "Abstract thinking" is a huge category and a lot of Aspies and people in the autism ballpark have trouble with some parts and are good at other parts. In particular, I think many of us are good at abstract thought that is formal. Not formal in the sense of wearing a tie or whatnot, but formal in the sense of being based on precisely described relationships. Take math. Math is a creative activity, just as much as painting or any other art. But math is a formal creative act. Like a painting, a mathematical proof can be beautiful, elegant, inspiring. Unlike a painting, a mathematical proof can be wrong. Or take computer programming. Again, writing a program is creative and a program can be beautiful. But a program is written in a very formal language: Any computer language has strict rules. On the other hand, many of us are bad at abstract thinking that is informal or, perhaps, a good word is mushy. How do we read a person's facial expression, body language etc? The same thing means different things at different times; there rules, but there are (usually) exceptions; and the rules aren't written.

PhasmaFelis 11y ago

Autistics tend to be very literal, concrete thinkers who like precision and aren't great at generalizing between different situations. I'm not sure if that answers your question, but as an autistic person the steeple thing makes sense to me.

derefr 11y ago
Does this mean that there are no autistic people in fields of study that require heavy use of analogy and isomorphism, like topology?
- PhasmaFelis 11y ago
  Interesting question. I don't know enough about topology to say for sure, but I would think it's the kind of abstract thinking that autistics are good at, rather than the kind we're bad at. (See my reply to mchahn for details on that.) We tend to perceive individual properties rather then gestalts, which makes us good at picking out details but bad at synthesizing those details; my brain readily puts, say, a donut and a pipe into the category of "things with one hole through them," so it's an easy step for me to understand them as being topologically identical.