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And how did people like the author treat you as a child?

by jart 6y ago

gregjor 6y ago
I don’t know what the author is like, so I can’t say. I’ve shared all I’m willing to share about my life. Like everyone else, I’ve had to deal with my personality quirks. Like everyone else I’ve had to adapt and learn how to get along in the world. I don’t identify myself with diagnostic names attached to symptoms.
- jart 6y ago
  But that's exactly what makes you different, according to the medical literature. Normal people deal with their personality quirks without thinking about it. That's what makes them normal. With you, it required an act of willpower. Just like, if normal people wanted to innovate, it would require an act of willpower on their part; whereas for you, you've been doing it your whole life.
  - gregjor 6y ago
    But I'm not different in that respect. Everyone has different abilities. No individual is "normal," that's a statistical artifact. Everyone has personality quirks, whether they are aware of them or not, and has to adapt their personality constantly. I don't think of my quirks and shortcomings as disabilities or medical issues, anymore than I would think a left-handed person has a disorder, even if they aren't (statistically) normal. That's not to say everyone who suffers from autism or any other physical or mental disorder can just will themselves to overcome it, or adapt -- some people have seriously debilitating problems. I have been around severely autistic children and I can't compare my experience to theirs, like I can't compare my inability to dance to someone in a wheelchair. "Normal" people innovate all the time, I imagine that takes an act of willpower for everyone. I haven't been innovating my whole life, just dealing with it one day at a time like everyone else does.
    - jart 5y ago
      Not being able to dance is another thing the medical literature says people in your position can't do, along with orthography. Have you considered that willpower is uncommon in people, due to how willfulness is traditionally punished and killed by centuries of war? That seems to be why autistic people usually don't change and why neurotypical people usually don't innovate.
      - gregjor 5y ago
        I think we’re going out into the weeds. I’m not looking for explanations or excuses. I can’t dance because I never cared to learn, not because I’m physically unable to do it. I have played sports and done other activities that require coordination. I got top score on my verbal/written SAT so orthography isn’t a problem for me either. The mistake would be saying to myself “I have Asperger’s so I can’t dance or write,” which would just be making excuses. I don’t think willpower is uncommon, that’s not my experience. I don’t know what war has to do with it — consider the willpower required to participate in that kind of conflict, or survive it. What evidence do you have that “autistic people don’t change” and “neurotypical people don’t innovate?” To pump up the meme that people diagnosed with autism or Asperger’s are geniuses stuck in a shell it’s become popular to retroactively diagnose historical figures. Da Vinci? Autistic. Lincoln? Aspeger’s. Elon Musk — clearly a successful and high-functioning person, may have some Asperger’s symptoms, or he may just say that because it’s cool and lets him off the hook for acting like a jerk sometimes. I don’t know. I don’t think every “innovator” is an undiagnosed autistic. It seems obvious that most innovation must come from neurotypicals because they are, by definition (in the frame of this discussion anyway) the large majority. Autistic people do change. Children often grow out of autistic behavior at least partially. Not always, some never improve, but many do. There’s no line between autistic/Asperger’s and neurotypical, those are phony boxes that insufficiently describe a literal spectrum of behaviors and personality gifts and deficits. At the extremes of the spectrum you find people who are seriously impaired, but along most of the curve people function well enough. Think about physical abilities. Most people can walk and get around and do day-to-day things. Some can play basketball a few can play like Michael Jordan. Some struggle to stand up, a few can’t get out of bed. There’s a range of physical abilities and everyone is born with some gifts and some deficits. I think it’s the same with mental abilities and personality.

And how did people like the author treat you as a child?

by jart 6y ago

And how did people like the author treat you as a child?

I don’t know what the author is like, so I can’t say. I’ve shared all I’m willing to share about my life. Like everyone else, I’ve had to deal with my personality quirks. Like everyone else I’ve had to adapt and learn how to get along in the world. I don’t identify myself with diagnostic names attached to symptoms.

jart 6y ago
But that's exactly what makes you different, according to the medical literature. Normal people deal with their personality quirks without thinking about it. That's what makes them normal. With you, it required an act of willpower. Just like, if normal people wanted to innovate, it would require an act of willpower on their part; whereas for you, you've been doing it your whole life.
- gregjor 6y ago
  But I'm not different in that respect. Everyone has different abilities. No individual is "normal," that's a statistical artifact. Everyone has personality quirks, whether they are aware of them or not, and has to adapt their personality constantly. I don't think of my quirks and shortcomings as disabilities or medical issues, anymore than I would think a left-handed person has a disorder, even if they aren't (statistically) normal. That's not to say everyone who suffers from autism or any other physical or mental disorder can just will themselves to overcome it, or adapt -- some people have seriously debilitating problems. I have been around severely autistic children and I can't compare my experience to theirs, like I can't compare my inability to dance to someone in a wheelchair. "Normal" people innovate all the time, I imagine that takes an act of willpower for everyone. I haven't been innovating my whole life, just dealing with it one day at a time like everyone else does.
  - jart 5y ago
    Not being able to dance is another thing the medical literature says people in your position can't do, along with orthography. Have you considered that willpower is uncommon in people, due to how willfulness is traditionally punished and killed by centuries of war? That seems to be why autistic people usually don't change and why neurotypical people usually don't innovate.
    - gregjor 5y ago
      I think we’re going out into the weeds. I’m not looking for explanations or excuses. I can’t dance because I never cared to learn, not because I’m physically unable to do it. I have played sports and done other activities that require coordination. I got top score on my verbal/written SAT so orthography isn’t a problem for me either. The mistake would be saying to myself “I have Asperger’s so I can’t dance or write,” which would just be making excuses. I don’t think willpower is uncommon, that’s not my experience. I don’t know what war has to do with it — consider the willpower required to participate in that kind of conflict, or survive it. What evidence do you have that “autistic people don’t change” and “neurotypical people don’t innovate?” To pump up the meme that people diagnosed with autism or Asperger’s are geniuses stuck in a shell it’s become popular to retroactively diagnose historical figures. Da Vinci? Autistic. Lincoln? Aspeger’s. Elon Musk — clearly a successful and high-functioning person, may have some Asperger’s symptoms, or he may just say that because it’s cool and lets him off the hook for acting like a jerk sometimes. I don’t know. I don’t think every “innovator” is an undiagnosed autistic. It seems obvious that most innovation must come from neurotypicals because they are, by definition (in the frame of this discussion anyway) the large majority. Autistic people do change. Children often grow out of autistic behavior at least partially. Not always, some never improve, but many do. There’s no line between autistic/Asperger’s and neurotypical, those are phony boxes that insufficiently describe a literal spectrum of behaviors and personality gifts and deficits. At the extremes of the spectrum you find people who are seriously impaired, but along most of the curve people function well enough. Think about physical abilities. Most people can walk and get around and do day-to-day things. Some can play basketball a few can play like Michael Jordan. Some struggle to stand up, a few can’t get out of bed. There’s a range of physical abilities and everyone is born with some gifts and some deficits. I think it’s the same with mental abilities and personality.