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AS and repetition

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danjustlovescoffee

Member
I have never really one single person with Asperger's syndrom (or simmilar diagnoses) who told me that they love repetition. If it were true that we love repition then wouldn't we be good at work that require a lot of repetition?
Perhaps I would be extremely good at peeling a lot of potatoes, breading a lot of fishes as I am good in the kitchen but no...it's not that true. I was once told that we do not care that much about quantity. We want other kinds of repetition. Well, I should probably say that I never really tried to peel a lot of potatoes in a kitchen.
What kind of repeption do we love and hate?
 
If you dig deep into this forum you'll find many of us often quoting the saying, "If you've met one Aspie, you've met one Aspie". In essence on such levels we can all be quite different.

Some might find repetition soothing, while others may find it maddening. Some may be positively challenged by dynamic jobs, while others may be unable to handle them for an hour let alone for years.

While I can do sustained repetitive functions for a long time, they can still bore the crap out of me.
 
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Judge said:
If you dig deep into this forum you'll find many of us often quoting the saying, "If you've met one Aspie, you've met one Aspie". In essence on such levels we can all be quite different.

Some might find repetition soothing, while others may find it maddening. Some may be positively challenged by dynamic jobs, while others may be unable to handle them for an hour let alone for years.

While I can do sustained repetitive functions for a long time, they can still bore the crap out of me.
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what I hear many "aspies" say is that they don't really care much for 3 chord tunes. They say that the become bored. I like 3 chord tunes.
The thing about repitition is this, according to me: we are too creative for peeling a lot of potatoes...but the again, we can learn to focus on quantity.
 
danjustlovescoffee said:
what I hear many "aspies" say is that they don't really care much for 3 chord tunes. They say that the become bored. I like 3 chord tunes.
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News to me. Music? Frankly that seems deep within the realm of subjectivity...

I've never given that one a thought one way or another.
 
Judge said:
If you dig deep into this forum you'll find many of us often quoting the saying, "If you've met one Aspie, you've met one Aspie".
Click to expand...
I always counter that aspie statement with "When you have met one human being, you have met one human being"
There are no carbon copies in nature ;)
 
Nitro said:
I always counter that aspie statement with "When you have met one human being, you have met one human being"
There are no carbon copies in nature ;)
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True. The point where a distinction of traits and behaviors are not particularly significant. Especially over things like art or music. Inherently subjective.
 
Nitro said:
I always counter that aspie statement with "When you have met one human being, you have met one human being"
There are no carbon copies in nature ;)
Click to expand...
what do you mean? are we all really that different? so ASD is a diagnosis people get who are extremely different and therefore we should not see that the core issues are the same?
 
danjustlovescoffee said:
what?
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Music is a manifestation of art. Art being inherently subjective.

No doubt many of us are prepared to argue over the merits of Star Wars versus Star Trek. But I don't find such arguments particularly significant either. Though I'm apt to have more to say about it than three-chord tunes.

When I think of repetition, music just doesn't come to mind. So much of it is repetitive though...no question.
 
To answer Dan's question: If I don't enjoy something I hate the repetition of it so much my brain starts itching. This something can be sorting the same kind of papers, cleaning the same part of floor, filling the same calculation-table, clicking through the same process on my computer, rewriting the same text after corrections.

Then there are repetitions I don't like but will live with for some time, like walking the same path there and Back again when taking a walk, waking up at the same time in the morning, watering my plants.

Then there are repetitions I enjoy, like eating my favourite foods frequently, using a certain shampoo I like, listening to a music-playlist over and over again..
 
There's also the issue of comorbid conditions to consider as well. Which may amount to a somewhat different reason as to what may compel us to do the same thing over and over again. Not out of preference, but compulsion alone. Something just outside the realm of autism...such as OCD.
 
I'm not sure if this post is about potatoes or music, LOL! I can't peel more than about 3 potatoes before getting bored, but I can play more than 10,000 songs and a lot of them have the same chord progressions, I VI II V for example, and that makes them easier to remember, but definitely not boring.
However, I do prefer things to be the same in my life, like driving to the shops and parking, even shopping in a store where I know where things are. Otherwise I get extreme anxiety in unknown situations.
 
Wouldn’t say I like repitition but do find it comforting. Doing the same kind of maths problems over and over was always calming for me. Any art form which is highly repetitive can also be comforting for me. I’ll rewatch shoes and reread book as the lack of new things is comfortable.
 
I find repetition without nuance to be nothing but boring. However repetition that has complexity (i.e. nuance) is endlessly fascinating. Case in point, as I write this, I am listening to Steve Reich's Music for Eighteen Musicians. He is one of the preeminent practitioners of what is termed minimalist music.

"Music...." is thematically consistent but is nothing but endlessly shifting repetition that shifts over time as the interaction between the instruments, chords, and voices changes even though what they are playing or singing remains repetitive for varying lengths of time. Sometimes the instruments are playing in a different time signatures and the result, to me, is endlessly fascinating in that so little can produce such remarkable soundscapes. It explores psychoacoustics and their effect on the listener.

I am a huge fan of Steve Reich and highly recommend the work I already mentioned if you are in anyway curious about what I am on about. It may not be to everybody's liking but I find it is a great sound tapestry for many things.

Reich's music is somewhat like my drawings/doodles (found elsewhere on the site), each time you listen to it, you may well notice something different. "Music...." has 11 sections and the time from beginning can change depending on the performance for there is someone controlling when the shifts occur (signaled by the chiming tones of a vibraphone).

NT's must like this kind of repetition as well or Mr. Reich would have had a short career indeed rather than the decades long and multiple album output he has produced.

I'll stop now, although Music for Eighteen Musicians is still having its way with my brain and my ears. Oh, and there is a you tube video of a live performance of "Music...." if you are interested.
 
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I don't like repetition but since I can focus very well I can get into "machine mind" very easily and simply repeat an action endlessly. Still is mindbogglingly boring!

I find music played on repeat to be maddening and makes me feel ill. To make matters worse, I am prone to "ear worms" where lyrics or melody repeat in my head for weeks at a time.
 
Repetition is my friend, like l love cashier work but l hated being a teller. I can listen to a song 50 times. I love the stock market with the stock price banner showing me the latest prices. Numbers and repetitions of numbers are intriguing. Spinning is fun for me. Procedures that have repetitious tasks l enjoy. Repetition is my middle name.
 
Thanks @Richelle-H it was amazing listening to Steve Reich's composition. It became quite mesmerising. Personally though I found it got frustrating after about 20 minutes. Being a Jazz/blues/rock/folk musician I was waiting for it to resolve to the tonic, but I realise that the whole mood of his music is to hover around the dominant 11th chord. It's almost magical, and closing your eyes takes you to a different space. But I'm afraid I'm an Eric Clapton, Larry Carlton, Simon & Garfunkel tragic. Thanks for opening my eyes to something different.
 
I think that many of us like routine, but not necessarily repetition. I repeat things that give me pleasure, like a song I like, or a funny video clip, but find jobs with a lot of repetition mind-numbingly boring. I seek out novelty, but at the same time fear the unknown, and I think that is true for many of us. Many of us repeat or stick to what we know, rather than take to risk of trying something new. Stimming can seem repetitive, but that's about regulating sensory input, or seeking out pleasurable sensations, not necessarily because we specifically seek to repeat actions.
 
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