Aspergers think logically?

[Streetwise]

I remember when I was young and my school had Santa coming in, the funny thing was that I knew who the person was and who was santa while every else was still believing in him. :lol:

Yes but it's commercialisation of a real person and a not as nice story

 

[Ken]

My mom and my husband say I am logical. Sometimes he tells me I am being too logical and lets stop and be emotional, have empathy. Even one of my aspie friends says I am logical. I also prefer facts and things have to make sense for me to get it. If it doesn't make any sense, then I won't get it.

My wife often complains that I have to analyze everything. I admit that is true, but I can’t stand receiving partial information. It seems that most people are ok with only a third or less of the information. They don’t see any problem with “filling” in – guessing - the rest. But that means that two thirds or more of the information is just guessing which cannot be accurate. Such loose facts drive me crazy. I believe that not analyzing is illogical.

...Which for some reason deludes people into thinking we're more logical and emotionally cold/distant.

I believe that logic is the condition of reality. I believe mathematics – Boolean algebra is logic.
I do not believe that logic and emotion are inverse opposites. I do not believe that being logical precludes emotion or vice versa. I believe emotion simply means you care. I believe empathy is logical. I believe that caring is logical. I even believe that crying is logical. I believe that a parent caring for and fearing for and being emotional for their child is logical. I believe that such caring is a survival requirement. I believe that empathy and caring is Boolean algebra calculatable. Although I also believe that emotion can be illogical just as incorrect logical statements are equally illogical.

...Heck,even Mr Spock got a little teary eyed every once in a while!

I always had a problem with the Star Trek series concept of Mr. Spock being coldly logical assuming emotion is illogical. I believe that emotion is a logical driving force behind almost all accomplishments.

It is often assumed that autistics do not have empathy. I believe that is a misperception. Generally, NT’s communicate feelings via facial expressions. That doesn’t work for most autistics – or at least for me. My facial expressions or mannerisms do not convey my feelings very accurately, thus misleading others about my feelings. My empathy is actually very strong. Witnessing another person’s or animal’s pain or distress almost always traumatizes me.

 

[Crossbreed]

A couple of the mothers told how logical their kids were; They did`t believe in God and anything superstition. They believed in science and such.

So my question is this: As an asperger, do you think logically most of the time and believe in science, facts and everything what makes logically sense?

Being STEM-oriented & logical is not mutually exclusive with acknowledging God.

 

[The Lorax]

It could be just an amplification due to autism. HFAs see things differently. They recognize patterns better than most people. There are amazing autistic artists with amazing memory that aren't necessarily super brains. Some artists are mentally disabled. Then you have HFAs with super musical talents. Does it mean they can create a new set of quantum mechanics formulas? No.

As for god? I'll find out in the end if I can't get a robot body to sustain me indefinitely.

As for their things about food not touching look up the word Trypophobia. This is something NTs can get. Tell me that is not crazy.

 

[Ken]

About the God thing.

This is a bit off topic, but since it is mentioned several times here, I thought I would share my view of God. I do believe in God, but not the same God as in any traditional or organized religion. I do not believe that God; the creator of the universe should need a religion.

The God I believe in is not a magical or supernatural being that grants wishes or prayers or desires or healing like a “genie” or possesses any sort of superpowers. The God I believe in is composed of the laws of physics. I believe the universe, all energies, masses, particles, waves – all that exists is God. I believe God is the laws of physics. So, for me, in the realm of religion, I would consider the word “God” to be simply a label of the natural universe and the laws of physics that it is composed of. Although, I don't go around talking about the laws of physics using the God label. It's just that in a religious sense, if I ever use the word, "God", I'm referring to the universe and the laws of physics, not a supernatural being.

 

[harrietjansson]

I have a theory that most of the aspergers think "logically"

I like this sentence from Wiki:
There is no universal agreement as to the exact definition or boundaries of logic.
Logic - Wikipedia

I hear people say "logically" without definition what kind of logic they are refering to.
"Thinking logically" could mean that you are thinking in syllogism but also refer to something else. Also, if we are supposed to be good at logic why don't all of us study logic at the unversity?
What kind of logic are we refering to in this thread?

What I mean is that aspergers trust in science, facts and logic.

Many scientists even contradict eachother or at leat have different theories that are both different and simmilar. Whom to trust then?
People with ASD trust facts? Many of us go by emotions or faulty thinking

This thread is a bit confusing to me. I am not saying that the OP is wrong but what I am actually saying is that the OP wrote things that are not always that easy as one sometimes think they should be.

 

[Crossbreed]

What kind of logic are we refering to in this thread?

The OP was March of 2010.

Typically, logic in this context is referring to STEM-based advancements/discoveries. The OP promoted a false dichotomy between the scientific method & a belief in God.

 

[harrietjansson]

They did`t believe in God and anything superstition. They believed in science and such.

This is actually offensive. Is the OP a militant atheist? You can even use logic to prove the existence of a higher being.
Many scientist are actually religious.

 

[harrietjansson]

The OP was March of 2010.

Typically, logic in this context is referring to STEM-based advancements/discoveries. The OP promoted a false dichotomy between the scientific method & a belief in God.

So the OP said that "aspies" think like a positivist?

 

[The Lorax]

Many scientist are actually religious.

Here is the answer to this statement.

Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. We conduct public opinion polling, demographic research, content analysis and other data-driven social science research. We do not take policy positions.

Scientists and Belief

In general the less people have the more they turn to religion. The more your life is filled with other things the less religious you are. So if everyone started having a decent standard of living and filled their lives with activities they would let go of religion more and more.

But.... A vast majority of the population of the earth has a hard time gaining meaningful employment or doing their own business due to mostly mental functions (depression, anxiety, intelligence). It is postulated in the intellectual scientific community that those less capable might need religion as a guideline for life. Now take these same people and place them in a poor environment, which is still MOST of the world, and it only lowers their ability. On top of that the ones who do climb to the top tend on separating themselves by socioeconomic tribes from those less fortunate and tend to have less empathy for them. Which then leans on it being harder for those less fortunate to succeed.

In 1st world countries atheism is growing due to the standard if living being good. Islam is one of the fastest growing religions though. But if you note in most of the countries it impacts are also very poor and the people suffering.

So if you are poor, can't get out of being poor due to the power of others, and don't have the capacity to get out of being poor where do you turn for hope? Religion. The promise of being a good person in this horrible life will gain you a reward in the end when you die. But what happens to those people if you strip this away from them? What do they do? Do they turn on society like a revolution?

The above is a grouping of my studies. It is conjecture. The one absolute piece of data there is how many people have a mental disorder that hampers them and the intelligence of humans in general.

20% officially and 30% unofficial have some form of debilitating mental disorder.
Source (1 in 5) NIMH » Mental Illness
30% comes from sources I have in the field of psychology. They think the remaining 10% are un-diagnosed, refuse treatment, or in denial.

~75% of humans don't have enough intelligence to do something really well to give them a chance to be well off. You need roughly a 110 I.Q. to do a trade fairly well that can earn you a decent income.
10% of all humans are of so low intelligence they can't do anything that isn't counter productive (Army study from WW1)

Interestingly the social-economic constructs in the USA directly math up with a -3 to +3% difference in intelligence. It is the main driver of success.

I know I am going slightly off topic but I was on a roll.

 

[Crossbreed]

So the OP said that "aspies" think like a positivist?

Yes.

(I just learned a new [to me] word, today. Thanks.)

 

[Crossbreed]

In general the less people have the more they turn to religion. The more your life is filled with other things the less religious you are. So if everyone started having a decent standard of living and filled their lives with activities they would let go of religion more and more.

"Give me neither poverty nor riches—
Feed me with the food allotted to me;
Lest I be full and deny You,

And say, “Who is the Lord?”​

Or lest I be poor and steal,

And profane the name of my God." Proverbs 30:8-9 NKJV​

 

[BobMarmaduke]

Perhaps it is not logic but a failure to take things at face value. Supposedly neurotypical people want to bond and think alike more. Less connections with people would lead to taking alternative paths intellectually. There is also the concept of being a divergent versus a convergent thinker. There is I believe two kinds of logic. One is inductive and the other is deductive. Personally, I would not score very high on deductive logic. I know that from taking a LSAT and having worked with attorneys. I think that I have the pattern thinking that has been mentioned. Personally, I suspect that my working memory is not very large. I suspect that my pattern thinking gives me some answers that neurotypical people do not come up with. If I were an attorney under pressure I would make many logical errors of the deductive kind. The details would not even be in my working memory to do anything with them. I don't really know if I am on the spectrum but it seems like I am.

 

[BobMarmaduke]

In regards to the religion that I am familiar with, I have come to a couple of conclusions. One is that I don't quite understand choosing to believe something. For me my beliefs seem to arise from facts that present themselves. They are not exactly chosen. Maybe that is one of the instances of taking something too literally. I am not quite sure how someone gets past not taking that literally. There is a lot at stake with that and it is fundamental. I must be one of people with Aspergers that deals with facts.

 

[Equals Tuesday]

Personally, I've always had a difficult time keeping grounded and distinguishing reality. I had an insane amount of imaginary friends growing up. Making characters is a special interest of mine associated with my high-functioning autism. But I'm also a very logical person, and I like having deep discussions about the real world. Still, I find that sometimes what I consider to be logical is not what other people consider to be logical. I think that what I consider logic is different than the normal definition of logic.

 

[The Lorax]

Interesting as people on the spectrum tend NOT to have imaginary friends. My ASD light son never had any imaginary friends. He rarely built anything creative with legos but at 7 he could masterfully put together a 14 year old set.