question on pattern seeking

[Ihaveaspergers]

I understand that "pattern seeking" is something that is often pathologized.
I understand that having difficulties with "pattern seeking" is said to be normal and is not pathologized.
Isn't "pattern seeking" something good that is a gift as well as a curse depending on the situation?
Why do people pathologize "pattern seeking" found in eg ASD or do they really?
What do you think?

 

[Neonatal RRT]

The basic concept of pattern seeking is, in my opinion, a form of intellectual curiosity,...and I might add, a foundation for intelligence and knowledge. It is the basis for scientific discovery.

The fact that some individuals, within their daily lives, live by their personal truths, are not pattern seekers, and do not question concepts such as "association vs causation",...suggests a person of low intellect. Now, if that is somehow, more the "norm" within the human population,...and not a pathological condition,...well, that is quite worrisome to me.

 

[Ihaveaspergers]

8

The basic concept of pattern seeking is, in my opinion, a form of intellectual curiosity,...and I might add, a foundation for intelligence and knowledge. It is the basis for scientific discovery.

The fact that some individuals, within their daily lives, live by their personal truths, are not pattern seekers, and do not question concepts such as "association vs causation",...suggests a person of low intellect. Now, if that is somehow, more the "norm" within the human population,...and not a pathological condition,...well, that is quite worrisome to me.

Why is "pattern seeking" a form of intellectual curiosity? A 3 year old who is a pattern seeker is involved in a form of intellectual curiosity?
I seek patterns but I feel like this is what children do and what many stop doing as adults. Adults should just do stuff and never seek patterns. Asd people need more time when it comes to finding the patterns. This is why I call us "patter seeking" people. Adults often want us to learn extremely fast instead of seeking the patterns which is helpful later on.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

8

Why is "pattern seeking" a form of intellectual curiosity? A 3 year old who is a pattern seeker is involved in a form of intellectual curiosity?
I seek patterns but I feel like this is what children do and what many stop doing as adults. Adults should just do stuff and never seek patterns. Asd people need more time when it comes to finding the patterns. This is why I call us "patter seeking" people. Adults often want us to learn extremely fast instead of seeking the patterns which is helpful later on.

Children do this because they have not been programmed to conform yet. They are always asking questions and discovering their world. They use all their senses and are always learning. One might suggest that children are, by far, more intelligent than their parents. Many people on the spectrum, because of their intense interests, focus, and neurodivergent brains, are often in the learning mode.

Adults have been programmed to "do", to "follow",...to become, at some level, a drone in the collective. This is NOT good. It holds the society back, it holds science back, inhibits creativity, and so on. Neurotypical adults have been programmed to become "intellectually lazy" for the purposes of fitting into society.

 

[Thinx]

The code breakers in WW2 were pattern seekers. A lot of people who are good with computers are pattern seekers. I think it can probably go with any kind of intellect maybe? I think it's what made me a fast reader, and helps me be good at scrabble, I can see words in the random letters. Some artists are good at patterns.

I think it may work particularly well as a talent if the person also thinks outside the box. As many Aspies seem to do.

 

[Thinx]

Children do this because they have not been programmed to conform yet. They are always asking questions and discovering their world. They use all their senses and are always learning. One might suggest that children are, by far, more intelligent than their parents. Many people on the spectrum, because of their intense interests, focus, and neurodivergent brains, are often in the learning mode.

Adults have been programmed to "do", to "follow",...to become, at some level, a drone in the collective. This is NOT good. It holds the society back, it holds science back, inhibits creativity, and so on. Neurotypical adults have been programmed to become "intellectually lazy" for the purposes of fitting into society.

Yes I agree, and coupled with this drone mentality, is the forming of exclusive groups and the mutual efforts expended on maintaining status. This is where people who don't fit in have a role to play, but yet are often impeded from so doing.

 

[MyLifeAsAnAspie]

I was not familiar with "pattern seeking" as pathological. It actually has a another name, apophenia. It is only a problem when patterns in random data result in a delusion that it has meaning. An obvious example is gambling addiction when you become deluded that gambling is not random. Here is an explanation of the problems that can result, but there is no mention of ASD: Apophenia

 

[Neonatal RRT]

I was not familiar with "pattern seeking" as pathological. It actually has a another name, apophenia. It is only a problem when patterns in random data result in a delusion that it has meaning. An obvious example is gambling addiction when you become deluded that gambling is not random. Here is an explanation of the problems that can result, but there is no mention of ASD: Apophenia

Well, there is "addiction" part of gambling which has more to do with the "high" associated with winning. The "gambling is not random" and the sense that one can "beat the game" is another thing. Sure, there are people who have the ability to "count cards" and can better their odds of winning as a result,...in some games.

Personally, I am one with a seemingly extraordinary skill at recognizing patterns. I've been professionally tested in the psychologist's lab. Part of my job is interpreting mechanical ventilator waveform graphics,...and I can recognize things within seconds that my peers and my physician colleagues simply do not see. I have had multiple situations where I have quickly recognized pathology,...and despite my trying to explain,...it may take months to confirm via other invasive methods. It is quite frustrating for me.

So, to the untrained eye, in some specific cases, what may "appear" to be random data, actually does have a pattern.

 

[Aneka]

I understand that "pattern seeking" is something that is often pathologized.
I understand that having difficulties with "pattern seeking" is said to be normal and is not pathologized.
Isn't "pattern seeking" something good that is a gift as well as a curse depending on the situation?
Why do people pathologize "pattern seeking" found in eg ASD or do they really?
What do you think?

The human brain catalagoues, connects and labels sensory input and memories. It's a very basic tool of our brain to understand the world. We tend to look for connections and construct a subjective and somewhat simplified version of reality in our brains. It's normal. I believe the autistic brain lacks the "filter" and loses itself too much in details.

 

[Au Naturel]

Pattern seeking is an instinctive behavior and if you were a paleolithic human it is an important survival skill. But it is prone to a lot of false positives. I had a science book from the 1950s that clearly showed the "canals" on Mars as being real. And how many times have we seen pictures of the Virgin Mary or Jesus in potato chips or flaking paint? A Rorschach test is an example of how we see things we are obsessed with in random blotches. God knows that political debate is full of illusory pattern perception.

Yet the ability to see things that do not objectively exist in the noise of life may be a vital element in creativity.

There's nothing magical about it. Unless you challenge the patterns you perceive in the world with a skeptical eye you will be oft led astray. An important part of the scientific method is trying to prove the patterns you see in the data are illusions. (The "null hypothesis.")

 

[Ihaveaspergers]

Children do this because they have not been programmed to conform yet. They are always asking questions and discovering their world. They use all their senses and are always learning. One might suggest that children are, by far, more intelligent than their parents. Many people on the spectrum, because of their intense interests, focus, and neurodivergent brains, are often in the learning mode.

Adults have been programmed to "do", to "follow",...to become, at some level, a drone in the collective. This is NOT good. It holds the society back, it holds science back, inhibits creativity, and so on. Neurotypical adults have been programmed to become "intellectually lazy" for the purposes of fitting into society.

are not adults programmed to learn something as quick as poissible. Then they have no time for the details. Most adults are disordered and need to wait for the details until later on. What is disordered in ASD is that we focus too much on the details and get stuck. Too much details is bad and too little details is bad!
What do you think?

 

[Neonatal RRT]

are not adults programmed to learn something as quick as poissible. Then they have no time for the details. Most adults are disordered and need to wait for the details until later on. What is disordered in ASD is that we focus too much on the details and get stuck. Too much details is bad and too little details is bad!
What do you think?

There is a saying my mother used to say,..."Look before you leap." In other words, "Think before you act."

I would not suggest that neurotypical adults are initially programmed to "learn" anything, but rather to "do" without understanding. It is a form of impatience, often perpetuated by employers trying to get a new employee "up and running". As an educator, I have this observation,...when you are learning how to do things for the first time, we can make the mistake of giving direction on how to do a procedure first. I can show anyone how to do something,...it is a form of learning,...but the understanding may not come until much later. It is the difference between a novice and an expert.

I would not suggest that focusing upon the foundations and fundamentals first is "disordered" at all, rather quite the way things should be in an ideal world, in my opinion.