How do smart Aspies think differently to smart NTs?

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Swordfish210
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24 May 2011, 3:55 am

Kon wrote:
It's been argued that Aspies are better at dealing with details/parts vs. seeing the bigger picture (gestalt). Aspies:

-Detail oriented approach to tasks which may result in missing the “bigger picture”
-Difficulty seeing “parts-to-whole” and “whole-to-parts” relationships

I think both groups are needed. NTs would not have the hyper-focus, detail-oriented persistence/patience to allow for discovery. And without NTs to put these parts together we would be missing the big picture.


I agree with this. Just two examples: I went to a university prep highschool, so you'd say people are smart there. During maths class, most people just learned the formula and applied it when they saw thesame format question. I couldn't do that. I HAD to know why I was using that formula and how it worked before I could use it, instead of just applying it without any notion of why.

Another one: I now study History at university, and before my first class about the Falklands War (so without any knowledge of what intake the teacher would have on the subject) we had to prepare for the subject of the islands since they were discovered till they were claimed by Argentina. I had learned and read all these details, from how many sheep there were in relation to the people and the changes in this over the years, all the names of people who had even remotely thought about the islands, etc. In class it turned out that everyone had just globally learned the diplomatic events and what effect they would have on future events. parts vs. bigger picture?



marshall wrote:
For me the biggest difference is intelligent NT's are able to accomplish more things in a shorter amount of time. They don't have the autistic inertia I do. They also aren't bothered as much by interruptions and don't need to shut out the rest of the world to work efficiently. I envy their ability to drop one thing and move on to the next. If I try to make myself work like an NT I'm always feeling frazzled, irritable, and unmotivated.


I have noticed this as well. I absolutely CAN'T concentrate when someone is talking to me during a lecture. Others seem to be able to multitask this quite easily AND have good notes.


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ruveyn
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24 May 2011, 8:26 am

They pay very close attention to details. Both God and the Devil live in the details.

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David23
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24 May 2011, 1:32 pm

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I never had to study, it just stuck. I just come to understand things and see all of the connections between concepts where NT's see no relationship until I have spent hours trying to explain what becomes apparent to me.
I Feel the same way, while my NT peers complain about studying for hours and still not being ready for a test, I do fine with no studying at all... And don't even get me started about the teachers bothering me about how I didn't study enough like the other kids :?



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24 May 2011, 3:01 pm

I still have to study, but I don't study for hours. I can look over something in 20 minutes and remember everything I need to know, as long as I'm focused on what I'm doing.


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syrella
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24 May 2011, 4:05 pm

ADHD here, so not sure if that counts...

I find with myself I am able to pick up the material faster than my classmates in some situations and slower in other cases.

When I am truly concentrating, I learn the material well the first time around and usually retain it quite well. However, on a bad day, I can read and re-read the same passage and not retain any of it. Studying, particularly before I started taking medication, was always hit and miss. Sometimes I could do it, other times I could not. While it's still like that even now, at least on meds I don't just fall asleep anymore when the material gets difficult.

// Edit: I should also add that the amount of studying I need to do is considerably less than my classmates if I am interested in the material and able to concentrate. This allows me the free time to pursue my interests and study what I want to study.


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24 May 2011, 5:36 pm

For me, the main difference was that I never needed to study at school or universtity and still manged to be one of the top pupils. The teachers thought I was a swat, which couldn't have been further from the truth. However, I pulled out of university before the final year (after getting a basic degree) as I couldn't handle the thought of waht was expected in the final year (liaising with professors, doing even more presentations, people stuff). Academically, there was no reason for me not being able to get an honours degree. An NT would have stayed on for the senior honours year (unless they had a social phobia, or some other issue).



CockneyRebel
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24 May 2011, 6:41 pm

Smart aspies speak before they think and smart NTs think before they speak.


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BassMan_720
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24 May 2011, 7:32 pm

It's a long time since I did any studying but I too picked up things very quickly. I never took much notice in lectures, often completing unrelated assignments. I would read upthe lecture notes later, in my own time.

I have a useless memory but am good at understanding and working from first principles.

CockneyRebel wrote:
Smart aspies speak before they think and smart NTs think before they speak.


Not true in my case. I have to think very hard before I open my mouth or I will put my foot in it.



simfish
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24 May 2011, 7:36 pm

marshall wrote:
For me the biggest difference is intelligent NT's are able to accomplish more things in a shorter amount of time. They don't have the autistic inertia I do. They also aren't bothered as much by interruptions and don't need to shut out the rest of the world to work efficiently. I envy their ability to drop one thing and move on to the next. If I try to make myself work like an NT I'm always feeling frazzled, irritable, and unmotivated.


Interesting - how would you describe the "autistic inertia"?


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24 May 2011, 8:00 pm

I think aspies are better with learning things instinctively or that we internalize and process new information easier. At least that was always my impression.

I always found school impossible because even in top classes it seemed to take my class mates all lesson to pick-up something I grasped within a few minutes, and they seemed to struggle with applying knowledge and putting things in their own words. We seem to grasp better understanding and so we may be more likely to be thinking a few steps ahead too.

I think NT's think one dimensionally, they take information as they get it, where as our brains take an idea and flip it round, dissect it, pull it apart and see how else it may fit together or where else it may fit. So we become more intimately aware of the information we take-in so can apply it easier elsewhere.


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marshall
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24 May 2011, 8:31 pm

simfish wrote:
marshall wrote:
For me the biggest difference is intelligent NT's are able to accomplish more things in a shorter amount of time. They don't have the autistic inertia I do. They also aren't bothered as much by interruptions and don't need to shut out the rest of the world to work efficiently. I envy their ability to drop one thing and move on to the next. If I try to make myself work like an NT I'm always feeling frazzled, irritable, and unmotivated.


Interesting - how would you describe the "autistic inertia"?

It's mostly a need for intense focus. Almost an emotional need. There's also the sense that my focus is either "on" or "off" with nothing in between. I can't really do things "half-assed" the way NT's can.



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25 May 2011, 3:55 am

Kon wrote:
It's been argued that Aspies are better at dealing with details/parts vs. seeing the bigger picture (gestalt). Aspies:

-Detail oriented approach to tasks which may result in missing the “bigger picture”
-Difficulty seeing “parts-to-whole” and “whole-to-parts” relationships

I think both groups are needed. NTs would not have the hyper-focus, detail-oriented persistence/patience to allow for discovery. And without NTs to put these parts together we would be missing the big picture.

I think this is a generalisation. I am a smart NT working in a technical field. I am very detail orientated where I need to be which is actually what I like, in particular working the unknown out, but can step back to generalisation or dealing with something at a concept where its expedient. I think its more about what you like and find rewarding doing. I find it exciting to work things out for myself, find problems, learn things by observation and experimentation, and then apply that to an end.
I have worked with plenty of people I now recognise as having Aspergers traits. I don't see any particularly different way in approaching tasks..but I can see where and how they deal with things like office politics and interpersonal relationships differently.



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25 May 2011, 7:28 am

I also don't have to study a lot. Actuallly, I barely study. I remember the stuff teacher tells us while on the class and I totally remember it. Reading other stuff in the books gives me a headache.