Can Aspies think abstractly?

Post Reply New Topic

I can think abstractly when it comes to math and its related fields but not when it comes to language. One of the hardest classes I ever took was American Literature. It was so abstract and I would analyze the words, sentences, and paragraphs for hours and still not understand it completely. Modernism just doesn't make any sense: it has no structure!

Basically what I call abstract is taking concept x and applying it to other things or generalizing things. When I'm walking around town I see things as objects with reduced emotions, context and meaning. People seem alien or like variables with some unknown function or code that they operate on.

I see connections between objects. A stop sign is just an object located in a particular space, amongst other stop signs. A curb is just an object with a particular function. A human house is similar to any animal's or insect's dwelling.

The English language looks somewhat foreign to me. It's just an arrangement of an alphabet with limited meaning to me.

Everyday is exactly the same: sleep, eat, poop, play, and study. Repeat until death.

I never liked or understood math until I turned 17. That's when I figured out you had to study to learn things.

I absolutely agree with all of what you say except for your description of literature as an abstract subject. I don't think its a subject you can think abstractly about at all. Its all about describing the human experience - but it does it in an infinite number of very specific ways. There are no rules, and really no right or wrong of describing anything. As you say, abstract thought is about generalising and finding patterns - in my opinion this is the very opposite of what occurs in creative subjects.

Interesting take. I think I agree with you. The stuff I was studying was analogous to abstract art. I mean how do you describe an abstract painting? That's what I had to do in literature class. And when you didn't come to the conclusion that aligned to the professors you got a bad mark. And sometimes you would ask yourself: "how the **** did you pull that out of your ***?"

I don't know what abstract thinking actually is. Does it mean an abstract-thinker can solve logical problems?

I can write poems (although I haven't done this for ages), and I'm good at playing about with words, like thinking up jokes, but I cannot play about with numbers. When it comes to numbers, my mind shuts down. I can't do algebra either. Is algebra that weird maths where you use letters with it, like 1a+2b=3c or something like that? I learnt it in school but it was so confusing that I could never do it, but it's funny that I was in a class full of NTs and they could do it and I'm supposed to be an Aspie with a logical mind?

I think that "abstract thinking" can be described as "thinking about ideas instead of about facts or things" (an example of abstract thinking is... thinking about what is abstract thinking).

Even about aspies and abstract thinking - some time ago, the stereotype was that aspies were bad at abstract thinking; apparently, the stereotype is being reversed.

I disagree.

There are patterns to literature.

My entire experience with literature has been about finding patterns and applying them where appropriate.

Humans are primates. Our brains work in certain, distinct ways. This translates to "art." Our "art" would be very different if we were lizards.

I can.

Right. I generally just see what's in front of me with literature. Hard time connecting things and making inferences.

HA! I think you're right. All my thoughts are like photos, I see in pictures... does this make me more abstract or concrete? When I'm working with a new viral vector, I can see how it's going to work on the target cell, and calculate the adjustments I'm going to make. Is this abstract thinking? I suppose I could make an argument for both...

Thanks Scuba

Gosh, I hated that. I think that when it came to literature, I was TOO abstract, it worked for me for some time, until the stage people mentioned where they expect everyone's answers to be the same, as opposed to just reflect on the subject in the way you could.

That's pretty much ALL my brain does.

I can't follow a sequence to save my life.

Interesting to find this topic, I had been wondering about that myself. I finally got back to sketching and found myself making designs that are not anthropomorphic, rather abstrac works of interconnecting lines, objects and shapes. Which I love and I have always done. I found some pictures about "autistic art" did not look a whole lot like that I like to do, but everyone is different!

I can post an animation of a tesseract I made. It's a 4th dimensional cube.