29 Nov 2005, 5:25 pm
29 Nov 2005, 9:07 pm
Scrapheap wrote:
I have to play devil's advocate here. I'd much rather be NT instead of AS. The benefits outweigh the costs. 
What benefits?
29 Nov 2005, 9:39 pm
GalileoAce wrote:
Scrapheap wrote:
I have to play devil's advocate here. I'd much rather be NT instead of AS. The benefits outweigh the costs.
What benefits?
Indeed. There are two types of "benefits" that I see, neither of which can be said to be intrinsic benefits of NT-ness, either because they're not intrinsic to NT-ness or they are not intrinsically beneficial:
1) General benefits of being in the ruling majority: access to services taken for granted/physical environments built for people like you, communication, not being harassed about difference. If dwarfs ruled and dominated the world, 5-foot and 6-foot people would have access problems. Also, if you have been exposed to the valuing of uniqueness, you can learn to devalue the ways in which you are "mainstream." This has been a source of angst for me.
2) Neurological and psychological traits that you can like, but only because you have chosen to value them; these same traits could annoy you if something made you inclined to value something else more. For instance, not having sensory oversensitivites. I generally like this because it gives me a measure of adaptability (boosted by the world being made for people like me), but I could very well choose to devalue it because I'm missing out on the ability to perceive certain things deeply. There's a whole level of experience with something that I cannot have.
29 Nov 2005, 9:48 pm
29 Nov 2005, 10:17 pm
30 Nov 2005, 3:52 pm
GhostsInTheWallpaper wrote:
GalileoAce wrote:
Scrapheap wrote:
I have to play devil's advocate here. I'd much rather be NT instead of AS. The benefits outweigh the costs.
What benefits?
Indeed. There are two types of "benefits" that I see, neither of which can be said to be intrinsic benefits of NT-ness, either because they're not intrinsic to NT-ness or they are not intrinsically beneficial:
1) General benefits of being in the ruling majority: access to services taken for granted/physical environments built for people like you, communication, not being harassed about difference. If dwarfs ruled and dominated the world, 5-foot and 6-foot people would have access problems. Also, if you have been exposed to the valuing of uniqueness, you can learn to devalue the ways in which you are "mainstream." This has been a source of angst for me.
2) Neurological and psychological traits that you can like, but only because you have chosen to value them; these same traits could annoy you if something made you inclined to value something else more. For instance, not having sensory oversensitivites. I generally like this because it gives me a measure of adaptability (boosted by the world being made for people like me), but I could very well choose to devalue it because I'm missing out on the ability to perceive certain things deeply. There's a whole level of experience with something that I cannot have.
It goes far beyond being in the majority. Even if Aspies were the majority, we would still be bullied by NT's. Being NT gives you the advantage of understanding group dynamics and group POLITICS!! !! !! !! !! This is the #1 problem I deal with at work is the constant head games of my #%$@**& A-hole boss. It hapens everywhere I go, I end up on the wrong end of some malignant narcisist tyrant who makes my life hell and limits my career prospects. I'd gladly give up 30 I.Q. points just to be NT.
30 Nov 2005, 3:57 pm
30 Nov 2005, 4:01 pm
Twitch wrote:
When it's pouring rain and cold in Richmond and I'm mostly too fasicinated by the way the lights reflect on the road to notice then I am glad to be what I am. I think I'd gripe more if I were NT. I wouldn't be able to go inside myself when things get nasty outside.
For me the benifits of being NT are far fewer than the benifits of remaining as is. I cannot imagine being NT. How the hell do you do that?
For me the benifits of being NT are far fewer than the benifits of remaining as is. I cannot imagine being NT. How the hell do you do that?
Life will always be more limited when you stay inside yourself like that. It's O.K. to enjoy these simple things from time to time, but when you live there, you won't ever get past those things. when you're always inside your own head, you can never live life to it's fullest. I've alredy missed on too much living. I try my hardest to not miss any more. Carpe Diem and all that other crap.
30 Nov 2005, 4:07 pm
30 Nov 2005, 6:07 pm
30 Nov 2005, 9:05 pm
Quote:
I'll keep with who I am and my 30 IQ points anyday
You write quite eloquently for someone with an IQ of 30
I am new to this Aspie thing and reading a lot of the posts I have come to some realization. It is different at different ages. Now, being 50 something, I would never want to change (not much anyway) but if I had been given the chance in my teens and early twenties, I suspect I would have jumped on it. Of course, I had no support for or knowledge of my condition so the NT thing was the only standard t0 go by.
Now, I have worked thru a lot of those issues that seem to loom so largely when you are young, like acquiring a mate and a career. Once past that the downside didn't exactly smooth out but was manageable and the upside came more into prominence.
Let's not forget - even for NTs those issues are not necessarily easy or automatic. Being a teenager is tough for almost everyone.
30 Nov 2005, 9:08 pm
30 Nov 2005, 9:12 pm
01 Dec 2005, 7:54 am
Sophist wrote:
I love who and what I am. I wouldn't change me if that were even possible.
Except for maybe a little better powers of concentration and attention span.
EDIT: And I could do without the Irritable Bowel Syndrome and limited diet.
Except for maybe a little better powers of concentration and attention span.
EDIT: And I could do without the Irritable Bowel Syndrome and limited diet.
I second the last two statements.
But I am who I am and what I am and accept it. I don't think I could ever conceive of changing that fact.
01 Dec 2005, 4:07 pm
[quote="Mark]
I'll keep with who I am and my 30 IQ points anyday.[/quote]
That's my point! Ignorance is bliss!! !! 
01 Dec 2005, 4:12 pm
GhostsInTheWallpaper wrote:
Scrapheap wrote:
I could still see NTs being good liars though, and so possibly being the political sociopaths and still getting into power even as a minority...but maybe lying wouldn't be quite as easy.
I don't have enough of the social advantages of being NT, nor do I value them enough in my chosen way of life, to think that I would lose more than I'd gain if I could trade places with an Aspie. But with other interests and ability profiles, it might be different.
You hit the nail right on the head!! In a world with a few NT's and the rest aspies, it would quickly become an Orwellian nightmare. The "ministry of truth" would tell us what to think, the "ministry of peace" would send us to war and the "ministry of love" will torture us to death when we have "thought crimes".
