Can Aspies think abstractly?

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My doctor said aspies can think more abstractly than NTs. Is this generally true? Personally, I can think very abstractly, which helps me in math.

Last edited by bizboy1 on 02 Apr 2012, 12:42 am, edited 4 times in total.

I can think abstractly, and I do that most of the time. People often don't get the things I'm into because they're less attracted to the abstract in the same way I am.

Yes Aspies can think abstractly.

Can you give me an example?

Most of the films I like I can't tell you the plot of (Trainspotting, Everything Is Illuminated - there are stories for both, but the films are much more than that, and most of the going ons aren't really plot-centric), I have huge disagreements with people who like the same music as me about lyrics (if you want an extreme example of a lyric I love - Thorn of Crowns by Echo & The Bunnymen), and it can manifest in your personality too - for example in conversation when you know what you think exactly, but can't say it for a lack of 'right' words to describe your idea.

I know I can. I think there are different kinds of abstract thinking, there is algebra and that is abstract. I hear that thinking of different things like being creative or writing stories is abstract. Then there are these puzzles like the rubix cube and I hear that is abstract. Wouldn't reading between the lines be abstract? You are reading into what the person is really saying.

Might be a bit of an over-simplification. I do get the feeling many aspies tend to express ourselves more abstractly. I'm just not sure if that's indicative of a more abstract thought process. Maybe NTs are just better at organizing and filtering these abstract thoughts before they are communicated?

I don't know if reading between the lines would be abstract, abstract would be if your understanding of what a person is saying is less detail-oriented and more about the general idea. Or like I said to my friend 'I can't quote you word for word, because I forget what was the previous sentence you've said, when you tell me one more sentence'.

I've always been fairly certain that I can think abstractly, but I can't convinve myself that the term actually means the same to me as it would to someone with normal ideation. Without some smart test that could distinguish one from the other it's impossible to tell.

[quote="Bun"]Most of the films I like I can't tell you the plot of (Trainspotting, Everything Is Illuminated - there are stories for both, but the films are much more than that, and most of the going ons aren't really plot-centric), I have huge disagreements with people who like the same music as me about lyrics (if you want an extreme example of a lyric I love - Thorn of Crowns by Echo & The Bunnymen), and it can manifest in your personality too - for example in conversation when you know what you think exactly, but can't say it for a lack of 'right' words to describe your idea.[/quote][quote]

That makes SO MUCH SENSE?! ! I remember SO MANY times, growing up, where cirtcumstances came up, where I had an idea or wanted to explain something to somebody, but it was just TOO complicated, or hard to explain! ... Yes, people with AS & Autism definitely think "abstractly"... A LOT of the time!

Thank you.

I think generally the abstract concepts must be based on logical reason. I could never comprehend theistic entities that are supposedly omniscient yet have human cognitive characteristics. Yet, I can logically comprehend mathematics; because it describes physical phenomena. It is a matter of context I think. Aspies, seemingly, think more about a specific topic they're interested and therefore develop a stronger intuition from constant exposure with the material. To others, whom are much less familiar with the material, it might seem to be abstract.

I think this is a very good observation!

Yeah, that makes sense. I often feel that other people believe that my interests are "abstract" because they don't know much about them.

I always felt that I have a big problem translating from my thoughts into actual words. It's as if the two spheres of the practical and the abstract are somehow disconnected in my head and I don't know how to get them back together again.

OK, just to give you an example. At school, I would enjoy Music lessons. More than the practical lessons, I enjoyed music theory. It takes me a long time to understand it, but it's interesting enough. Once I have to apply it though, I am lost. It's a bit like I felt in Math. Tell me the basics and I'll be happy. But don't expect me to understand what it's "actually" meant for.

I often feel I don't get many abstract ideas. I was never particularly good at Math. If someone tries to explain something abstract to me, I usually don't get it. It takes me a really long time to understand something. I feel it takes me years to understand something, while other people just... seem to automatically know it. Or maybe they can pretend they do, but how can you pretend something if you are not capable of understanding it?

I wonder how this goes with ADHD.

I think growing up the only thing I had an abstract understanding of was music, just an inherent understanding about things I couldn't put into words.

But generally nothing else, especially math, I was an excellent student in every area but that. Now I actually pick up the abstract concepts in math but seem to have a harder time picking them up in reading and writing. This was never hard for me so I never considered it abstract but it can be.

I was just about to post this thought, and noticed this right before hitting the reply button.

This is related to what I was thinking. In a way, nothing seems abstract to me, but I see a lot of big patterns and connections between things that to others seem unrelated, probably because they don't see what I'm seeing. That, when it happens, I think, seems abstract to those who can't see the connections and patterns I'm seeing, but to me, it's not abstract at all. To me, it's plain as day, crystal clear and as obvious as the lines between puzzle pieces. Nothing abstract about it to me.