Brilliant artlcle. I have an almost irresistible urge to deliver a sharp poke into the ribs of anyone who insists on using the phrase 'people like us.' What's the point of being a gloriously and awkwardly unique human if I'm to be put into a category? Ah, go on with you now!
I'd say you're absolutely on track here, Laura. Your sound habits of self-reflection, cultural criticism and the amazing ability to communicate all this in writing put me in danger of dismissing your struggles as "only" temporary(!)
I agree with looking at this "science", especially psychology, from the perspective of culture. A few additional decades of life have brought home to me the ephemeral nature of all cultural explanations and interpretations of human personality. ASD and its predecessors have been more and more popular since Spock (1969!). We might ask why so many of us find such comfort in the idea of casting aside all those pesky requirements for congeniality. Perhaps every teenager wishes they had a solid reason to opt out of all that peer pressure and social development. Spock is a universal cocoon. And now, recent social trends, (hopefully even more ephemeral) are providing wider temptations to retreat into identity victimhood.
Society's celebration of extroversion is an even older cultural trend. Carnegie got us started on winning friends and influencing people—personality traits that lead to success in an increasingly competitive world. These are now regarded as "normal" and their absence as "abnormal". Therapists are of course well-equipped coaches for developing social skills. Nevertheless, we would do better to begin by acknowledging and honoring the preciously unique soul whose skills we're trying to develop. (Meeting my Polish relatives finally made me realize that the Scottish dourness was coming from both sides of the family: no hugs, no more excuses.)
Certainly genuine cognitive states or conditions under the autism umbrella can cause severe emotional distress. The real concern here is not how minds operate or whether they're "developed" properly, but how much mental anguish life brings us, and whether our innate characters have provided us with the means to ameliorate that anguish as we grow. "Otherness" should be diagnosed, scanned and pathologized solely for the purpose of prioritizing research and resources that can make suffering lives more comfortable and fulfilling.
As for the rest of us, my own suspicion is that anyone with an above-average IQ whose life circumstances have allowed them the freedom and education to pursue their intellectual and creative interests will end up "diverging" cognitively from pretty much everyone else. The lucky ones throughout history have been the ones who got to be part of the schools, circles, and salons that we can find throughout the history of Western thought, literature and art. (Not just the West of course: peripatetic Buddhist scholars wandering between monasteries across Asia are the tip of an iceberg I'm largely unaware of.)
Individual minds cross-pollinate other peculiar minds to everyone's joy—thanks for pollinating mine.
Magnificent. There is space between the pathology and diagnostic paradigms when it comes to ASD and ADHD. As the saying goes, 'If you've met one autistic person you've met one autistic person' so the reductionist and frankly insulting assumption that we're all the same is tragic and ignorant. What about a critique of neuronormativity? The idea that neurodiversity inherently requires change is annoying and unnecessary. Phenomenology is at the root of getting the best from ourselves as neurodivergent individuals, interrogating our lived experience in order to find out what works and what might benefit from adjustment rather than labouring under a swathe of misinterpretation and ill-informed nonsense.
Having said that, I was especially struck by your observation about deliberative thinking as it reminded me of a very lengthy and thoughtful discussion I had with my daughter about which type of fruit is most representative of the reliability one looks for in a friend. There's really only one answer if you think about it.
Brilliant artlcle. I have an almost irresistible urge to deliver a sharp poke into the ribs of anyone who insists on using the phrase 'people like us.' What's the point of being a gloriously and awkwardly unique human if I'm to be put into a category? Ah, go on with you now!
I'd say you're absolutely on track here, Laura. Your sound habits of self-reflection, cultural criticism and the amazing ability to communicate all this in writing put me in danger of dismissing your struggles as "only" temporary(!)
I agree with looking at this "science", especially psychology, from the perspective of culture. A few additional decades of life have brought home to me the ephemeral nature of all cultural explanations and interpretations of human personality. ASD and its predecessors have been more and more popular since Spock (1969!). We might ask why so many of us find such comfort in the idea of casting aside all those pesky requirements for congeniality. Perhaps every teenager wishes they had a solid reason to opt out of all that peer pressure and social development. Spock is a universal cocoon. And now, recent social trends, (hopefully even more ephemeral) are providing wider temptations to retreat into identity victimhood.
Society's celebration of extroversion is an even older cultural trend. Carnegie got us started on winning friends and influencing people—personality traits that lead to success in an increasingly competitive world. These are now regarded as "normal" and their absence as "abnormal". Therapists are of course well-equipped coaches for developing social skills. Nevertheless, we would do better to begin by acknowledging and honoring the preciously unique soul whose skills we're trying to develop. (Meeting my Polish relatives finally made me realize that the Scottish dourness was coming from both sides of the family: no hugs, no more excuses.)
Certainly genuine cognitive states or conditions under the autism umbrella can cause severe emotional distress. The real concern here is not how minds operate or whether they're "developed" properly, but how much mental anguish life brings us, and whether our innate characters have provided us with the means to ameliorate that anguish as we grow. "Otherness" should be diagnosed, scanned and pathologized solely for the purpose of prioritizing research and resources that can make suffering lives more comfortable and fulfilling.
As for the rest of us, my own suspicion is that anyone with an above-average IQ whose life circumstances have allowed them the freedom and education to pursue their intellectual and creative interests will end up "diverging" cognitively from pretty much everyone else. The lucky ones throughout history have been the ones who got to be part of the schools, circles, and salons that we can find throughout the history of Western thought, literature and art. (Not just the West of course: peripatetic Buddhist scholars wandering between monasteries across Asia are the tip of an iceberg I'm largely unaware of.)
Individual minds cross-pollinate other peculiar minds to everyone's joy—thanks for pollinating mine.
Brilliant essay. This will clue a lot of people in I hope.
Magnificent. There is space between the pathology and diagnostic paradigms when it comes to ASD and ADHD. As the saying goes, 'If you've met one autistic person you've met one autistic person' so the reductionist and frankly insulting assumption that we're all the same is tragic and ignorant. What about a critique of neuronormativity? The idea that neurodiversity inherently requires change is annoying and unnecessary. Phenomenology is at the root of getting the best from ourselves as neurodivergent individuals, interrogating our lived experience in order to find out what works and what might benefit from adjustment rather than labouring under a swathe of misinterpretation and ill-informed nonsense.
Having said that, I was especially struck by your observation about deliberative thinking as it reminded me of a very lengthy and thoughtful discussion I had with my daughter about which type of fruit is most representative of the reliability one looks for in a friend. There's really only one answer if you think about it.
I recently finished reading your book and loved it! :)
Thank you very much Pooja!