Life, The Universe and Autism

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Hello. I'm new to this website, and specifically this forum.

My "special interest" (I prefer the term passion, but whatever) is in integrating my detailed observations of the world and unifying them into a GRAND UNIFIED THEORY OF EVERYTHING. I'm specifically interested in where autism fits into this puzzle.

I'm a theorist. I see myself as having this large, complex thought bubble extruding from my mind at all times, even in sleep. It contains all of the information I have collected in my lifetime. Like a big database I carry around everywhere. It's the biggest part of me that makes me me.

Some people collect things; I collect facts and information. And I "stim" by manipulating it constantly.

Firstly, I'd like to know how common this is amongst those with ASD/Aspies - so would be grateful if you would vote in the poll.

Secondly, I'd like to throw out there a couple of threads I've posted in the past few days, in which I delve into this a little bit - but for me it's more like just scratching the surface, showing a hint of the "code" that lies beneath my philosophy. I am almost, in a way, more interested in the processes than the overarching philosophy itself, but not to the degree that the details overshadow the unification or consistency of material. I'm always seeking to categorise and connect the information in ways that put it ALL into context and make it meaningful. I see patterns in everything.

I wonder if this post would be a good way to introduce the topic. Probably not - I should probably write a full introduction that starts a logical linear starting point, but I'm too hungry right now, and I'm worried it will blow out into a full-on thesis, which happens with things all too often. So I'm just going to "dip a toe in" and link you to here: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=124109&start=30 (7th post down on the page - I posted 3 times, so you can ignore the other two posts I made and even the context - it's more an illustrative example of my philosophical beliefs) and here: viewtopic.php?t=169246&p=6879308 (9th post down, which describes some of my questions as I'm trying to work it all out), which are two threads I've posted on in this site. From my posts I hope you will be able to infer the type of content that I'm hoping to discuss here.

Namely, do we live in the Matrix? If so, what is the point of all this? If not, can you proffer an alternative?

Thanks in advance for your participation. I'm intellectually starved and have very little outlet for all these thoughts. Because of my autism, I can't even finish my university degree and go and work at the Large Hadron Collider, which is were I probably "belong". So this is my only hope to connect with some intellectually like-minded people at present

I look forward to some interesting online discussions about this topic.

SK~

The west lives in a matrix of its own making, yes. The occasional killing spree in paris reminds us, briefly of the cold world outside the matrix, and thus, of the nature of our realoty, but then we can go safely back to watching the new star wars. The fact that the real life city of tatooine, where lucas filmed fictional tatooine, is a real-life warzone need not concern us.
Sure, we could travel extensively and learn about the hardships of the others, but that just creates gaps in our CVs.
Our Matrix is a hybrid-enginr. We are both the machines and the batteries, happy and ignoring that the world outside is the fuel.

And no, we don't live in a literal matrix, yet. VR is going to get us there, though.

By matrix, do you mean relative safety? I can see how it would make some of the less stable parts of the world harder to relate with, but I don't think it's a bad thing that isis hasn't knocked down my door. If anything, the whole world should live in a matrix, I don't see why we'd want to live under the constant risk of dying at each others hands.

Do wild animals live in the matrix?
They don't know about human society.
They might not even travel far throughout their life.
Yet all they ever know of are their surroundings.

Uhhh…. hmm. To clarify I do mean it appears we live in a literal matrix - the universe itself is energy, and that energy codes for information… this is what the science is telling us, particularly experimental particle physics. I will copy/paste here the posts I allude to in my original post of this topic, for easier reference.

This first one is response to a thread regarding the proposal of an aspies anonymous group:

"From my perspective "spirituality" (probably more like philosophy than religion) has been an integral part to my process of PERSONAL evolution but that is not my idea of what such a group would entail. I very much lean toward the logical and empirical side of things, however do believe that (as a scientist), open-mindedness is key to uncovering the truth about a situation, circumstance or problem, or to answer a question honestly. Therefore, to negate or rule out the possible "spiritual" aspect of a big picture equation would result in the kind of close-mindedness that organised religions themselves are so oft guilty of!

As for 12 step groups in general, I don't feel that they are highly efficacious for the scientifically-minded. In science, our knowledge of the universe is constantly being updated. AA is stuck in old literature that dates back to the ~40s/50s? It's outdated. I would like to see something that is a bit more progressive and up with the times, a bit of a focus on current research in autism and evolving social paradigms; how to raise awareness both in ourselves and the community, and have ourselves and our needs validated in a way that causes no harm to the other.

My own personal spiritual/philosophical beliefs are constantly in development, multi-faceted and all-inclusive. It's always and forever a work in progress. It's something along the lines that we all live in the matrix of a giant supercomputer that is the universe (the universe by its very nature is mathematical and contains information) and the source of energy/information for that computer is the source which theologians would most likely refer to as "God". "God" is executing an algorithm - a series of fundamental laws and principles - that is "programmed" in such a way that the inevitable outcome would be that God becomes aware and conscious of itself - a journey from unconscious unity through an experience of diffusion, back to "conscious re-unification", if you will. The more one conscious "mind" makes a conscious attempt to identify and amplify the signal from the source, the more one can manipulate information and channel this through more dimensions, and thus this information spills out into the other intrinsically interconnected components that occupy their own space/time and has knock-on effects that elevate the functionality of the system as an emergent whole.

This is to say, "the more conscious you become, the more you elevate the conscious of others", which is part of the whole "purpose" of our existence (and the reason for wanting such a group). I could call on validated scientific evidence from fields such as experimental physics to validate my philosophy, or I could quote information from ancient theological texts: the result would be the same; they are essentially saying the same thing in a different language. My point is, it's a philosophy that is not exclusive - it's consistent across all scopes of reasoning. To say that one, and NOT the other is correct is not exclusive at all, its innately INclusive! It's a denial of all that exists.

Yes, I do spend a lot of time thinking about this. If nothing else, I would love to have a group meeting just to discuss Life, The Universe and Autism.

But unlike you, I would at least like to have the OPTION of attending in person, albeit a sensory-friendly environment. It's something I could overcome my pathological hate of leaving the house for!"

This second post in response to a member who is posting on a completely different topic:

Wait - you have the Unified Theory to Everything in your head?? I've been working on this my whole life! Do tell! And please don't just say it's 42, because even if that IS the ultimate truth I still need all the details to put it into context.

Has it got something to do with the notion that all the information in the universe is stored in 2 dimensional space at the edge of the universe and this 3D universe is merely a holographic computer simulation, and the that the fabric of the cosmos at its finite resolution is in fact mathematical, by its very nature??? And what about brains. How are they interpreting The Matrix, and is the hologram being projected BY the brains or are they just observing it? And how does this relate to the observer in the double slit experiment and Heisenberg's uncertainty principle? And why do so many savants seem to be so good at numbers? Is this a glitch in The Matrix? Is it something to do with NTs perpetuating the collective unconscious though denial paradigm filters and one's degree of autism being somehow correlated to having subconscious processes being brought into the conscious? Does this imply somehow that there is a delicate balance of aberrant processes that are required to break through the code and access free will? Or am I barking up the wrong tree here. Perhaps I am the only brain that is real and all the other things are just computer programmed algorithms (more likely). This seems to be the most logical conclusion, seeing as I AM at the centre of my own universe. Either that, or I am AI itself and my awareness of my own workings are just part of the machine becoming conscious of itself. Much like God. Perhaps you don't even exist and this internet is all just a trick to transfer digital data from one part of God's brain to the other. But why would He do this if He could just employ quantum entanglement?? Does He need to create a vector? Is the simulation just the execution of a well thought out computer program that in its essence just a simple mathematical algorithm? This algorithm that gives rise to all things - like a disc of information - the same one that is being held in 2D space. But the program seems to be set to "self destruct", due to the second law of thermodynamics. What does the machine want. What IS it. WHY does it have to be so mysterious?!?! And why does it have to transduce energy - information - ceaselessly??? How can entropy be the answer to equilibrium, when all is just chaos and disorder in the end? Is it the homogeny that it wants? Is that why we are all one and connected? Are we more like ants or a multicellular slime mould? Do we have a cohesive emergent property when we are all unified in a single cause, or are we more social by nature, relying on status and hierarchal structure in order to hold the group together? It would seem that God hates Himself if he just totally blew himself up in the big bang, and is ripping His body apart. And yet, there is so much beauty in all the fractals. Why do we have sacred geometry and diatoms? Nobody can see them without a microscope! Why is there a macrocosm and a microcosm, in and of itself a repeating fractal? WHY dammit!! ! !

I am neither a creationist nor a nihilist, and quite a terrible mathemetician. I am nothing but a resonating chamber for essential truth; a theorist with no language."

In this matrix model, all living organisms are essentially just different expressions of the algorithm, which encompasses all things - that is, all matter is just pure energy condensed into a slow vibration. This energy MUST obey the fundamental laws of the universe. But evolution seems to be taking us further and further into some dimension of AWARENESS that seems to have a direction, and yet is difficult to articulate. It is not to say that humans are the pinnacle of evolution, but if one examines the nature of evolution itself, it does seem to be somewhat inevitable, that minds would evolve that have the capacity to become self-aware, and further aware of the context of the environment as a whole (the universe). Minds connected together in and of itself creates a kind of matrix, within the matrix. Look at the internet for example.

What I am saying here is that this fundamental algorithm (the laws of nature/the physical universe) seems to be "set" to have an inevitable and eventual outcome. It's as though, even with the millions and trillions of possibilities and options of micro-events in the cosmos the COULD happen still would have eventuated in you, here, reading this now, and pondering the purpose of our existence.

It's a little deterministic in its nature, I know, but it's hard not to shake the observed paradigm.

Oh wow. I meant a figurative matrix- largely uncaring about the rest of the world. And, yes, I do agree that the whole world should live in this place where the bombings are the exception, not the rule like everywhere else on the planey, alas, for now, our world needs slaves to mine our rare earths and sew our t-shirts.

As for OP's scenario: I can not make a statement other than it sounds too sci fi, but there's no logical argument against it either. The question is much more: can we know these things? And I must assume the answer to that, is no. As an agnostic who's assuming the weak anthropic principle to be the most likely, I would bet against it.
I actually am a nihilist, and I don't think there's purpose in teleology. Things just are, for all I know.

There is a large convergence between science fiction and reality that has taken place throughout history. Having been born in this technological era I would surmise that most of us take this for granted. All the steps to developing the underlying technology essentially date back to the big bang itself. Who knows what the future will bring. We all stand on the shoulders of giants. That is to say, the cumulative information we have collected through millennia is convalescing into an emergent paradigm of awareness. It must be taking us somewhere. I don't believe it is beyond the scope of our current understanding of Life, The Universe and Everything to make such a leap in connected theorising. Others are already out there doing it - they are the Theoretical Physicists.

We know for a fact that the nature of reality itself, at its highest resolution known to man, can ONLY be expressed mathematically. The universe is information. Hence, it's a computer of sorts, just doesn't have a silicon medium. Scientists have created computers using algae and light for binary coding. Genes code for proteins. There is information everywhere. That is why solid matter is essentially an illusion. It's not a separate thing - it's part of the whole, it's just that it contains discreet packets of information, which gives it form. All things that arise inevitably decay. So what is the purpose to this intricate pattern of emergence we see around us? It's a message of some sort. How could it not be? It contains information.

SK,

I found myself in a similar situation of considering the energy state of the universe as you mentioned, the seeming oddities of number and math in the universe, the interesting role that information plays, and I felt that this was about as far as I personally - as a layperson rather than a scientist - could go along that track.

Since science is still a good ways from having laws of information as tight as it's laws of physics, and since most of the beatings that the ideas of consciousness take seem to come as a reaction to religious fundamentalism, I decided I was better off trying my hand at broaching this from the subjective side and seeing what I could come up with. Meaning - the esoteric systems of the world are touted for slicing and dicing consciousness and sending it along tracks that are next to unimaginable without years of specific discipline and it seems as though hallucinogens only lend a clumsy or glancing blow across these states due to their being a blunt instrument to begin with (that is to say they'll hint at what's possible but they won't really give it over to you). That said I made the decision to dive off into the field of western esotericism to see what kinds of things I could salvage from it - ie. the Rosicrucian, Golden Dawn, and Thelemic sources of information.

What information I have gleaned by reading people like Dion Fortune, Israel Regardie, etc. seems promising in terms of personal realities and exploration of the borderlands and passageways thereof. Unfortunately big strapping cosmologies like those offered by Rudolph Steiner and Max Heindel don't seem quite as accessible; they make for fascinating reads but that's about all you can do with them. So I find myself these days studying Hermetic Qabalah, the tarot as structured against the Sefir Yetzirah and Tree of Life, alchemical and astrological concepts, etc.. Not that I believe that every bit of it is true, more like I have a particularly strong impression that this is the equivalent of hacking one's own consciousness the way one would computer-hack a network and truthfully I think it will be easier to go back behind the lines, more consciously wade through hypnogogic elements willfully and lucidly rather than on a strong dissociative, and find something worthwhile from this standpoint than by waiting for scientific consensus to iron it all out for me. At worst if I don't find what I'm looking for I at least have great odds of ending up with a subjective adjustment to life robust enough to handle anything.That's where my quest has turned from trying to read every book I can get my hands on (although I still read plenty) to more the sit down, shut up, and meditate approach. For better or worse that part of things takes time and I realize that patience and persistence are critical.

Dear SK666, I could write a book on my thoughts about your post, but I'm currently reading a book and am just popping in and out of this forum during breaks, so I don't feel I want to write that book right now, lol. I will say, however, that I have taken several psyc courses in college, and have been quite the people watcher as many Asperger's people are, and I think that a lot of people are constantly thinking about things or have racing thoughts such as Asperger's people, ADHD people, even Psychopaths (though I don't like lumping them in, lol), etc. I would say the difference probably lies in the directions of those thoughts, the moral compass of those thoughts, and whether or not those thoughts are easily connected by the person in question. We are really not that different from some other people in that way, but I also think the "quiet" part of our personalities, whether we overcome it or not, allows for some people to try and bully or suppress our thoughts. And other Aspergic (I'm coining that word jk) qualities inhibit our success in life. Briefly going back to the matrix of life, I think a clear definition of what you mean by "matrix" might be helpful. There are 3 definitions as I have seen in the dictionary, mathematical, mechanical I guess you could say, and environmental, and of course, some are highly involved in the movie myth. I believe in a matrix theory that does involve religion, which is another reason I don't really want to get into it, since I'm guessing with a username like SK666, you probably aren't interested, lol. (Although, Pythagoras believed 666 to be somewhat of a perfect number for all the incredible mathematical equations that can be derived from this number) If you are interested, however, feel free to let me know "in forum" please, since I'm not really interested in pm's just yet on my first day on site , and I will try to find the time in the next day or so, to write a brief theory as I see and believe to date. I say "to date" since I am always attempting to evolve my thoughts. Have a good evening and happy holidays.

Pardon me, I do see where you have mentioned the God aspect, so perhaps you are interested in the religious inclinations. Actually, it looks like your second post has much more info. I often jump from first post to response and sometimes, I scan much too quickly So give me a bit more time, and I will read through your seemingly very detailed and intense (in a good way) post

Hmmm yes, what you are saying really resonates with me. A few comments and questions~

On the topic of hallucinogens, did you ever try DMT? For some reason this molecule, that is ubiquitous in nature, really stands out to me. Its highest concentrations naturally are at birth and death - suggesting it may play some role in the connection/disconnection from some important information storage facility.

Some of the research that was done on the effects of DMT seems to allude to some form of experience akin to your reference to "hacking the mainframe". Actually, I believe a prominent researcher who investigated the DMT experience stopped his experiments because he felt it should be done in a more conscious and deliberate way? This would be parallel to your "more wilfully and lucidly" approach, which, to me is a little MORE elusive in the state of normal every day consciousness.

HOWEVER. Having said that. I do believe another form of hacking the code of our brains can exist in neuroscience somewhere. Like deep brain stimulation. A short-cut to meditation, if you will. Who has all that time to just sit and connect and amplify. Don't get me wrong - it's a wonderful thing, in and of itself, but I don't think it's going to get us close enough to the answer/s in a lifetime.

What about when things go wrong in the brain? People can't delineate the energy. Something interesting happens when you have a stroke… Something interesting also happens when you're an autistic savant, does it not? Is this a type of "accidental" hacking? Like, if you've ever heard about "acquired genius" by having a head injury. There must be a way to crack in and open up the subconscious brain code, plug in and download all the answers into the conscious realm of understanding.

It sounds like cheating, I know. But if we really are in a video game, I kind of really want to know what the objective is. Or if there is no objective at all, then I can just let that one go and just play with the palette and retire my reservations. But there is this constant gnawing nagging feeling that I can't ignore telling me there IS some sort of purpose. It won't leave me alone.

On a completely different aspect - computer hacking in general. Why so many autistics concentrated in Silicon Valley? Why so many aspies working in the field of IT? In the analogy that autistic means having a different operating system to NT, I would consider my OS to one in that I read the whole world in "code". In order to get the emergent (big) picture I need to read the code to make sense of things. That's why I'm so detail-focussed. The details are like the code.

When I see an object or I hear a person talk my natural inclination is to examine the details. I'm slow to process certain information, because I have to read all the code for it to make sense. If there are gaps of knowledge I must address them for the big picture to make sense.

Do you have any comments on this?

PS. I see that some more interesting posts have come in on this thread while I was distracted half way through writing this, so I look forward to the topic evolving into a long-term discussion. Absences and time gaps in between posts don't bother me. I'll certainly be doing the same.

Peace out geeks

No, however I am quite familiar with the accounts of what it can do and it sounds like an incredibly crystalline sort of hypnogogia that comes through as clear as if someone was fast asleep (still add the geometric patterns that come in from psychedelic convolution but still a considerably better ration of vision to static). The obvious trouble with DMT and ayahuasca in the US is that you're just not going to find them going around particularly easy, it was never around in my day, and while I'm sure one could cook it out of a lot of things I don't have the chemistry background to save 50 pounds of yard clippings for a dose.


I think the very reason I'd disagree with this is that it takes a person actually going out there and drinking from that well - someone who went from not having any sort of religious visions to being the kind of ceremonial magician who can regularly navigate the paths and spheres of the tree of life, talk to the elemental kings and queens, and know from experience what is meant by the gods and goddesses - to be able to adequately describe what the portal process looks like and the differences in landscapes between 'there' and 'here' (even if they're realistically different in nothing more than point of reference). Without that you have situations like the 'god helmet' where a few minor likenesses are created to an NDE and people ecstatically claim that they've hit the nail on the head. I suppose if people made further progress and made sure to go in there and explore it regularly they would perhaps reach the same end but they'd need to explore it properly and see if it even could be opened farther from that end.


To make what you're talking about easy yes - it would take mechanical or computerized intervention to stimulate particular pathways. Without that the human way of doing that is already built; it's the four yogas, whether in their traditional eastern or western alchemical format.


I think even there - if it turned out that there was no objective, one thing still doesn't change. To find anything helpful in this realm is to awaken humanity more broadly to options it either didn't know it had or had been lead to believe were a tall tale. Most of our cultural evolutionary sticking points get solved these days when scientific advances make such issues a moot point. I feel like our abandoning of the subjective as a useful work zone is already a problem, to solve that alone by lending credible roadmap to it would be a significant improvement.


For whatever reason we have neurological bottlenecks in certain areas and I think our brains have adapted ways to try and optimize their way around it. Clearly if you're not the fastest, strongest, don't have reflexes like a deer, aren't and won't be the comeback kid or the alpha saleman/saleswoman your naturally going to delegate your energies to more credible pursuits where outward speed and agility don't make or break the situation. There probably is a certain amount of natural ability in these areas as well but its tough for me to tell how much of it is that and how much if it is adaptation within limits.