Lighter side: Why one should read instruction manuals

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My 'follow the instructions' story happened about a month ago when I decided to buy a cool flat-screen monitor. You know the instruction to turn off your computer before you plug in any new accessories? Well, I learnt the hard way why. (Being in standby mode isn't good enough!) Ended up frying my computer's motherboard and having to replace my tower. Hated having to pay for it but it's just as well because my old computer looked and acted like crap. Now I've got the cheapest generic machine (store brand) I could get new but it's cool - I've arrived in the 21st century, cool Windows XP sounds and all.

P.S. This past week was a milestone for me - for the first time I opened up and fixed my own computer, adding a sound card to replace the partially burnt-out built-in one. It sounds great!

Do any of you think that the reason you don't like the noises a loud refrigerator makes is an effect of your AS?

Frost free (self defrosting) fridges are amazingly noisy. I bought a non-frost free one about eight years ago and as the years went by and I had to manually defrost it (not very often, fortunately) I used to wonder why I'd chosen the non-frost free type.

Eventually it became too small and I bought a larger frost free model about 7 months ago, as soon as the delivery man plugged it in I said: "Wow, it's so loud, is that normal, my last fridge was whisper quiet" and he explained the difference in noise levels between the two types. Then I understood why I had chosen the quiet type all those years ago.

I understand some of you may not like the loud noises of a refrigerator, but in regard to the hum of a computer, I am surprised. I thought e-mail was the main form of communication for some people with AS.

I bought marvel mini fridge last month for my flat. I like is it because it also has warming function .I can also use it to keep my food warm.

Every time I'm confronted with instruction manuals, I ask if the manual were written by technical writers on the Autism Spectrum - as I'm told that manual contents are often misunderstood by NTs.

From my own personal experiences, I also sense that many people on the Autism Spectrum also have difficulties understanding manuals.

Personally, I'm more of a visual, tactile learner who can "read between the lines" and visually assess appliance characteristics - hence I usually intuit-out, and translate what the instruction manual is instructing.