can someone explain me black and white thinking?

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I never understood either how it's an autistic thing if I see it in everyone. I see it all the time online. I see the BS myth that autistic people don't judge but yet they say they see things in black and white and guess what, being judgmental is a form of black and white thinking so I find that information contradicting.

Maybe they are talking about taking things literal. If you tell an autistic person a social rule, they will think that rule is in absolute and not know that rule can change depending on a situation. Or if you tell them if they see anything on the ground that is lost, turn it in or leave it and the person will come back for it but they may not know if it's things like hair ties or a tooth brush or a card, or hair brush, that is okay to take because those things are cheap and not valuable. Besides I wouldn't even use someone else's tooth brush or hair brush because I don't know where they have been and what the person has who used those. But yet when my husband worked at the airport, someone found a Nintendo DS game and gave it to my husband. It was lost in the restroom and instead of returning it, it was given to us. But let's see, it was at an airport, whoever dropped it won't come back for it so it was either give it away or toss it and why have it go to waste when it can be given to someone? If it was somewhere like at work or at school, I would say turn it in because someone there might claim it asking if they have seen that game, if left on the bus, I would turn it to the bus driver so they can take it to lost and found. I once saw an umbrella stroller left at a bus stop and I told the bus driver about it and his surprise response was "Just leave it, it's been there all day so they might come back for it." I just did what he was told because I didn't know what to do in that situation. Do I take the stroller and take it to the lost and found myself or do I keep it since those things are twenty bucks but I had no use for one because I hate those cheap things. I like the more expensive ones that cost around 60 bucks because the handle bars are higher off the ground and easier for my husband to push and me too.

If you tell an autistic person losers weepers whatever the phrase goes, they will think that applies to everything they find and they won't know there are things they should give back or put in lost and found if found. I can remember the days of my mother correcting me when I would be so literal. She would tell me when it's situations like X you have to do that and I understood and then knew that rule didn't apply to that situation like if you are a guest at someone's house, it's okay to ask for food. If you are just someone who dropped by for a visit, not okay, only thing you can ask for is water. Mom had to tell me this when I was 12.

That is what they probably mean by black and white thinking. Why not just call it literal thinking? That makes more sense because black and white thinking means so many different things.

Even as a child, I wasn't always subject to black and white thinking, and not eveyr Aspie is either. Just making up a 3rd option is sufficient.

the discussion is getting interesting...
also confusing
we didn't even come to a single idea of what black and white thinking is.

Black and White thinking, in its simplest form, is thinking in Absolutes.

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Here's a good rule of thumb for all here---when an idea causes you emotional pain, even a wee little bit, try to feel that pain rather than think it away by mentally flipping to an opposite which makes you temporarily feel better. Of course, in order to do this you would have to be self aware, as people usually do not notice when they are feeling a wee little bit of pain, as the 'human' inclination is not to feel it in any degree and to do anything to try to get away from it. Also, when you think, try to think from both ends of the stick. Try to dedicate yourself to developing this skill. For en example, from my end of the stick, some people say the Bible is stupid and completely dismiss it because they themselves are taking obvious allegorical material literally. But actually they are dismissing some of the greatest spiritual writing of humanity, but rather than try to understand a style of writing that is new to them, they would rather waste their time fighting other stupid people like themselves who believe in the Bible but also take it literally.

Sometimes I think normally and sometimes my thinking gets a bit black and white, but I think that's true for most people. It seems like I'm a black and white thinker at the wrong times.

Like stuff that is related to me. One example is my sexuality. I know that there's a lot of grey area in sexuality and I accept that grey area in other people. I just don't accept it in my sexuality. I really just want a simple and black and white sexuality, but my sexuality is ambiguous as hell. It drives me crazy. I'm also a black and white thinker for other stuff related to me. It seems like my black and white thinking mostly disappears when it has nothing to with me.

The unoped food example is brilliant! I think everyone's definition of black and white thinking is going to vary because it manifests differently in everyone. For me there's often an all or nothing attitude to things. I can be black and white with people too, I find it difficult to understand neutrality towards myself - im not borderline so im assuming its an aspie like trait. Literalism is another one, I used to take double meaning jokes literally: "Im secretly in love with my lecturer" I would take this literally. I had to learn how to interpret that sort of humour very very quickly.

Black and white thinking is a manifestation of cognitive rigidity and is subsumed under its bracket. Literal thinking, thinking in terms of binary oppositions. I have an acquaintance who helped me to learn how and to see the grey in EVERYTHING. Extremely valuable intellectual partnership there actually.

I needed someone to trip me up eveyrtime I made a black and white assumption and thus simplified an issue. Not seeing the wood for the trees or rather not being able to see the big picture and focusing on the minutiae that concerns my interest.

Black & white thinking is a fun sort of exercise that does not allow for any "judgements" or exceptions, no extenuating circumstances.

It's bad to cut people with a knife, therefore surgeons are bad.
It's bad to break into a home, therefore a fireman chopping a door open to rescue a burning victim is bad.

It's wrong to kill, therefore you can't kill to protect yourself or your kids,
nor can you kill animals for food,
and eating a tomato would kill it so that's a no-no,
and you can't even use anti-bacterial soap 'cuz it kills bacteria.
And definitely don't jack-off, because every sperm is sacred.

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