Are Aspies Superior?: A multi-faceted discussion

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In this modern, technocentric world - yes, we are superior. In the world of two-thousand years ago, humans were the primary. Eventually, I believe, classical humans will be no more - they are, indeed, ineffecient. Far more of them are required for the same task a Critical-Manifest class Asperger would. They are becoming... obsolete, to tell the truth.
Admittedly - there is the sentience argument, but still, one must remove such useless emotional concepts if one is to pursue reality. In short; those currently classified as neurotypicals are simply in the way.

Of course; life - all life - is tenacious. Perhaps, one day - in the near future when the mutation resulting in what is known as Aspergers stabilizes, the natural xenophobia between alien and incompatible elements will result in a show of force, to disloge one life-form from the world, and secure the place of another. Ah, micro-evolution, at life's pace. Ain't it fun to watch?
Even more fun to participate.

And, no, this is not some wacked-up nonsense here - I've worded it rather simply, but anybody who knows even the most basic elements of genetics, psychology and evolution should reach the same conclusion. It's an inevitability, barring a premature catastrophic elimination of one or more elements to the equation. That's what we call a variable.

I feel inclined to give you ice cream.

*looks at thread title.

no.

If I were a superior life-form, I would not be living on social assistance. So I think AS superiority is demolished as a theory. See, anyone can claim to be superior.

Okay FreedomG I have thought about you and I think I may have you figured out.

You are an "NT" guy who has some connection to the ASD community, what that is I don't think you have revealed. You must have felt threatened in some way at some time by your experience.

So, you visit a site such as this to sort your feelings out and reach some kind of conclusion. I applaud you for being interested enough to learn more.

I'm going to play Devil's advocate here, and say that I completely agree with FreedomG.

The onyl people I've ever heard talk about people on the Spectrum being superior, are, strangely enough, people on the Spectrum. I personally think this is because Aspies value their strengths and their 'special' label over their ability to emapthise with, and be a contributing member of society.

A lot of non autistic people (I have never, and will never use the term 'neurotypical' like to go out and socialise, which is a healthy normal thing to do in both humans and animals. Aspies however, seem to be utterly consumed by thier special interests that they sacrifice many other things at the expence of their skill in one particular field.

Is it better to sacrifice everything to become skilled at one thing, or is it better to be a jack of all trades and master of none?

For me, diversity is important. Narrowing your view means you will only see the world one way, instead of the myriad of views that you may never see.

Alright, I'll admit that I'm not as severe as a lot of people on this board. My diagnosis 7 years ago stressed the mildness of my Asperger's, and with time I feel it has gotten Milder.

I am shy in real life, but have no real problems socialising with both my friends and strangers. I have many friends but also a small clique of great mates who I speak to almost everyday. I find it very easy to understand what people are feeling, because I've experienced a lot in the last 10 years. But thanks to a collection of health problems, both physical and mental, I am unable to work and Rely on living off other people's taxes to survive.

This is one side of the coin, however.

Many people have called me talented in my time. I've had professional actors come up to me and congratulate me on my acting skills, I can sing pretty well, and I've written a 110,000 word novel in less than three years.
But I for one, would hate to have this talent attributed to 'just having Asperger's' as opposed to the long years of hard work and dedication it took for me to get where I am today. A lot of people seem to attribute greatness to being Aspie, or saying that they're 'naturally' great at something, without having to improve and hone to get as close to prefection as you can.

OK, so I suppose most of this is going to be considered unimportant, so instead, let me tell you about my sister.

My Sister is the least autistic person you could meet. She's verbose, likes to socialise, enjoys a drink (within reason, of course) and has a lot of aquaintences. My father says we were completly different as children, I was clearly autistic as a child, and she was like any other girl her age.

The important thing about my sister is that she got straight As in her GCSEs (where as I got Ds and Es) and more importantly, she got not only a First in her university degree, she got one of the top 10 highest grades in the university.

She's currently got a great job, a nice big flat and a wonderful boyfriend, whereas I'm living at home with my father on disability benefits. Tell me Aspies are Superior now.

TL;DR for lazy buggers: I think Aspies have a jaded, onesided view of themselves and others, and not all greatness needs to be atributed to Aspergers.

also:


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kwjDLHX92w[/youtube]

watch this video.

This guy is a musical genius, but he cannot see, he can't dress himself, can't tell left from Right or even count to ten.

Non-Autistics would call him Disabled, Aspies would call him a genius.


*Awaits the mass of flames and straw man arguments to come*

Lol, no!

Interesting post. The one mistake I think you make in your post is comparing yourself to your sister. You are two different people. You compare yourself to her only because you know it makes you look worse.

When I talk about myself being "better" than others I think I might be trying to prove something to myself. I want to feel better about myself because others have tried to manipulate me into thinking I am damaged goods.

Is it so wrong to try and get a feeling of superiority after many experiences like that. Isn't it just self preservation for the sake of the organism, in this case, me?

I guess everyone is superior in some way. Certain individuals only seem to be really great at making others feel like garbage though.

Sometimes I'm tempted to think we're superior, but then I remember wanting friends, walking into pillars and getting lost in my own house. Woo-hoo!! !

In some areas we may have superiority and then in others it's the other way around. We've been mistreated our whole lives, some of us have been physically abused for our issues, and so it's easy to want to say we're just superior to the NTs because we generalize the people who were nasty to us to the entire NT population. But that just turns into reverse prejudice.

I compared myself to my sister because I wanted to show that Autism =/= greatness. It's not about being 'worse'. She got the academic skill, I got the creative. Which leads me on to your next quote.

I think so yes. Pretending to be greater than thou for the sake of injured pride is folly. You have merits, and you have faults. Embrace one, and accept the other.



Firstly, saying everyone is superior to everyone else is like saying some people are more equal than others. What I think you mean is that everyone has pros and cons, strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes greatness comes at the sacrifice of something else, which is why refute superiority in the first place.

Secondly, a bit of human psychology. People bully others either beucase they're insecure about themselves and want to feel superior the way you do, but do it in a more verbal and open fashion, or they are narccisistic, in which case you should shrug it off as the opinion of somone with thier head too far up thier own arse.

Hope that helps.

Truth.

I suppose its subjective. Am I superior to an NT in making friends? No, though after a few beers I do tend to loosen up and I have picked up my share of women. Am I superior to an NT at getting a job? No! It takes a tremendous amount of willpower for me to keep eye contact let alone for an entire interview. And shaking hands? No thanks.

If anything, the one thing I do have over many NT's is my occasional un-tactful honesty. I'm a very literal person which can be frustrating to some but unlike NT's I don't see great purpose in dishonesty or anything of the sort. I think many Aspies are like this so my personal belief is that most Aspies have true integrity compared to many NT's who daily change their opinions of people or are highly judgmental. Overall though I don't view myself as superior to anybody and I think anybody who does is pretty ignorant, everybody has their strengths and weaknesses. Perhaps in coming years more companies will realize our potential and keep certain jobs open for us which we excel at. Then we wouldn't be too different from NT's, every human being has their niche.

I don't know if I am really superior to the NTs. Sometimes it helps to believe I am for the sake of my well being. It's a survival mechanism.

I am not sure if not having friends can be blamed on ASDs. There are NTs who lack friends. A lot of times it's about what we are willing to put up with from others.

I have had friends in the past but just got tired of putting up with their crap and dumped them. NTs do the same thing. There are different personalities, NT or not.

One type makes a lousy friend for anyone. They backstab, victimize, try to get others to hate their so called "friends" just so they can have their "friends" all to themselves. They do this because they are insecure and worry if everyone gets along and since their personalities are so flawed, pretty soon everyone will realize this and start excluding them. This is the isolating, abusive type.

Another type is a good friend for anyone and somewhere along the line has realized what being a good friend actually means. Accepting, including, caring, understanding, togetherness, sharing. This is the kind of friend who is going to be good for anyone, ASD or not, NT or not, whomever.

There are good friends and there are bad friends. Aspies are not the only ones who run into abusive creeps.

We should all lobby CafePress to carry them.

I thought when I read the original post that it sounded NT. His profile says he's diagnosed with AS, but his posts have a lack of coherence and analysis I've seen in the tiny subgroup of NTs who post without careful consideration. I vote NT.