An autism spectrum

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No, not the autism spectrum itself. There are some key divisions among autistics themselves that I seem to be identifying lately from observing people on this board. I will present one here. If you're not interested in pseudo-anthropological insights, there's no need to read.

This spectrum is defined by two "poles". This doesn't mean to put people in two boxes. I chose to call it a spectrum, not a dichotomy, for a reason.


Pole 1--The dreamy type:
This type basically lives life in the way that minimizes the amount of dealing with "the real world". Majors in school and careers are chosen in areas (arts, sciences, philosophy) that center around analyzing things that are removed from the ordinary parts of everyday experience. Everything, including personal relationships, are seen as a kind of abstraction. In some cases this leads to a preoccupation with fantasy in novels, movies, etc., or in other cases it leads to a kind of deep idealism or "romanticism", though one far removed from the culturally prevalent ideal of settling down with a wife or husband and kids.

This type can have a strong sense of being special in terms of their depth of connection to interests or obsessions. This shows up, from the perspective of others, as alternating modesty and arrogance. This is because there is a disconnect between the autistic person's own sense of confidence and talent in an area and the impression on or usefulness to others. The mind of the dreamy type is more concerned with how the world fits around it than how it fits into the world.

The dreamy type retains a fundamentally childlike emotional core, even if he/she is successful in the adult world--though this may be hidden from people who are not accepting of it, by a pretense of conventional adulthood. This creates a kind of innocent strength, but also makes it difficult to grow emotionally without losing the free-flowing creativity that is one key strength of autism.

Pole 2--the grounded type:
These are autistics who in many ways seem more adjusted and "normal", even if they show awkwardness in social situations. They tend to be systematic, organized, and practical. Some even tend towards (modern) political conservatism as part of this worldview, though this doesn't seem to be a defining feature by any means (in contrast, the dreamy types seem more often libertarian, AKA "classical" conservative, or liberal).

Grounded types seem more ready to bend to fit themselves into society's "holes", even if they retain eccentric elements to their personalities. They don't shun the "real world", and they are less likely to have idealistic notions of the world having a unique place for them, or to feel totally lost in regards to where they stand in the bigger scheme of society. They sometimes can come across as being over-eager to please, but since they are more concerned with reality, they also have a more regular and far-reaching need to be validated by others than the dreamy type. They also tend to be more interested in building solid relationships, with a strong focus on companionship.

Anxiety seems to be the most common emotional disturbance here, rather than alternating hyperconfidence and insecurity. In addition, this these autistics seem to have a love-hate relationship with their obsessions.

I don't really relate to either pole. I think you need more poles, and to not be so specific with each one at least.

I'm a Pole 1 Autistic.

I'm strongly preoccupied with music, which is one of the many arts. I also have no desire to be in a marriage with children.

This type can have a strong sense of being special in terms of their depth of connection to interests or obsessions. This also describes me, as well.

The mind of the dreamy type is more concerned with how the world fits around it than how it fits into the world. That's also what I'm like.


The dreamy type retains a fundamentally childlike emotional core, even if he/she is successful in the adult world--though this may be hidden from people who are not accepting of it, by a pretense of conventional adulthood. That explains a lot about me. That's exactly how I am.

This creates a kind of innocent strength, but also makes it difficult to grow emotionally without losing the free-flowing creativity that is one key strength of autism. This is the very thing that I experience.

Somebody's been spying on me.

I also do NOT wish to be cured, nor do I wish for a cure.

Im 1 even though my interests might not relate. But I do want to write books really just to make tons of money and so I only have to write 1 hour a day.

These seems the old distinction between "melancholics" and "phlegmatics".

However, I wonderer if there is much difference between "autism - pole I" and what some researchers call "schizotypy".


[A tangential point (politics is my special interest...) - I think that a "libertarian" is not a "classical conservative", is a "classical liberal" (a "classical conservative" is someone like Pat Buchanan or Russel Kirk).]

think I'm the grounded type can totally relate to it.

I am a typical "pole I".

I'm definitely dreamy.

I'm of the dreamy type by all means.

I'm leaning more to the dreamy type.

Definitely the "Dreamy" type...fits me to a tee...

I found this at Hikiculture that really gives a good example of the different aspergers types

These are good types, but they overlap. E and C types would be appropriate for me.

For me, I think that would be something like:

65% - Einstein type
15% - Carroll type
10% - Morrissey type
10% - Numan type

But really, I'm not sure.