I've understood how Autism fundamentally affects you

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Perhaps this is obvious to some of you, but I'd share it for the rest.

As a human being there are basically two different ways in which you can perceive the world:

(1) On the one end you can perceive everything in the world in relation to your own life. (Let's call it the subjetive viewpoint, since "relation to your own life" = "subjetive")

(2) On the other end you can perceive everything in the world in without relation to your own life. (Let's call it the objective viewpoint, since "without relation to your own life" = "objective")

For instance,

Subjectively, Water is important for people because otherwise, they would die out of thirst.
Objectively, Water is not important, water just is.

Subjectively, if I think life is good, life is good. If I think it's bad, it is bad.
Objectively, life is neither good nor bad, life just is.

Subjectively, the sun is big, hot, yellow and shiny.
Objectively, the sun is a star with a given distance to the Earth.

Subjectively, time lasts as long as I am alive.
Objectively, time lasts as long as the universe exists.


At all points in time, you can find yourself being somewhere on the spectrum constituted by these two extremes.

One could summarize the two viewpoints in a way like this:

"Objective" viewpoint | "Subjective" viewpoint

- The thoughts in your head is reality | - The immediate World around you is reality
- Viewing the world from the "outside" and "in" | - Viewing the world from the "inside" and "out"
- Life's purpose: None/survival of the human species | - Life's purpose: finding the purpose of one's life
- All there is, is the universe | - All there is, is my life, and what relates to it
- Time is (potentially) infinite | - Time only lasts as long as I'm alive
- You have no significant will/wants | - Your will/wants are huge
- You are not present in your immediate environment | - You are present in the immediate environment
- Unaware of own existence | - Aware of own existence
- Your life seems quite unimportant | - Your life seems extremely important
- Special interests are what really matters to you | - You daily life in general is what really matters to you


If you have autism it does not come natural to you to relate the world around you to your own life/existence. What comes natural to you is to not relate the world around you to your own life/existence.

Hence, acting/thinking less autistic is a matter of becoming more aware of your own existence (i.e. believing more that the immediate world around you is reality, instead of the thoughts in your head).

What people find strange about autistic people is their lack of relating the world around them to their own life.

Non-autistic people naturally "convert" the objective truth of the world into the subjective truth of the world. Oppositely autistic people haven't "converted" the objective truth to the subjective. Autistic people often insist on knowing the truth - that may prevent them from being willing to convert the objective truth to the subjetive (as you are "supposed" to, to be considered "normal").

It is not possible to cure autism. But I think it is essential to really understand that this is how the condition affects you.

Last edited by qawer on 12 Apr 2013, 6:59 pm, edited 6 times in total.

This explains the typical autistic bewilderment at other peoples reactions and motives.

Even today many years later I still get shocked by people. After studying so much about people still get those moments.

Anyone else?

Btw great article. You should expand on it.

This is exactly right in my case.

People still shock me, too. I tend to keep my mouth shut a lot of the time because I have no real idea how they'll react to things I say, although in most cases it's just "whut". All I have to go on is previous experience.

I say I don't like to get close to people because I don't trust them, but what I mean is I'm totally petrified that I'll get attached, and then say or do something "odd" that will scare them off. People confuse the everliving frak out of me. o.O

I know the feeling. But in fact when knowing it is this way all people's actions are only meant to improve their own lives. All non-autistic, "normal" actions are eventually rooted in self-interest.

So when you see someone doing something and you think to yourself, "That's weird I'd never have done that/thought that way", it is because that person (consciously or unconsciously) believes that action/believe is going to improve their own life.




Thank you. It is really my understanding of myself (and people on this board and in general) that has given me that understanding. There is no source to it.

You lost me after the first few sentences.

OP's "theory" appears to be that Autism causes some sort of lack of awarness of the world that in turn can be changed by mental excercises. It completely ignores all evidence to the contrary.

Let me tell you, this is excellent!

It is, especially because it really explains how autism affects an individual once and for all! Knowing you have a pervasive developmental disorder doesn't really help explaining how you fundamentally think differently from most other people. The "subjective/objective"-theory, on the other hand, does!

It also explains why autistic people can be alone for so long with feeling lonely - because they are less aware of their own existence than what is common.

It also explains why autistic people in general don't like small talk - you cannot small-talk without being quite (or very!) aware of you own existence.

So the "cure" to autism is to be more subjetive, i.e. more aware of one's own existence...and relate everything in the world to your own life! If you're autistic it's likely you do this a lot less than neurotypicals...you'll see it's true if you think it over.

Social skills are only about relating the world to your own life - that's why autistic people often don't have good social skills. On the other hand, autistic people excell in areas where it is an advantage to not relate the world to your own life - science, art, etc.

If you as an autistic think people are quite selfish in general, you're right!

All healthy human activity is rooted in self-interest. People are supposed to relate all things in the world to themselves and then act as to optimize their own lives on basis of that relation. If everyone does this all people's lives will be optimized the most and that ensures the survival of the human species the most. That's why it is this way.

This makes sense, and explains why I get really uncomfortable and angry when people begin to bring the focus of perfectly objective, factual conversations onto myself. It actually disturbs me... a lot.

All healthy human activity is also rooted in altruism. We're social animals--we feel pleasure when we help each other, and we help each other because we feel pleasure at seeing someone else happy. Sure, you could call it "self-interest", but only in the most technical sense. If it's in your best interest to help your whole species and, more generally, your whole planet, does it really make much sense to differentiate between self-interest and altruism?

OP, I do think that theory of mind requires a theory of your own mind as a basis--the ability to say "I exist" and understand what that means. Understanding that you have your own perspective helps you to understand that other people also have their perspectives.

I don't believe it's necessary to try to process information the NT way, but understanding them should help us connect.

Please allow me to ask two questions.

1. Under your theory, all individuals on the spectrum are somehow unaware of their own existance, is that correct?

2. If we become aware of our own existance, will we still be on the spectrum?

Yes, that is the explanation. When people bring focus on you, you are "forced" to think subjectively. You could likely perceive this as some sort of "attack" even when that is not the intention. They probably just want to get to know you their way. I've felt this myself. It can be felt like they are crossing some personal boundary.

I don't really buy this as particularly insightful of everyone on the autistic spectrum. It seems to overreach to a spectacular degree.

Take this video, for example:

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnylM1hI2jc[/youtube]

Also, I do not think your definitions of objective or subjective are accurate. You should be clear that these are idiosyncratic definitions you use for your own attempts to explain autism.

This theory has no relevance to me whatsoever. I'm plenty aware of my own mind. And I'm no more objective or subjective than NTs - I just see things differently.

I really don't understand how someone can generalize all autism from their own experiences. Makes no sense.