Do NTs have trouble understanding "absolutes"?

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I don't know how else to put it, but from my many daily interactions with NTs, it seems that many of them have a hard time understanding the concept of absolutes. From what I can see, in the NT mind nothing is absolute or concrete, everything is at least somewhat in-absolute.

Now, from life experience I've learned that not everything is concrete, and that some things aren't absolute, but it just feels like as an aspie, someone naturally accustomed to literal/concrete thought, that I have a better concept of what an "absolute" is than an average NT.

I'm not saying either method of thinking is necessarily superior or inferior, though I do feel that the differences between my thought processes and NT thought processes have caused me many rather unnecessary difficulties over the years.

Any thoughts? I would like to see some views from both perspectives.

With a few exceptions, most things are relative not absolute.

disagree, I think think there are MANY exceptions and NT people like to skirt issues or play around with stuff so they can just not commit or get away with deception and lies

Thinking in non-absolutes is superior for the purpose of socialization. That is an advantage and a necessity for group-hunters.

Thinking in absolutes is superior for the purpose of being content in your own company. That is an advantage and a necessity for solo-hunters.


These two ways of thinking is what brings about different social structures (group vs. lone).


So yes, NTs have more trouble accepting absolutes, as well as people with AS have more trouble accepting non-absolutes.

Everything can be seen as absolute as well as non-absolute depending on whether you view them as "scientific" or "in a social light".

E.g.

"That plant has green and blue colours" (scientific, absolute view)

"I like the blue colour of that plant" (social, non-absolute view)

It has been my experience that with age, and life experience, people tend to think less in absolutes. As far as the OP goes, it's possible not that people don't understand, but that they reject, absolutes.

I disagree with your thoughts about people re group/lone activities or ways of life, but don't have time to attend to that just now.

I just wanted to comment on your examples of the colours. What is obviously blue to one person can be just as obviously green to another. Aside from colour blindness, we each perceive colour differently and it can also be affected by light, shade and the other colours around it.

Btw, I would have thought that thinking in absolutes would be a major, and dangerous, disadvantage for any solo-hunter.

I have recently been thinking about something similar.

Two schools of thought, which affect brain organization:

Approximate terms

Specific terms


I think in specifics. I imagine that thinking in specifics requires more brain space and has a different developmental trajectory than thinking in approximations. Certain proportions of specifics to brain space leaves a person disabled to varying degrees. Accuracy is the major benefit for this type of thought.

Many people I encounter think in approximations. I imagine this thought pattern is dominate in our culture and is the basis for child development literature. Speed is the major benefit for this type of thought. Since many events in life do not require laser-sharp accuracy, approximations are often "good enough" and benefit the user by aiding speed and saving energy.

I would think it would be most useful to either learn a combination of these two types of thought within one person, or for communities to harness the potential in both types in different individuals.

In my experience, yes, NT people can't stand absolutes and always believe there's a gray area, and also always try to be a devils advocate. This is the reason why NT people don't believe science. Science is facts and they hate that. Their opinions and beliefs are more important than facts.

I don't think NTs hate science. That's a gross generalization. And in fact, the more advanced you go into scientific study, the more you realize that trust absolutes are few and far between. How can something be a particle and a wave at the same time?

For NTs, communicating in absolutes tends to be a characteristic of young people, who haven't yet had enough personal experiences to see exceptions to their rules. As Marcia said, the older you get, them you experience things that make you question your previously held "absolute" beliefs.

I don't quite understand what you mean. Give me an example situation of what you mean. I usually learn things better from examples.

I have learned through life not everything is absolute and in fact NTs can be so absolute in things that aren't even absolute.

I do hope you're taking the piss here, and not actually being serious with this nonsense.

I don't know where you got that from. That's not how all NTs think. They don't hate facts. Some facts can be interesting even to NTs.

This is what goes on a lot here. Some Aspies seem to think if Aspies love something, NTs hate it, or if NTs love something, Aspies hate it.
''Aspies love science, NTs hate it''. ''Aspies love routine, NTs hate having routine''. ''Aspies love cats, NTs hate cats''. That is not how neurology works. Yes, some NTs may hate science (even there I think the word ''hate'' is a bit of a strong word), but it is not a significant NT trait. I'm Aspie but I don't hate or love science. Some science I find boring and pointless and complicated, other science I find rather interesting. Ask any NT that and they'll probably give you a similar answer to that.

I hope you're "taking the piss" here too. I don't even know what that means. But anyway, are you saying that you believe everything on the internet is science based truth? Because I don't know if anyone has noticed, but everyone seems to believe a persons blog over the research and science behind a topic. There's a website ALL about that called www.snopes.com, to show that people believe what they hear instead of the facts.

That's human nature. People believe whatever they want to believe and don't want to know the truth. I have seen it in aspies too because they're also human. I call them willfully ignorant because then you do show them the facts, they still refuse to believe it. Even telling them word of mouth, they still won't believe it. My husband is telling me to only believe half I hear so that means people can just choose to believe if something is truth or not truth and they make that decision.

BTW I thought snopes was for to show what is true and isn't true because of how gullible people can be so it's there to clear things up.

Yes, that's what snopes is about. People believing rumors instead of facts and the website tells if it's a myth or fact (if people care to check). And I know aspies don't want to believe facts too, but the original question was asking about NT people, so that's why I just answered with how I feel about NT people on this topic.