Better at systematic learning?

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I'm wondering if this is an Aspie thing or just a "me" thing...

I can learn things involving systems, procedures, steps and rules easily - where things are sometimes tedious, but the elements are all there and laid out clearly for me. Things like standardized test strategy, crafting projects and learning musical pieces fall into this category. However, things that are more nebulous and depending on circumstance, more intuitive almost, are harder. This is stuff like drawing and knowing what to say in any given conversation (skills I'd like to master but sadly haven't), which do have some rules, but they don't always apply and vary situationally. Whereas forte always means that one plays loud, and knit and purl always translate into the same motions, getting the right angle of someone's arm in a picture depends on the slightest difference of a line, which cannot be properly described in steps, and what is appropriate in one social situation but not in another is largely unspoken, taken for granted and not clear.

Could this be a part of stereotypical Aspie awkwardness in social situations, while on the other hand be part of the reason for common Aspie affinities such as math and music, which both have "rules" and systems that they follow? Can anyone else relate to this?

look i do not know about it. there is some debate about systematisation as a an aspie thing. sure. lots of AS people have it. however, your theory above discounts all the artists and more nebulous thinkers and doers who are on the spectrum and who have been diagnosed and who post on WP. what about all the AS people who live so fully in the sensory realm?

put it this way.....a lot of people with AS have a capaicty for sytematic thinking. a lot don't.

What is more important i think is an unneven pattern of talents and tendencies with spikes and troughs that are quite marked and pronounced. for example i cannot do maths beyond the 6th grade - as soon as algebra came into the lesson i was gone. and yet i am a very good painter and artist.

there are a lot of creative aspies on WP who might also question your proposition. it's not as clear cut as that.

still, good you raised the debate i suppose........

Both. For some things, Superpowers covers it, and in others very bad does not cover it.

When I just lived with my strong suits, I did fine, but taking on larger projects the hard part for me was the simple part for others.

Spikes and troughs covers me, mostly trough.

Definitely yes.

Learning rote answers for SATs.

I particularly enjoyed science, especially Chemistry:
Lots of step by step procedures there, repetitive rituals and detailed observations.
All those bubbles, colours and explosions!
A lot of the analysis was graphical and mathematical too.
I liked planning the solo projects and experiments the best.

Dressing up in a white lab coat, donning some goggles and writing down all those funny little symbols. I felt like a belonged to some bizarre cult or "order" at times when following the risk assessment protocols and step by step procedures. Everything was so easy to understand: all of the hazardous chemicals had nice little graphic hazard symbols on the bottles, so you knew which ones were best not split on the desk.

It was only the overcrowding in the classroom that put a damper on the whole experience.