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Are you analytical and what do you determine as analytical?

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kingtut3
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11 Sep 2009, 10:40 am

I'm analytical.



DarrylZero
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11 Sep 2009, 10:55 am

BelindatheNobody wrote:
Sometimes I'm analytical. Sometimes too analytical.

But other times I'm just a muddled up mess of emotions and thoughts, and other such things.


Me, too. I've been told I'm analytical, and I think it's true. For me I believe it's because I usually rely on facts and making sense out of what I observe or experience. Some people have been annoyed by my reluctance to accept something without factual support. But other times I can get overwhelmed emotionally and then logic goes out the window.



marshall
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11 Sep 2009, 11:53 am

polymathpoolplayer wrote:
marshall wrote:
I've been told that I'm extremely analytical. I think it stems from my need to understand things from the ground up. When I learn a new subject I try to understand it straight from its logical foundation. I don't memorize "facts" or form my opinions based on bits of conventional wisdom. I don't trust conventional wisdom at all. It baffles me how 99% of what people in the world believe is BS. I can only conclude that a very small percentage of the population actually bothers to think.


The truth is that only a small fraction CAN think.

I used to think that was the case. Now I think most people can think but only in certain contexts. Their use of analytical thinking is compartmentalized. In general people aren't interested in truth or reality. People form a world view based not on reality but on whatever suits their own selfish purposes. People will believe BS if it benefits them psychologically. Always looking for the truth is a psychological disadvantage. It makes one more prone to despair.



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11 Sep 2009, 12:40 pm

marshall wrote:
People form a world view based not on reality but on whatever suits their own selfish purposes. People will believe BS if it benefits them psychologically.

And that goes for people both on and off the autism spectrum. You can analyze all you want, but unless you really apply scientific, unbiased analysis to your findings, it's really easy to believe what benefits you.


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marshall
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11 Sep 2009, 5:58 pm

fiddlerpianist wrote:
marshall wrote:
People form a world view based not on reality but on whatever suits their own selfish purposes. People will believe BS if it benefits them psychologically.

And that goes for people both on and off the autism spectrum. You can analyze all you want, but unless you really apply scientific, unbiased analysis to your findings, it's really easy to believe what benefits you.

I'm talking about beliefs like...

"the universe was created special for humans"
"if someone has a MD or PhD next to their name they automatically know more than someone who doesn't"
"conspiracy theories must be true because they're more dramatic/exciting than reality"
"if my opinion is trendy it's more likely to be true"
"if my opinion goes against the trend it's more likely to be true because being anti-establishment makes me feel special"

oh and

"scientists are unbiased" is another one.



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11 Sep 2009, 10:04 pm

marshall wrote:
fiddlerpianist wrote:
marshall wrote:
People form a world view based not on reality but on whatever suits their own selfish purposes. People will believe BS if it benefits them psychologically.

And that goes for people both on and off the autism spectrum. You can analyze all you want, but unless you really apply scientific, unbiased analysis to your findings, it's really easy to believe what benefits you.

I'm talking about beliefs like...

"the universe was created special for humans"
"if someone has a MD or PhD next to their name they automatically know more than someone who doesn't"
"conspiracy theories must be true because they're more dramatic/exciting than reality"
"if my opinion is trendy it's more likely to be true"
"if my opinion goes against the trend it's more likely to be true because being anti-establishment makes me feel special"

oh and

"scientists are unbiased" is another one.

Scientists are biased; the scientific method is not.


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peterd
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12 Sep 2009, 4:30 am

Quote:
Scientists are biased; the scientific method is not


I'm not entirely in agreement.

The scientific method is very good for local explorations in the probability landscape, but doesn't offer a great deal of help if you're stuck in a local landscape and you're looking for new possibilities. That takes randomness, inspiration, madness - call it what you will. Of course, once the new stuff is in the mix, the scientific method will happily take the credit for improving our understanding.



WoodenNickel
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12 Sep 2009, 5:46 pm

I'm very analytical. It probably is linked to the AS, as the geeks in my family are also analytical, by definition, and autism is the "geek disease".

I don't think it's a compensation. It's just a difference in how our brains are organized. Instead of processing emotional information subconsciously which produces our "symptoms" of lack of empathy and poor social knowledge, we process intellectual information there. The result is being very analytical.


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