Question if I am stupid for being learning disabled.

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I failed Maths O level 1st time(too much geometry). Passed 2nd time (considerably less geometry).

I have the mathematical abilities of a table lamp - so where necessary I simply use a calculator.

Many here have dyscalculia as a co-morbid, diagnosed or not, with ASD so it's not particularly rare. It's certainly nothing to be ashamed about and it emphatically does not make anyone stupid.

There is so much more of value in you than the ability to juggle numbers; don't lose sight of that, Ok?

Hey man, thanks!

It simply means math is something that is hard for you. Math, evolutionarily speaking, is a recent development in history. There is no reason you should be good at it. I am dyslexic. The written language is the same thing. But being dyslexic dos not mean I am stupid. (Also, I have met a lot of people that finished math at school that are really not good at math--not sure how they did it, but that ability did not stay with them.)

Now, I have worked had to overcome my dyslexia, mostly because I had to. It was an extremely long and difficult process--I am still working on it and writing is not easy for me even now. But that does not mean I am stupid, but simply have a hard time thinking in linguistic terms.

All of these skill we think should be "natural" for people are rather arbitrary and a product of social systems. We need math and writing skills for a bureaucratic world. Imagine if we lived in a society that valued art. Those that could not write and play music would be thought of as "learning disabled." Just think how many would fall into that category?

Hey man, thanks!

I have terrible trouble with mental arithmetic. I was strongly suspected to have dyscalculia after an IQ test when I was younger and discovered I had a mental arithmetic age of an 8 year old.

In school I was in special needs for the first 3 years and had a much more relaxing time before going into mainstream and much harder classes. Maths wasn't a great subject for me to put it bluntly and when I was about to sit my GCSE's the government decided to place everyone in middle tier (where I was) into the highest tier (where all the high ballers were). I could barely add and subtract yet had to sit the hardest exam paper that could only be graded from C to A*. I didn't look forward to that exam at all due to the how easy it was to fail but somehow got a C which I imagined I barely scraped. I must have made up for it by being pretty mean on a calculator or something.

to this day I'm still hopeless with mental arithmetic but OK with a calculator.

It makes sense.

To me, the mantle of "stupid" applies to foolish people, recklessness, and the outrageously oblivious.

When it comes to feeling stupid, however, I completely understand and sympathize with you. Whether it was failing to remember my multiplication tables in school, taking the wrong exit on the highway, or forgetting names, I feel stupid all too frequently. It hurts.

But truly, you are no more stupid for having a hard time with math (or any other subject) than you'd be a jerk if you were colorblind.

Thank you!

Hive mind is involuntary. It takes responsibility away from the NT.

I'm saying NTs make a conscious decision to groupthink. It's actually a psychological phenomena. Hive mind is not.

I've never been any good at maths, but I did a numeracy course and I can add up and take away but I can't do division.

It makes sense.

Being stupid in a limited way doesn't make one stupid overall. That said being stupid in some ways will limit an intelligent person's potential, possibly even more than someone who's overall more stupid.

That tendency to defend the ego isn't limited to NTs, it's just that ND folks and mentally ill folks pick different hills to die upon because their priorities in that regards will be skewed by their differences. Maybe because we lack a hive or are out of tune to it due to issues even if we believe we're responding to it.

Also, I'm willing to bet NTs are more willing to accept each others deflections unless they're intentionally being cruel or genuinely believe it's a big deal. When they're intentionally being polite they'll accept each other's deflections wholesale. That would explain why people who know their views will be labelled as bigotry accept each other's excuses for the views no matter how loose or weird they may be.

Last edited by funeralxempire on 04 Jul 2021, 12:35 am, edited 2 times in total.

It makes sense.

Interesting opinion, which you state as if you know to be true. Is there some consensus of experts in these matters regarding their exact definition that you can point me to, that would justify the absolute nature of your assertions? Thus far I see no distinction between hive mind and groupthink, and I never heard of any generally-accepted relationship between that concept (or those concepts, if you prefer) and responsibility. But perhaps you've seen some work on the matter that I haven't.