Greta Thunberg - An Aspie!

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This is an interview in today's Washington Post[i] Magazine. Big exposure and it suggests that her focus is aided by her ASD.posting.php?mode=reply&f=21&t=402724#

But before that, when did the weight of the emergency hit you?
It was just the cognitive dissonance that I saw with everyone around me. My parents, my classmates, everyone I met. They were like, “Oh, what are your interests?” And I said, “I’m interested in the climate because it’s an emergency.” They’re like, “Oh, that’s fun.” And I was like, “You clearly don’t get this.” Because everyone said, “I care about climate change. I think it’s very important.” And then they don’t do anything. And that got to me because I’m autistic, and I don’t like when people say one thing and then do another thing. I have to live true to my values, so to speak. Like, I remember one time I was talking to my dad, and he said, “I want to buy a new car. This SUV looks really nice.” And I was like, “But you said you cared about the climate.” He was like, “I do, but you can still do both.” And I was like, “No, you cannot.” And I got really upset.

You’ve quipped that if more people had autism or Asperger’s maybe we would do better in focusing on the climate crisis and not continuing to justify the trade-offs in our own minds.
Of course not to romanticize autism or say that people should have autism. Because, under the wrong circumstances, autism can be something that holds you back. But I think that there are definitely many elements of what makes you autistic that more people should have. For example, us not having as much cognitive dissonance and being able to focus on facts, it’s a good thing. And being able to focus on an emergency and actually treat it as an emergency.

It feels like many today — neurotypical people, people in general — are so focused on following the stream, doing like everyone else, because they don’t want to stand out. They don’t want to be uncomfortable. They don’t want to cause any problems. They just want to be like everyone else. And I think that’s very harmful in an emergency where we are social animals. We’re herd animals

[/b]You have become a hero to young people, yet you were bullied as a kid and socially isolated. It must be sort of complicated now that young people who previously didn’t support you or give you the time of day are putting you on a pedestal.[/b]
Yeah, I was scared of other young people when I first started school striking. So it was very weird to have other young people join me; it was a very strange feeling. Because I didn’t know how they would react and how they would think.

What can you tell other young people, both those experiencing bullying and maybe those doing the bullying, to help them move to a better place?
Just to those who are experiencing it that you are not alone. There are many, many others who are experiencing this same thing — many more than you think — beneath the surface. And it should not be like that. Children can be very, very mean. But being strange is a good thing. I think most people in the climate movement are a bit strange — very much including myself. And that is a good thing because, if you’re not different, you are not able to envision another future, another world. And we need people who are able to think outside the box. So being different is something that should be celebrated.

Has she finished her high school education yet?

Probably not. Didn't she abandon some special education school she was attending?

It would help her to have some sort of education if she's keen on getting people to listen to her.

The celebritization of young activist Greta Thunberg actually did help convince some of her fans to think they should take action on the climate crisis, according to new research.

Millions of children heeded her call to march through the streets of the world's major cities.

The term "Greta Thunberg effect" entered the lexicon more than a year ago in conjunction with reported declines in air and train travel even before the COVID-19 pandemic. Airline executives directly attributed their lower passenger loads to Thunberg's attempts to raise awareness about the environmental cost of flying.

But the ramifications of the "Greta effect" don’t stop there. Researchers in the United States and the United Kingdom reported last week that Thunberg's influence also spurs some individuals to want to take collective action to address the climate crisis.

Surveying a representative sample of 1,303 adults in the U.S., they found a link between familiarity with Thunberg and collective efficacy – the belief that individuals can work together to achieve a common goal. Given that collective efficacy is associated with intention to take collective action, they concluded that awareness of Thunberg and her campaign lead to a higher likelihood of engaging in collective action.

Age was not found to make a difference, which surprised the researchers. They had theorized that younger Americans would be more likely to follow Thunberg's philosophy – and while they did find evidence that younger age groups are more likely to believe in collective efficacy and want to take collective action, they did not find any evidence directly linking that to Thunberg.

The study was posted Jan. 25 in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology.

Nobody listens to her?
Yes, there really is a 'Greta Thunberg effect,' new research reveals

Listening to her for advice is like going down the local pub and asking for opinions on cancer treatments......it's just stupid and not something you should ever do.

But I think that's the point. She's making a lot of world leaders look stupid that if she (as a 15 year old) was able to comprehend scientific data and take the warnings seriously then why can't politicians choose to make it a priority?

You might have forgotten but politicians also played "dumb" for 60-70 years before eventually taking action on smoking when even a child could tell the smoke was linked to lung cancer.

People as in people above the age of 15 years old who want to hear more than just a monologue based entirely on her own personal feelings on the subject.

Listening to her for advice is like going down the local pub and asking for opinions on cancer treatments......it's just stupid and not something you should ever do.

Greta's one of my favourite Aspies

She's also a time traveller

She makes herself look stupid to many. I find her antagonistic from the get go every time she opens her mouth and seems to never answer much in the way of questions. A mic is just shoved in her face, she has a rant for 10 mins and that's usually it.

Given she's a public figure on climate change, if you were to ask her how to implement say, electrical car charging for car owners in blocks of flats she would look at you dumfounded. She can't comprehend anything really.