Japan has a Ministry for Loneliness

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It was bizarre that time at the school gates. It is fkg obvious to write down dates on a calendar. That is literally what calendars are for. But the other mums were astounded by my intelligence Why was it such a big deal that someone wrote a date down on a calendar? Crazy.

Your daughter's memory will serve her well in the future. I saved someone's life once because I remembered a fact about them. Tell your daughter that.

Hmmm, I don't quite agree with this. I feel that you are idealizing childhood. Kids can be very cruel to other kids who are perceived as weird.


Not inconceivable, but may require some outside-the-box thinking.

I'm older than you, and autistic, but hopefully in process of (slowly) making some new friends via the cluster of groups I am building. It remains to be seen how well this turns out.


Workplace friendships can be potentially hazardous to one's career if they go sour. That may be why many workplaces have a "culture of coldness and distance."

I think it's probably better to seek friendships via hobbies or other recreational activities outside of work, if possible.

I guess like a lot of people on the spectrum it's untapped potential

I agree this happens but the response has to be reinforced through social learning first. So babies are born with innate sense of familiarity with faces/people in their immediate family. When a face that is unfamiliar to them appears they might respond with curiosity (like to a new teddy) or if there is some sense of danger which is naturally instinctive.

So when as toddlers they first see somebody different (black, wheelchair, disabled etc) they sometimes seek parental guidance on what to do if they are confused. A lot of parents start the ball by reacting negatively (for example asking their child to come to them or ask their kid to play on another swing or just simply the tone of voice). It might even be subconscious and not malicious at all because that parent doesn't want to deal with the embarrassment to the other family or kid in case their kid says something and they have to intervene, Sometimes its their too tired or lazy, But often it's deliberate. I've witnessed it in playgrounds myself. "Karen" type parents who are selective with whom their little darlings play with. Use subtle cues which the children learn to keep away from people who are different.

By the time the kid enters primary school they have a sense they can be cruel and uncaring toward "difference" because it was taught to them.

Sometimes, but not necessarily.


Or they may just react, without consulting anyone first.

My understanding is that fear of unknown people leads to one of two things young children. Anxiety/fear which at extreme might be crying/running back to their parents. or curiosity.

The parent is the first person the child learns their eventual response. Depending on how the parent responds will influence the child's response. Second is peer influence. There is some element of William Golding's "Lord of the Flies" where the child first learns group influence. Third is personality traits.

Cruelty/psychopathy is a diathesis so it has to first be triggered by the environment. Not enough is understood on how much the environment triggers psychopaths or if natural curiosity turns into cruelty? Are you a psychologist? There isn't really firm data on how frequent psychopathy occurs in the population because its difficult to separate from sociopathy.

Sociopathy is influenced by the environment but again at what age it starts? There are a number of interesting studies that suggest certain types of people are influenced by certain types of politics
https://www.psypost.org/2018/11/study-s ... rats-52566