hello from vancouver

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I'm an old autist (I hear that the academic community has torpedoed the Asperger label), formally diagnosed yes.
I'm a capital G green and very interested in psychology and related subjects (sociology, anthropology, poetry etc.). Examples, I. Shah, Varik, Robinson Jeffers.
Unable to consciously feel emotion I've spent my life underachieving (
emotion is ludicrously overvalued but for motivation it's absolutely vital) so i'm bored out of my tree.
I'd love intelligent discussion with anybody of any age, gender etc.

Hang loose but don't fall off

Welcome to Wrong Planet.
Someone older than me (by one year).
I also have Asperger's Syndrome, Aspie for short.

You discussed one of our traits: Unable to consciously feel emotion


That is actually a good trait. We are like Mr. Spoke on the original Star Trek



Welcome

Hi, I also struggle to feel emotions (except during my frequent meltdowns, college makes me cry and scream a lot), but this is ok, because I have people who can calm me down.

I'm not very adept in sociology... but I have a friend and I love to listen to him talk about it (maybe I'll enjoy reading what you have to say about it).

What I use to motivate myself are broader causes, or the things I already like. Sometimes both. The right to repair is one of those, but maybe there are organizations specific to your field that try and tackle issues that frustrate you.

My current goal is hopefully to have actual effective protection for the repair industry of New York, Im working on a little mini-study in college to try and direct the scholarly focus from legislation and economics back to design philosophy, this is inspired by the much broader right to repair (and partly open source initiative).

I look forward to seeing you on the site!

Welcome to Wrong Planet!

Welcome to WP! I hope you like it here.

(Pointed ears are optional...though they would be welcomed, too.)

This is to emu egg (sorry, can't figure out how to post this reply only to you because there no post link appears opposite your reply... arg!)
Emotionlessness is a plus when it's a plus (trying to think clearly) and it's a minus when it's a minus (if you can't feel your own thoughts [as Damasio puts it, "emotional tagging"] you can't sense your assumptions, which can really screw you up)
But overall, sure, i agree with your perhaps pollyanna conclusion that it's neat to be Dr. Spock... because emotion is the glue that sticks you to your genetic naked ape programming, gifting you with a certain independence. I often suspect that there's not much left when emotion (-al access) removed, but that's another problem.
Cheers! (why i don't know, but it seems politic)
Sorry if i'm slow responding but i'm not a haunt-my-email-box kind of guy.
Infinice (otherwise known in real world as Marinus)

This is to Jimmy-
wanted to correct self- I wrote emu a response to your letter.
Sorry- i get scrambled easily by unfamiliar and/or excess stimuli.
Infinice

(Ok- so to send a reply i only need to quote a bit of senders letter- bit indirect/obscure but ...).
I don't do meltdowns- when stimuli level (originally internal or not) too high a circuit trips and i reboot... just stand there stupidly, while my brain, or another person insults me.

"What I use to motivate myself are broader causes, or the things I already like." The tragedy of human life is that it's lived from bottom up, from personal/immediate surrounds, and so we never get high enough up, broad enough to seriously benefit (ourselves or the planet). Right to repair? Well enough, but compared to what's required to continue to survive on this mudball, grotesquely inadequate. Sorry if that seemed rude, but (guess what! ) i value communication over politeness. Not saying you're wrong, just incomplete. Story of our lives...
Later...
"There are two kinds of people, those who can extrapolate from incomplete data..." (end joke). Punchline: "And those that can't"

You wrote about one of your traits:
Unable to consciously feel emotion

I think it is a plus.
A couple years ago we had a small flood. I have a 20 wide concrete bridge that goes underwater when there is a flood. I walked down to inspect the bridge and the water pulled me immediately underwater. I opened my eyes and immediately saw that I was inside this 20 foot long pipe inside the bridge. It could easily be a death sentence. Instantly my mind thought what should I do? I thought pull my arms together next to my body, don't fight it or try and resist. That would be a death sentence. Then after a second or two swim to the surface. I followed that instinct that passed through my brain in light speed. After 2 seconds, I swam to the surface. I was 30 feet downstream moving very fast. The force pulled my shoes off my feet and even some of my clothes. But I survived.

If I panicked like most NTs, I would not be here writing this story to you now.

great to see others of my own generation here. I was diagnosed at age 68, what a difference it has made in my life. Glad you are with us!

Greetings and welcome! I'm the opposite when it comes to emotions..hence why it's a spectrum! Hope you enjoy your time here

"I think it is a plus."
I'm really not glass-half-full'ing you. As i said, "it's a plus when it's a plus and a minus when it's not".
Let me give you a little example: my entire life. I'm so stimuli-allergic i've spent my life trapped in my room- no friends, no career, no hope (and NO MONEY!). Emotion, as you point out, can and does kill many, but the one thing it is VITAL for, is motivation. Time and again, i've tried to scold myself into acting but my brain responds, "uh uh pal, i'm going to hide in my burrow till i die." The plus in the minus here is that i've been forced to evolve an original personality, real independence from the hive mind. With age, i'm finding this a richer bonus than its drawbacks. Arthur Rimbaud: "As for me, i am intact and don't care." Plusses in minuses in plusses.... And anyway, "Why would you want to be integrated into a burning house?" -Dr. M. L. King, and James Baldwin (I think JB said it first).
Later,
infinice

[quote]

Tried to leave comment on your blog but couldn't log in (how can one have a password on a site one is visiting for first time? one needs to register first, right?).

Anyway- just a query- what do you read?

sorry- i'm new to this forum so i'm floundering a bit- i now notice i've got Emu Egg's tag under my username. How do i remove it? Anybody?

When you post, the site places a tag on your Wrong Planet name. You start out as Emu Egg. The more post you give, the higher the rating. So your tag will change as you make more post. Also when you reach a certain level, you will have the ability to post threads, such as images, or pictures into your responses. For example:

When you post...

No, i didn't start as Emu Egg, i started as Infinice. When i mis-posted another users tag attached to mine. Your other info about gradually being granted to post more types of info is interesting but irrelevant. How do i root out the "emu egg" part?