I found a video with probably good content for the readers of this blog, judging from the table of contents/time stamps. (I haven’t watched the whole thing)
Yesterday I was watching some videos made by autistic people talking about their experiences.
The comment section made me think.
You had the usual “I have a 150 IQ and I’m a truck driver” (aspie), plus a couple more of them taking about their lifestyles, then the odd comment accusing them of bragging about their IQ.
The exchange was pretty standard, but it was interesting to me.
It made me realize that the 160 IQ mathematical genius I know on a certain message board may not be capable of showering on their own.
I never thought about this.
They may have to hire somebody. To help them take off their clothes, to soap up a sponge, and have them scrub their arms and legs because it is too taxing for their executive function.
They may be incapable of making a cup of tea.
They may get paralyzed by indecision trying to decide whether to put in 100 ml of water or 150 ml of water into the kettle (how much water to use to account for this particular brand of tea? Or has the manufacture already taken this into account? What schools of thought are there on tea making?). Or which kettle to use. Or to wash the kettle or not before doing so. Or which dishwashing detergent to use when doing so. Or how many times to rinse the kettle after doing so. And so on and so forth.
You can see one person’s example of what this might look like here:
It takes her five hours to boil water.
Also, what kinds of services are available.
This is what it means to be disabled. To be neurodivergent. It’s not just a little personality quirk.
Being autistic (or having Asperger’s syndrome, which is a word discontinued in 2013 but people still identify by it), is not just a cute thing that makes you a little awkward. It is a disability with debilitating effects on your life, which requires (differing degrees of) assistance and support.
You can have a 150 IQ and be incapable of making a sandwich. (I mean this literally. This isn’t trying to be rude or funny).
That “annoying” person online could be autistic. They could have ADHD. They could have something that has no official name for it yet. They could have been abused in childhood.
You have no idea what is going on in somebody’s life. And doubly so if you have never engaged with anybody with a severe disability. I am guilty of this one myself.
And not only is this true for that one specific annoying person in the Reddit comments, it may be true for anybody.
The “jerk” on stack exchange denigrating a newbie for not knowing a computer science word.
The “160 IQ truck driver” crowd.
The “jerk” on Reddit humiliating other commenters.
The people writing 2000 word comments on YouTube comments.
Some common sense responses are: “if you’re so smart, why are you wasting your time on Reddit?”.
“Don’t you have better things to do? Can’t you write a paper or something?”
“If you’re so smart, why aren’t you curing cancer?”
It’s easy to say “you’re wasting your talent” to someone like this, but the reality may be that they are incapable of organizing their ideas into a format that other people can accept (like an academic paper).
They may have good ideas, but lack the functioning to undertake the “boring” parts of a paper — like looking up what the other people are already saying in their papers. Following the arbitrary rules and formatting required by each journal. Writing in a clear and concise manner, which may feel fake and icky to somebody. Physically putting yourself in front of a computer and writing for several hours at a time (they may have a physical condition that prevents them from doing this). They may be incapable of writing, period. They may be able to write, but it only works sometimes, and they want to use that window for more important things like contacting a social worker.
They may be incapable of basic functioning that non-disabled people take for granted.
They may be physically incapable of pursuing a PhD.
Any number of things can be happening beneath the surface, and you, as an outsider, can never know.
(And of course, they may be perfectly healthy with no problems whatsoever. They might really just be lazy lol)
I am kind of rambling, but my three main points from this entry are:
- The idea that IQ is completely separate from executive functioning (somebody can have a 150 IQ, and not be able to shower on their own)
- The “rude” people online might not just be a jerk. They may have autism or be disabled. They could have come from an extreme upbringing. You have no idea what could be happening.
- Autism isn’t a personality trait. It is a disability with consequences that are hard to imagine for non-disabled people.
I learned about the “autism is a disability” angle from this blog here:
https://speakingofautismcom.wordpress.com/2019/06/03/yes-autism-is-a-disability-and-thats-ok/
People bristle at the word “disability” because they believe that having a disability is inherently bad. It exposes their prejudice towards disabled people and disabilities.
Blunt Japanese Woman | Stop being a gifted loser 