I am on the autism spectrum. I'm well into middle age.
Being autistic is like being in a poker game where you keep getting dealt hands that are high-card, and everyone else is getting straights, flushes, or even just pairs, and you only get out when you're bankrupt. Yeah, I play the hand I'm dealt, and I'm going to lose every goddamn time.
EDIT: A better analogy is gonna be Pinnochio (or A. I. Artificial Intelligence). I'm never going to be a real boy (any no, it's not because I'm AFAB and also a gender essentialist). No matter how hard I work at being better, there's no good fae that's going to come along and use their fae magic to make me a real boy. I'm never going to have the experiences of the real children, because I'm simply not one of them. I can ape their external characteristics, but I can't be them. While this–being autistic–is a result of evolution (it's likely a non-beneficial genetic mutation), humans have largely evolved to survive as a social species, to have close relationships and tribal affiliations. I'm always going to be on the outside, rather than part of an in-group.
Unrelated to your comment, but you should probably do some research on the gender essentialism front. We've known gender and sex are different for a long time, and should treat trans people as their gender, not their biological sex.
You misunderstand; I'm making fun of the people that claim that gender and biological sex are the same thing. I am not a gender essentialist, nor am I AFAB.
Why do you think there is such a thing as a 'real boy'? It is likely that most other people you know are envious of you for something else - maybe your ability to paint, or your voice - and are thinking 'if only I could draw / sing like Helixdab2. But I'll never have real talent.' Yes, some people get dealt a better hand than others, but that doesn't make them an ideal to aspire to.
I'm sort of convinced that ASD is a view of the future where humans finally shrug off the bonds of being descended from apes. So much of the nastiness that humans are capable of come from the sort of behavior that allowed our ancestors to survive. We no longer live there and no longer need to think in that way.
Disagree. People on the spectrum are subject to the same kind of irrational hatred and violent impulses as every other person. Given that a common issue with people on the spectrum is an inability to read emotional and contextual cues, I'd argue that people on the spectrum are less evolved. We're certainly less capable, in that we have fewer capabilities than neurotypical people.
I am on the autism spectrum. I'm well into middle age.
Being autistic is like being in a poker game where you keep getting dealt hands that are high-card, and everyone else is getting straights, flushes, or even just pairs, and you only get out when you're bankrupt. Yeah, I play the hand I'm dealt, and I'm going to lose every goddamn time.
EDIT: A better analogy is gonna be Pinnochio (or A. I. Artificial Intelligence). I'm never going to be a real boy (any no, it's not because I'm AFAB and also a gender essentialist). No matter how hard I work at being better, there's no good fae that's going to come along and use their fae magic to make me a real boy. I'm never going to have the experiences of the real children, because I'm simply not one of them. I can ape their external characteristics, but I can't be them. While this–being autistic–is a result of evolution (it's likely a non-beneficial genetic mutation), humans have largely evolved to survive as a social species, to have close relationships and tribal affiliations. I'm always going to be on the outside, rather than part of an in-group.
Unrelated to your comment, but you should probably do some research on the gender essentialism front. We've known gender and sex are different for a long time, and should treat trans people as their gender, not their biological sex.
You misunderstand; I'm making fun of the people that claim that gender and biological sex are the same thing. I am not a gender essentialist, nor am I AFAB.
Why do you think there is such a thing as a 'real boy'? It is likely that most other people you know are envious of you for something else - maybe your ability to paint, or your voice - and are thinking 'if only I could draw / sing like Helixdab2. But I'll never have real talent.' Yes, some people get dealt a better hand than others, but that doesn't make them an ideal to aspire to.
Being envious of me for an ability is irrelevant to the point.
I'm sort of convinced that ASD is a view of the future where humans finally shrug off the bonds of being descended from apes. So much of the nastiness that humans are capable of come from the sort of behavior that allowed our ancestors to survive. We no longer live there and no longer need to think in that way.
Disagree. People on the spectrum are subject to the same kind of irrational hatred and violent impulses as every other person. Given that a common issue with people on the spectrum is an inability to read emotional and contextual cues, I'd argue that people on the spectrum are less evolved. We're certainly less capable, in that we have fewer capabilities than neurotypical people.
I agree with the first part, but that's a case by case basis, just like NT's. Those traits are not mutually exclusive with autism.