It kinda is. At least for some of us. It's more like super-intelligence about an incredibly narrow topic that probably doesn't matter. Some of us win the lottery and our special interests align with something in the world that capitalism values highly. Like one of my special interests is computer science, math, and logic. So I'm good at programming. Some people with autism have a special interest in one obscure comic strip from the 1930s, which makes it hard to get a job that they can succeed in.
If there's one thing I've learned about YouTube is that the most niche topics can gather an audience. I've never been interested in the workings of heat pumps, mechanical switches, or car horns. But I look forward to a new drop every week.
Like you said, some “win the lottery”. I think most people would prefer not to have to deal with the difficulties. You can be autistic and good at something or not autistic and good at the same thing.
Is it super-intelligence or just the natural desire to just consume stuff about a topic?
I don’t have Autism, but I do have ADHD and I am just gifted with an innate curiosity to learn new things which can seem like I’m intelligent, but honestly I have no control over it. I could spend a week learning about how the brain works and it will be all consuming, then all of a sudden I have zero interest in it.
This means I have a rudimentary understanding of so many topics, but rarely will I master any one of them.
Yeah, for me I think it's less about "being more intelligent" as a general and more "I learned way more about (X) because I was hyperfixated". I think that's where people get mixed up. It's not a generalized boost to intelligence so much as spending way more time studying something than a normal person would because brain tickle feel good. People only see the result of that
Ehh… thats why we don’t often mention the Autism HUD. Once the neurotypicals find out about it everybody going to start wanting it. Fortunately everyone who uses Lemmy is an Autistic Femboy Linux user.
That’s true. I pretty much agree with that assessment of intelligence, a high generalist knowledge along with good problems solving skills; though I have to concede that specialist knowledge or other ways of expressing intelligence are valid as well.
Intelligence, to me, is defined as on the fly problem solving and improving.
Nah, that's genius.
This is why we struggle so much with a definition of intelligence; it's a complex, multifactorial thing and everyone understands something different in it.
You can just gaslight yourself into liking math, by finding easy to understand material on math, then working yourself up from there, but that requires like Bene Gesserit levels of understanding autism and especially your own autism, and a lot of support from your parents (which is usually the bane of many autistic talents).
You can still get good at e.g. making stuffed animals, which you can always upgrade to making fursuits to get a lot of money.
Also remember that a lot of these "anti-savant" sentiments originate from autism moms, and they often like to claim most autistic people are like at Chris-chan levels of talent at their special interest/craft.
According to TV, autism either enables the universe's developer mode, or makes you proclaim your profession, loudly and repeatedly, when your flaws are pointed out.
I dunno about that. But I'm not so sure, as a software engineer. Btw I'm a software engineer - never really thought about that. As a software engineer and all. Software. Engineer.
I AM A SURGEON! I AM A SURGEON! I AM A SURGEON! I AM A SURGEON! I AM A SURGEON! I AM A SURGEON! I AM A SURGEON! I AM A SURGEON! I AM A SURGEON! I AM A SURGEON!
I thought I gave the game away when I physically moved stuff around the HUD with my hands. These guys just put it in a TV show!
Well I guess I should just come clean here, this is what ADHD super focus looks like too. Complete with transparent windows so we can layer them and see in 3D.
For me, it's just content, logic. Not like we can represent logic outside of math (which is more like a language to me, exhausting). Images is for remembering scenes.
Although, on mine, if you actually read any of it, none of it's even remotely related to what I'm trying to figure out. It looks like it is but this is a lie.
Its not even like I'm thinking of lots of different things. Its just junk.
The Good Doctor, a show about a surgeon who is fighting his Hollywood Autism, complete with all the stereotypes, and trying to get through life and career at a hospital. Plays very hard into the "idiot savant" trope.
It seems like an ok show from the bit of season 1 I watched, but then I had an Autistic kid and learned I was Autistic myself and had a deep dive into Autism life... And yeah it does a pretty poor representation of it and I don't think I would want to go back to that show by this point.