Asperger Syndrome and the Quest for Truth
by Nomi
Hello again. I’ve been thinking a lot about Asperger Syndrome and values. Clearly, every Aspie’s value system is a little different. Nevertheless, I do think there are some common values or ideologies that unite Aspies and separate us from most Neurotypicals. The one thing I can put my finger on is TRUTH. For many Aspies, life is one long struggle for what is true or real. Not only do we abstain from lying and detest being lied to by others, we also feel an irresistible, itching urge to correct an untrue situation, any untrue situation – even if the untruth is something spoken by a teacher — and make it true. Hence, we correct our family members and get yelled at; correct our teachers and get punished; correct police officers and get arrested. My family and many others feel that I ruin the peace and the sense of connection whenever I correct someone in a situation that could just as well have been left untrue. But my response is (at least internally), So what about the peace? So what about the social connection? What matters to me is the truth.
I can’t say for sure whether, or in what contexts, this mania for truth is good or bad. (I tend to leave things like social “goods” and “bads” to the Neurotypicals.) Certainly, refusing to settle for less-than-truths can be problematic. We will and do refuse to defer to authority when they are wrong. Perhaps even when our lives are at stake. Well, they are wrong.
But it is no coincidence that so many Aspies are scientists — and atheists. Scientists do not look for what is good or right; atheists do not look for what is unifying or comforting. They look for what is true. For what is. Regardless of what anyone else says — or threatens. Did Copernicus have Asperger’s? Did Galileo? I wonder. Charles Darwin probably did.
I have spent my life asking and wondering about what matters, what is the ultimate truth. I find it maddening that I have (as of yet) no clear answer. I find it maddening that there can be more than one truth in a given situation. That there is no one real or true perspective — that I must consider and honor all (or many) perspectives. No final answer! (A god would be nice, because then I could just go with his or her perspective, and I would know just what to believe. But the concept of a god seems deeply untrue to me, so that one’s out.)
Anyway, in case any Neurotypicals out there find themselves wondering, What exactly is going through this Aspie’s mind? What exactly makes him or her tick? — I can’t answer in full, and of course the entire reality of what it means to be Aspie cannot be summarized by a single person, and varies considerably anyhow … but I can tell you this: Chances are (greater than 50%, anyway) that said Aspie is not concerned with what effect he or she has on people, on what the context is, or on what your interpersonal or emotional needs are. The Aspie is concerned with TRUTH.
And in a world so colored by social mores, isn’t that just a bit refreshing?
August 13, 2010
Posted in: Life, Uncategorized
Tags: Asperger's, atheist, audience etiquette, autism, culture, life, quest, real, reality, scientist, search, true, truth, value
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aspergers are innocent in nature . if they believe in something they can go to most deep and profound meanings of their belief. their nature is just like prophets. they have ESP and other related things in their daily life experiences.
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