Aspies For Freedom

Also I don't think spontaneity has much to do with creativity--A painter plans to paint--a writer plans to write. And isn't going "along intuitively" what creativity's all about.

Anyway, I still not completely convinced of the human-Neanderthal interbreeding thing--just an interesting idea.

AS being more common among Europeans would fit with the theory--but diagnosis is always a difficult. It could be that Africans are undiagnosed for social reasons.

I have a recessive 'ginger gene' and some freckles--my second born son is a red head--but then so is my wife and she's very much NT.

I think there is still debate as to whether or not Neanderthals were a separate species--we were certainly both members of the Homo genus.

This theory seems very good, and I have to admit that it seems pluasable that Aspies could be descended from Neanderthals. Many of the things said about Neanderthals seems to relate to us, such as Aspies tending to climb and jump (I crawl / climb the staircase at home, and sometimes I do get the urge to jump about a bit), being more into cold weather (Neanderthals adapted for colder climates), and the fact that (I at least) am not really very aggressive, unlike other men. It makes a good point that many autistics feel like they're the wrong gender (Girls being tomboys, and Boys being more passive), which the link says is due to Neanderthal groups being female-dominated (unlike NTs, where it's more male dominated).

You really do have to read the whole thing to get it, but I think it makes good sense.

I'd agree with that…its really does seem to make sense. But evidence is physical evidence appears to be scant and genetic evidence inconclusive.

Opps spelling...

I'd agree with that…its really does seem to make sense. But physical evidence appears to be scant and genetic evidence inconclusive.

Opps...there goes my dyslexia again.

Should have read:

I'd agree with that…its really does seem to make sense. But the physical evidence appears to be scant and genetic evidence inconclusive.

This is a link to the most recent, reliable research on Human- Neanderthal interbreeding I could discover.

http://www.bris.ac.uk/researchreview/200...76748.html

What do schizophrenia and autism have in common? Not a lot--if anything they’re opposites:- Schizophrenia being concerned with fantasy and meaning; Autism being concerning with literal reality and knowledge. But they do have one thing in common--they both seem to enhance creativity.


Concerning creativity and autism.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3766697.stm

Concerning creativity and schizophrenia.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg18324571.900

Two types of creativity:-

Religious creativity

Hallucinations, magical and superstitious beliefs, feelings of  ‘profound meaning’ even revelation are all experienced by the schizoptypical personality type. I feel that the fantasy making tendencies found in schizophrenia may have sparked the emergence of  religious creativity as expressed through art.


But I also feel that perhaps scientific orientated creativity may have come later--possibly as a result of the introduction of Neanderthal traits.

When we look at the evidence of prehistory:-although there was much creative innovation, true scientific thinking seems to be lacking in the repertoire of early man. All creative activity seems instead to be centred around spirituality.

Scientific creativity

It has been said that aspies are 'natural scientists'. Our ability to specialise and hyper-focus on specific areas of interest. To gatherer knowledge--to construct theories and models to explain how the world works. To see the world with literal clarity. Perhaps we’ve moved from a generalised religious creativity to a specialised scientific creativity because of Neanderthal influences.  


Finally, many people have noted that Europeans see the world ’scientifically’ while Asians view it ‘spiritually‘. I’ve read this in several books--but none have been able to explain why. Maybe Human-Neanderthal explain these cultural differences.

Well said jewelie--I don't think "Rigid thinking and creativity" are opposites either.

To be a good scientist requires both rigid literal thinking and creativity.

He uses rigid logic to examine reality to find facts; and then creativity is used to put ‘flesh on the bones’ of  his knowledge; he imagines the possibilities and ’creates’ theories and models to explain the data.

While science and religion could be seen as opposites--science and art are certainly not.  

Indeed science would not exist without art. Without creative imagination we would have not science only a collection of unconnected, disjointed meaningless facts.

I think you made a very good point there Batman55:-Aspie’s do appear to have problems with symbolic thinking--which detracts from our ability to function creatively.

I find artistic symbolism very hard to understand.

I can draw and paint what I see--reproduce a stylised version of the reality. Or I can splash paint on to a canvas making some attractive forms and free-flowing coloured patterns--which is sort of like abstract art.

But when it comes to expressing meaning through symbol and metaphor I’m somewhat at a loss.

It's just that I thought my earlier post about abstract/symbolic thinking was spot-on, and I had to have someone show me it wasn't.

I'm just a very jealous person.  What can I do about it.

Well then thanks:  I have been disillusioned by the world, and I certainly haven't risen above it.

Question then:  What does that imply about me?  Low self-esteem, immaturity, or substandard intelligence for an AS?

I've always been "hyperaware" to the environment around me.. that includes the social environment.  I'm an overreactive AS, rather than the underreactive type (more commonly the uber-logical, academic-oriented type I observe falls into this category.)

I've always cared what everyone thought about me--too much.  That is not a good trait to have when you have AS, but I have that trait, and you can see how it's caused no end of problems for me.

But am I to blame?